What is one thing you love about fencing?

I love fencing for the adrenaline of a match, but also the challenge it gives me because it’s such a hard sport, and I find that when faced with a challenge, I always try my best to work around it and so I found out a lot about the nature of my character that way.  

How did you first get into fencing and how did you know this was your sport?

Fencing runs in my family. I am now the third generation, from my grandma, to my dad, to now me. I always knew my dad used to fence and so when I turned 10 I really pushed to be signed up to a club. I honestly didn’t know it was my sport until when I was around 14, as before then I always thought of it as an extra sport, but when I started to do well, I put more time and effort into it. 

Have you learnt any transferable skills that help you in the classroom? 

Discipline and willpower are really important attributes fencing has given me, as well as staying calm under pressure which I have found particularly useful for my exams this year. A lot of the training I do is really hard sometimes, especially the early mornings that I have to get up and do conditioning workouts, but my ability to work hard without anyone watching me or telling me has really shown me that I can do a lot of hard things, and so I’m able to look back and be confident in what preparation I have done to get me the results I achieve. This mentality can also expand into my schoolwork as well; because if I know I have done everything in my power to prepare, then I can have some confidence in my result. It doesn’t always work out, but the ability to bounce back is crucial in order to further progress.

How do you manage to balance your schoolwork alongside training and tournaments? 

Balancing schoolwork is not an easy feat, but I think time management is key in and outside of school, and Sydenham has been hugely helpful and understanding. Looking at a calendar and planning out what I have to do is always useful and I make sure that I don’t waste huge amounts of time doing something unproductive. I’ve learned that I also have to prioritise, which is really difficult at times but necessary if I want to fence alongside school. 

There are a lot of technical skills to learn with fencing. When you first started, what was the hardest thing to get the hang of?

In fencing, there’s no one “move” that stands out to me as the hardest. What I think was the hardest for me was how my brain thought when I fenced. When I was in my first two years of fencing I was told “you have to think about what you’re doing when you’re fencing”, but at that time, fencing was just a game of trying to hit your opponent blindly. I didn’t really trust myself to be able to think that fast in the future during a fencing match, and I’m a long way from being where I would like to be. But I’ve definitely come a long way. Being able to think on your feet, while your fencing and deciding which opportunities to take, and learning what mistakes you made from previous points so you can make adjustments is incredibly hard, and why fencing is such a hard sport is that the mentality and tactics are half the game. 

There is something unique about competing behind a mask. Do you feel like you have a different persona that comes alive behind the mask?

During a competition, particularly during elimination matches, I definitely feel a lot of emotion behind the mask, because I want to win so much, I put everything towards that goal, and when I do win, there is definitely a lot of built up tension released. I find that behind the mask I become a lot more wild and loud. During a match, nothing else matters as I’m so focused on what’s happening in front of me. Sometimes I do wonder what my school friends would say if they came to an intense competition, because during a competition, my persona completely contrasts to what I’m like at school. I’m extremely focused, tense and I have an anger about me. Because the nature of the sport is so aggressive, I think having a sort of aggression during a match is completely necessary, but outside of fencing, I wouldn’t say I’m an aggressive person at all.  

What are the next steps and big dreams for your fencing career?

I don’t really have a concrete plan of what I’d like to do with my fencing career to be honest, there is no one “big goal”that I’m focused on at the moment. Right now, I want to compete internationally and attain decent results. However, in the next several years I would like to go to the World Student Games which would be an amazing opportunity. Being held every 2 years it’s a very prestigious event that I would love to compete in. Who knows, maybe the Olympics!

What advice would you give to a younger student wanting to get into fencing?

You have to believe in yourself and not give up, I think that’s the most important piece of advice. Because fencing is a brutal sport and in competition no one is going to give you free hits, but to be able to take the hits and all the losses, and push through, that’s what’s really important. You just have to gain enough momentum to keep you going. 

How has the High Performance Programme at school supported you?

The High Performance Programme has been hugely supportive when it comes to bringing in professional athletes to talk at various workshops and give advice that is really useful, especially as these athletes have been through all of it before. Particularly the workshop on mentalities and mindsets when training and competing was really helpful.