Early one Saturday afternoon in February — before the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone all to stay at home — students shuffled into the Arena Room at Skibo Gymnasium on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, grabbed their pointy weapon of choice and crossed blades.
"It's like you're in a real battle," said senior physics major Zhiyao (Olivia) Li. "You feel like you're a knight."
This clashing of steel isn't as chaotic as one might imagine. Standing 'en garde,' face masks on, sabers raised, these members of the CMU Fencing Club await the signal to begin their bout.
Since 2000, the Fencing Club has taught Carnegie Mellon students the sport of Olympic fencing. Fencing traces its history back to the days of swordsmanship for dueling and self-defense. Over time, it developed into a sport and has been a part of the Olympic Games since its reintroduction in 1896.
First-year mathematical sciences major Gregory Zelevinsky appreciates the mind games and strategy that comes with fencing.
"You can kind of predict what your opponent is going to do," he said. "You can counter them and they counter you back. With the weapon I use, which is a sabre, it's really fast paced."