Arts & Entertainment
Merrick Fencing Club Members Compete...and Sing?
Merrick Fencing Club/Theatre Group gives members an outlet to duel, and perform.
On guard! Avant-Garde!
Proving once again you can find just about anything on Long Island, the Merrick Fencing Club is celebrating its seventh anniversary of giving fencers an outlet to learn and compete.
And there's a twist. The group also features members of the Avant-Garde Theatre Group, a not-for-profit whose goal is to put on shows for the community.
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There is crossover, there is synergy. Fencing lends itself to performing, and vice-versa, according to club organizer Mark Goldman.
"It's dance, for people that are very clumsy," he says. "It's really a cool way of moving without getting hurt."
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The club features those that fence, those that perform, and those that do both. A few years back, theatre group members were putting on a production of 'Hamlet', which features sword fighting. Members decided to take a fencing class at Hofstra, and were hooked.
Soon however, class fees went up significantly, so members struck out on their own, and have been incorporating fencing into their training ever since. Members meet throughout the year at the Cure of Ars Rectory Church on Merrick Avenue, as its vast auditorium space lends itself to movement and exercise.
Brian Poppenwimer sticks to the fencing. He first started training at Penn State, after years of martial arts training wore down his knees.
"Fencing is a mind game," Poppenwimer says. "It's not a physical brute force sport, it's finesse, it's more mind; figuring out where your opponent is going to move, how you're going to get the move there."
Poppenwimer leads the group in stretching to open a recent meeting. Then, he trains members in a specific move to be added to one's arsenal. Next, members take each other on in a series of matches.
The extent of my fencing expertise is watching 'The Three Musketeers," but I give it a shot anyway. I don my padding, glove and mask, and grab my foil. That's sword to you.
I am given the run down of moves: lunge, where you thrust your foil, trying to make contact with your opponent's torso, and parry, the art of knocking their foil aside in defense. And of course there's advance and retreat (the latter I assume I will need often).
I hold my own, and hold my foil proud, though I never make solid contact. At least my opponent was near my age - I could have lost to a child or senior citizen, as the club caters to all ages.
Goldman's daughter Lauren plays sports at Mepham High School, and she was looking for a new challenge. She also enjoys acting and singing, so her participation on both sides of the club was a no-brainer.
"You're sharing two things you love...you have the singing and the acting, and [the fencing] is a different way of expressing yourself, a more physical way," Lauren says.
The club relies on member donations, and corporate sponsorship to keep going. On the fencing end, members are trying out for the Empire State Games, to be held this summer in Rochester. Theatrewise, the club hopes to put on a production of 'Waiting For Godot' in the fall.
They got me to swordfight...they're not getting me to sing. Sorry, guys.
Go to www.merrickfencing.com for more information about the club.
