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Fencer Curtis McDowald credits Olympic journey to his two moms

Olympic fencer Curtis McDowald credits his success at reaching the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo to two amazing women, his mom and his 'fencing mom.'

Humankind, USA Today

Fencing is a sport that often doesnt get a lot of attention, except during Olympic years. To Vyn Le, however, it is a passion.

Le views fencing as a chess match; a test of his physical skills and mental acuity against those of his opponent.

A Langhorne resident and a senior at Holy Ghost Prep, Le took his first fencing lesson six years ago (he will turn 17 later this fall) at the Bucks County Academy of Fencing, in Lambertville, N.J., just across the Delaware River from New Hope. While he participated in Tae Kwan Do when he was in grade school, he lacked an affinity for team sports. The individual nature of fencing attracted him.

I think it teaches you a lot, he said, because its definitely an individual sport. If you lose, theres really no one else to blame it on, theres no one else to look at besides yourself. The same thing when you win, too.

"I think that taught me a lot, specifically that the wins are really satisfying and the losses are really hard. I think thats really what attracted me to the sport the most when I started competing.

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Les event of choice is the foil, one of fencings three disciplines (the other two are epee and sabre). Each has different rules and protocols.

Foil features a weapon that has a maximum length of 110 cm (43.3 inches, slightly longer than a baseball bat) and amaximum weight of 500 grams (10.58 ounces) although most are lighter.

A point is scored by making by making a valid touch with the point of the blade on the legal target area, which in foil is the opponents torso and a portion of the bib that is attached to each competitors mask.

A bout takes place on a strip that is 14 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, excluding adjacent safety areas. Bouts are normally contested to 15 points.

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A gifted pianist and an accomplished debater as well an athlete, Le changed clubs over the summer and now trains at the Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy in Fairlawn N.J., roughly 25 miles northwest of New York City. He makes the four-hour round trip two or three days a week for a two-hour class, followed by a private lesson.

He also trains at home in his basement, utilizing a dummy for target practice, and works with a personal trainer to enhance his speed and conditioning. Le utilizes the four-hour round trip to North Jersey to finish the schoolwork he didnt complete earlier in the day.

I have the whole car ride, two hours there, two hours back, he said. Also, Holy Ghost Prep offers a lot of free periods, and I have free periods built into my schedule.

"The moment I get homework, I write it down in my planner, and I immediately get it done, as much as possible during the free period, and whatever time I can get during lunch, during break, its always doinghomework, homework, homework, and studying. Then I come home; a lot of times before practice, Ill take a nap or something. And then, during the car ride, I can study again.

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Les competition schedule keeps him busy most weekends (the bulk of the competitive season runs roughly from fall through the spring). He might be competing in a two or occasionally three-day local or regional tournament within an hour or two of home. On other occasions, he might find himself making a five-to-six hour trip to New England to compete.

I have it easy down here compared to some of the other fencers, he said. Fencers up north have to come down here.

Admittedly, it took Le some time to get comfortable on the strip, both physically and mentally.

I think maybe in the first year I was definitely just getting used to moving around, he said. "Fencing (has) a very hard learning curve. Its very different from other sports. On a very basic level, youre engaging muscles that you would never use or (use) not as much in other sports And, that definitely took a little bit, maybe a year or two just getting used to getting hit and competition and things like that.

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But mentally, I think this is a process thats still going on, getting comfortable on the strip and learning how tocontrol my nerves. I think this is a process that happens with everyone.

Every fencer has doubts in their mind they have to overcome, and I think being mentally tough is one thing, but mentally perfect is something that is very, very difficult and it takes a lot of work to get to that point.

For a fencer, part of the learning curve is understanding that early on, they are going to lose a lot of bouts.

I lose all the time, Le said. "Everyone loses way more than they win. Thats a very common thing in every sport, but especially in fencing. You lose so, so many bouts, and I feel like Im very used to it now. Losing is not a bad thing as long as I can take away something from it, thats a win, as long as I can learn how to counter it the next time.

"So, when I face (a more-experienced opponent) I just think about all the times Ive faced someone like that before; What do I have to do to beat someone whos better than me?'

If I can hit them, then I can beat them. Thats my opinion on it. Its not like theyre untouchable. Itss not that theyre unbeatable. Anybody in fencing can beat anybody, And I know that can be me. I can beat this person. All I have to do is just find their weakness and maybe find the action I am doing well with today.

Watching the recent Olympic Games, Le was impressed by how well the finest fencers in the world execute the sports fundamentals.

They are Olympians, he said. But theyre not really doing anything amazingly special. They have the basics, and theyre not following a different set of rules. Everyone is playing the same game, its just how theyre looking at it, a lot of very simple actions. Theyre constantly their strategies to adapt to their (opponent).

Fencing can truly be a lifetime sport who those who, like Le, have a passion for it. For now, he is thinking about his more immediate future; specifically, fencing in college.

He is considering the University of Pennsylvania, which has a mens intercollegiate program and Brown, which does not. In any case, he is not anticipating putting down his weapon any time in the foreseeable future.

I would love to fence on a team, he said. Definitely, it does influence my decisions quite a bit. Fencing is very difficult nowadays, its mostly just me and my teammates in the club but if Im on a team I think that would be a completely different experience and Id love to be part a of it.

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'Everyone loses more than they win': Fencing a chess match for Langhorne teen Vyn Le - Bucks County Courier Times