To Nathaniel Johnson, the rattle of swords crossing is the sound of a chess match.

Johnson is one of the Red Deer Fencing Club's coaches. While the sport requires quick reflexes and nimble footwork, good fencers also possess sharp minds.

"Fencing is most easily described as physical chess. You have to both outsmart your opponent and manipulate him to your advantage," Johnson said.

"You don't have to overpower someone. You can feint, you can go straight in for the attack or you can take the blad nice and strong and finish with it."

The club was hosting the Hokkaido Cup over the weekend, its first tournament of the year, and the first at its new home in Gasoline Alley.

Nathaniel Johnson, Red Deer Fencing Club coach, refereeing during the Hokkaido Cup.

 

Red Deer's Kameron Lamont is one of the club's 30 members, introduced to the sport by her grandmother.

Staring down the blade of a sword triggers a primal fight or flight response in her. It's something she's become comfortable with over time.

When she's fencing, Lamont walks a tightrope between aggressive attacks and a more conservative, calculating strategy.

"I just like how it still requires energy and endurance but it still has a mental component to it. It's like chess but fast-moving. That's as good as I can explain it," Lamont said.

Scores in fencing are called touches. They're recorded when enough pressure is applied to a button at the tip of the rapier. It takes 750 grams -- the same amount needed to draw blood in an actual duel.

Types of matches are grouped according to the weapon being used: either the foil, epee or sabre. In each case, there are different targets fencers must strike in order to score a touch.

Johnson said the sport is one of the safest one can participate in. Fencers wear various guards, kevlar jackets as well as masks that can withstand 1,600 N of force.

And as fencing has descended from duelling between members of the nobility, there's a certain decorum that's ingrained into the culture of sport.

"The second they see a sword in someone's hand, they figure someone's going to get hurt. The equipment we use is very safe. The way the sport is run is very safe," Johnson said.

Fencers get tangled up over the course of a match. In playoff rounds of a tournament, a match lasts three, three-minute periods. The first to 15 touches wins.