Epee, foil, and saber. No, these are not from the new Star Wars movie. These are the weapons used in the sport of fencing. Freshman Saif Syed not only possesses a grenade, but he also has an epee that he uses in duel.

Fencing requires a lot of skill and must be played as a mind game. It is a sport that involves swords as the weapons, and fencers receive points by using their swords effectively. In Syed’s case, he can use his epee to target his opponent’s whole body. Unlike the epee, the foil and saber can only be used on particular areas of the body. Points are accumulated through hitting the opponent in the proper areas of the body, and the hits are detected with a sensor, not the judges’ eyes. Even though weapons are involved, Syed says that fencing isn’t very dangerous. “You do get injured, but it’s not as much as in football or any other sport.”

A difficult part of Syed’s fencing is managing it along with the work of his honors and AP classes. “It’s really hard, but I try to do it during school,” Syed said. With sports comes practice, and Syed certainly does more than other athletes. With three hours of practice after school and weekend tournaments, he doesn’t have much time to spare after school.

However, Syed is dedicated to the sport. Syed has been fencing for about four years, but he still has a long road ahead. There’s “state, U.S., the North American Club… and then you get to travel the world.” Syed wants to continue through high school and hopes to achieve high fencing honors. Currently, Syed has a C ranking, A being the highest, and he is “striving for [an A ranking].”