In 2013, Manhattan’s Fencers Club, the oldest fencing club in the Western hemisphere, had everyone from Olympians to 5-year-olds clicking swords and training at its facility in Chelsea. But something was missing.
That year, its leaders noticed that even far beyond its high-ceilinged and airy halls, there was not a single fencing program devoted to the thousands of veterans and military personnel in New York City and the surrounding area.
So they decided to start one.
The result is Military Veterans on Guard, a twice-a-week training program that gives honorably discharged veterans and active duty servicemen and women from all branches a chance to learn the fast-paced combat sport for free.
“We wanted to connect [with] these veterans who are coming back. They may have some issues they are going through, both physical and mental, and we wanted to integrate them into our community,” says the program’s director Adam Schafer, noting the veterans range in age from their 20s to a World War II vet pushing 90.
For the fencers, it’s a way to be competitive and regain a sense of camaraderie and teamwork they once had in the military — not to mention getting in shape as they learn a form of fencing called epee.
“When you are fencing, it’s an intense burst of energy,” says Peter Katopes, 68, a Vietnam veteran who served a one-year tour as an infantryman.
“I am a very competitive person, as many combat soldiers are or were,” he says. “Fencing is competitive. It is extremely physical, which I like. You have to be in good shape.”
It also provides them a social connection, either with the club’s 600 other members, or with each other. About 300 men and women have participated in Military Veterans on Guard since its inception in the fall of 2013, with a core group of 20 to 25 attending regularly.
Frank Williams, 63, an actor who has appeared on “Madam Secretary,” served in the Navy from 1972-75. He started at Military Veterans on Guard last August and “the next thing you know, I’m hooked,” he says.
‘I am a very competitive person, as many combat soldiers are or were.’
- Peter Katopes, Vietnam veteran
“It’s the camaraderie. I’m around people with similar backgrounds and you create a different rapport,” he says. “You are around guys with whom you have something in common.”
Darrell Armstrong, a veteran who served in the Marines, joined after having surgery on his legs in 2014 to get his body moving again.
“Sometimes it’s hard,” he says of fencing, but the challenge has motivated Armstrong. “It gives you a sense of worth, which I was kind of lacking.”
The group is trained by Dwight Smith, 28, who fenced for Columbia University and now competes both nationally and internationally. Smith is not only a top-notch instructor, but he serves as a counselor of sorts as well.
“I really like doing this,” he says. “It feels good to help out. A lot of these guys suffer from PTSD and you can see them have issues when they are fencing.
“Sometimes tempers [will] flare,” he continues. “It [will] be something small [done] in a way they don’t like, or someone doing something incorrectly, and it annoys them and they lash out.”
Sometimes, an aggravated fencer will cut his training short and go home.
“I say, ‘Hey, don’t let this get the better of you. [Going home] means you let it get to you,’ ” Smith says. “I point it out and help them cope and deal with it, and it is a way to help them get over whatever personal issues they have.”
Though Smith’s been coaching young children for the last 14 years, his veterans are a special bunch, as some fence despite shrapnel wounds, spinal cord injuries or amputations.
“The hardest thing is that you have to connect with them in some way, shape or form,” he says. “If you can’t connect, it’s not going to go well with these guys. I don’t know if they have trust issues, but they don’t like change — if they don’t trust you they are not going to want to deal with you.”
But this is far from a therapy group, and Smith works his military fencers hard, doling out pushups like a drill sergeant if someone messes up a maneuver.
“It’s given me a wonderful outlet not only for physical energy, but emotional and creative energy,” says Vietnam vet Katopes, a retired provost of LaGuardia Community College.
“It’s not only about the aggressiveness and the competitiveness,” he says. “This is also about poise and grace and coordination, and I think that is absolutely essential for us as we get older. And it’s fun.”