HADLEY — Julian Tyson held a fencing sword for the first time at age 11 in Liverpool, England. His father introduced him to the sport after practicing it after his civil service job in another town.
Tyson received membership at the local club as a Christmas present.
“I got bitten by the bug as well,” he said.
Almost 60 years later, he’s still fencing. Tyson will represent the United States — he’s been a citizen for two decades — at the World Veterans Fencing Championships in Cairo, Egypt from Saturday through Oct. 11. He will be joined by Lisa Wolf. The two competitors both train at Hadley’s Riverside Fencing Club.
“It’s wild, it’s exciting, it’s thrilling to me,” said Taro Yamashita, the club’s owner and head coach. “It’s a new adventure. I’m really happy for them, they’re the ones doing the work.”
It’s Tyson’s third time competing at the veterans world championships. The 70-year-old also fenced at the world championships in his 50s and 60s.
He’ll compete in both épée and foil, one of just two members of the American men’s over-70 contingent to qualify with two weapons. The primary difference between the two is the target area. Foil fencing can only target the chest, while épée fencing is a descendant of the duel. The entire body is available for a scoring touch. The concept of the right of way exists in foil fencing and prevents simultaneous actions. A fencer is either attacking or defending. Whereas in épée, simultaneous actions are allowed and double hits can be scored.
“It’s a continual challenge. Because it’s an individual, one-on-one competitive sport, part of the enjoyment of competing is outwitting your opponent,” Tyson said. “People have described fencing as physical chess. You’re trying to outwit the opponent by anticipating the moves you’re opponent’s going to do or using the moves your opponent does against them.”
In his youth, Tyson practiced at fencing clubs in London and Aberdeen. He qualified for the World University games as an undergraduate and was a member of the Scottish National team. Tyson won multiple Scottish national championships. He also earned silver medals at the 1978 and 1982 Commonwealth Games. Tyson was part of the British Olympic training squad leading up to the 1984 Olympics.
“That was when I was at my peak,” Tyson said. “I didn’t make the Olympic team, but I was a possibility.”
He accepted a position as a UMass chemistry professor in 1989, figuring his competitive fencing career was over.
“Veteran fencing seemed to start around the time I relocated here,” Tyson said.
Tyson was immediately successful in area events and eventually worked his way to the national circuit. The world championship teams are selected through results from three North America Cup qualifying tournaments, culminating in the national championships in early July. Tyson won an épée national championship and took second in foil to secure his place on the team.
“When people talk about my style of fencing they use the word ‘classical,’” Tyson said. “After all, I learned to fence 50 years ago when fencing was perhaps not quite as athletic as it is today. There was quite a lot of emphasis placed on the position of the body and trying to be stylish in movements.”
While Tyson’s classic style has been honed over decades, Wolf started just eight years ago. Her son James came home from school with a flyer, and they lived around the block from the American Legion Post 271 in Hadley.
“I was in the middle of a PhD program. It was a really good stress reliever,” said Wolf, 53. “When I defended my dissertation, I was like ‘OK, this (fencing) is what I’m going to be good at now.’”
She honed her skills at the Riverside Club with Yamashita and faced 2009 veterans national champion Dianna McMenamin on a regular basis in practice.
“She beat the s–t out of me for five years, then things started clicking,” Wolf said.
Wolf fences with a powerful, aggressive style more commonly found with a saber. But Yamashita saw an excellent épée fencer in her potential and worked with her to bring that out. She qualified for the women’s épée after a strong finish at nationals. She ascended from rank No. 15 to fourth over the course of a season.
“It’s kind of a surprise. It was really a breakout season,” Wolf said. “It wasn’t like I came close a couple of times.”
Over the past eight years, Wolf learned to focus more on her journey and the process of improvement than just the results.
“It’s so hard. It’s really discouraging at times when you get your butt kicked all the times,” she said. “There’s been a couple of times like that’s it, I’m not getting any better, I’m getting killed here, and you make the choice whether or not to get it together and let the reward be in the progress.”
Both Wolf and Tyson prepared for the world championships with Yamashita at the Riverside Fencing Club. The 11-year-old club features around 40 members aged 10 to 70.
“The perception is that fencing is an individual sport — you’re out there on your own,” Yamashita said. “The benefit of the team is not during the play, it’s during the practice. We’re all in this together. We’re going to get better by pounding the snot out of each other.”
Tyson finished 16th in his previous two trips to the world championships. He’s aiming higher in Cairo.
“I’m going to be fencing people I’ve fenced already, probably, as a 60-year-old, except there will be fewer of them, probably,” Tyson said. “A place in the top 20 would be OK, a place in the top 10 would be even better. I’m cautiously optimistic.”
Wolf remains focused on the experience rather than the result, though she’s far from a “happy to be there” mindset.
“I’ve put in all the work. The result is going to be what it’s going to be,” Wolf said. “Épée is a random event. People can have great days, the matchups can be weird or really great. I’ve had it go both ways for me. The only thing I can control is how I’m fencing. As long as that happens, it’s fine. It kind of has to be.”