LAMBERTVILLE — Although languishing far below so many other sports on the general public’s perceived popularity list, there’s a considerable up-side to fencing.
And there are few people more capable of quantifying that than Mark Holbrow, founder and head fencing master of the Bucks County Academy of Fencing, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and has been located on Main Street in Lambertville since 2003.
Holbrow points out fencing, one of the few original modern Olympic sports, is available to a wide range of people in all age brackets.
“Unlike some team sports, it’s a lifetime sport,” he says. “We have students from ages 8 to over 70, so you’re not washed up after you finish school. It’s also great exercise, comparable to tennis, and as an indoor sport, it can be done year-around, regardless of weather.”
Fencing also requires tremendous diligence and focus, with the outcome of matches often hinging on the most minute intricacies of technique and execution.
“It’s a classic discipline sport, teaching respect for self and others, the value of attention to detail, and the benefits of training and hard work,” says Holbrow. “And it’s practiced all over the world, so it travels well.
“Another interesting aspect of the sport I’ve been told by numerous high school coaches, is that fencers are generally academic achievers, well ahead of the median for high school and college students.”
Plenty of area high school fencers are quite familiar with the Bucks venue, including Hunterdon Central’s Red Devils, who are bused to the BCAF three days a week during the season to train with Holbrow.
“Central wasn’t expecting a very good season this year,” says Holbrow, “but they’ve done much better than expected. I’m really proud of them.
“We’ve always had a significant number of fencers from all three Hunterdon County schools, although over the years other clubs following my lead have opened up closer to North Hunterdon and Voorhees, and many of their fencers attend those clubs. But we’ve always had a strong showing of fencers from Hunterdon County, and our Hunterdon membership continues to grow.”
John Reid, North Hunterdon’s head coach, was among Holbrow’s students, training for a year before starting as the Lions’ coach in the mid-1980s after shifting from wrestling.
The Bucks County Academy of Fencing is among the largest training facilities in the country, with over 230 active members and seven instructors besides Holbrow, all certified by the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association.
Holbrow initially opened the academy Jan. 2, 1981 with 20 students in the stone basement of an 18th-century building at the corner of Bridge Street and Stockton Avenue in the quaintly eclectic village of New Hope, Pa.
Source: NJ.com
