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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 4, 2004 Fencing comes to Phoenix By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Fencing began as a way for men to perfect their swordsmanship before warfare or duels. In the time since someone depicted a fencing match on the wall of an Egyptian temple in 1190 B.C., the practice has transformed from a deadly art to a cunning sport. The noblemen and soldiers have been replaced by Olympians, children, senior citizens and, at two evenings a week at the Phoenix Grange, John McDougall and the dozen fencing students he coaches. Fencing instructor John McDougall has been involved in the sport for more than half a century and has worked with some of the sport's masters. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings "People have kind of a romantic idea of fencing that brings them here," said McDougall, who has been involved in the sport for more than a half-century. "Then they get to find out what it really is." McDougall, 70, started offering lessons in Phoenix at the beginning of the year, although he has coached fencing since 1956 and had run a similar fencing school in Ashland for many years. He retired from coaching in the mid-1990s, but found he couldn't stay away. "I just really love working with them," McDougall said of his students. "I love it when they get better. It's like a family. We all help bring each other up." Mastery While fencing comes from violent origins, the sport is now divided into three events - the foil, the epee and the saber - that require both finesse and intelligence to perfect. "I tell people it's chess at 90 mph," McDougall said. "It involves your brain and your body." McDougall has been internationally certified as a master of all three weapons for more than 30 years. After competing on the Stanford University varsity fencing team from 1952 to 1956, McDougall stayed in the San Francisco area. At the time, Northern California was the fencing hub of the country. Fencing legends from around the world made their way to San Francisco. During that time, McDougall worked with Italians Eduardo Manigarotti and Aldo Nadi, as well as Hungarian Olympic coach George Pillar. Combined, the three fencers won 19 Olympic championships during their competitive fencing careers. McDougall himself earned Western intercollegiate all-star accolades and won several open championships in the Bay area. "I studied with these wonderful people because I was just in the right place at the right time," McDougall said. An 'equalizer' Unlike all other martial arts, fencing competitions are not divided by age or body size because the sword creates an equal playing field for fencers. Olympic fencing champions have been as old as 50 years old, as young as 16. In recent years, some of the oldest Olympians have been fencing competitors. One of McDougall's favorite fencing fact is that, for many years, the flag of each country was carried by that nation's most senior athlete. However, other athletes protested because Olympiad after Olympiad, only fencers carried the flags. The tradition has since ended. At the Phoenix Grange, McDougall works with a variety of athletes, something he attributes to the universal appeal of fencing. "The thing is that most of my people right now are younger," he said. "But I've had fencers older than me. It isn't limited by age as much as other sports." Still, McDougall would like to see more young people get into the sport. Following his stint on the Stanford team, McDougall began coaching at the collegiate level in San Francisco. He worked with the Stanford women's team in its first years of existence, taught at the University of California Berkley and Santa Cruz and formed the first fencing team at Occidental College in Los Angeles, as well as coaching at a number of private fencing clubs all along the West Coast. "I just started my first day in college," McDougall said. "I loved it. I never stopped." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams