Prepare, encounter, execute, and take charge

Fighting words for any foe, especially cancer

Put a weapon in my hand, a mask on my face, and a breastplate on my chest, and I become Zorro. I’ve taken up fencing.

Fencing demands foresight, focus, and self-assurance. By learning to defend myself, I’m stronger physically and more confident mentally.

Cancer survivor Ruth Weiner

In 2001, I battled breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiation. Years passed and I still found myself tired and listless, even though I kept up with regular exercise and worked out at the gym. My spirit lost its spark.

One day, I saw a documentary on New England Cable News about cancer patients who learned to fence, and I said to myself, “I can do that.” I discovered that the Dana Farber Cancer Institute of Boston sponsors a Fencing for Fitness program for cancer survivors under the skilled instruction of Cesar Morales at the International Fencing Club in Dedham. I signed on.

The first steps in becoming a fencer are assuming a balanced on-guard position, moving smoothly and rapidly in either direction, and making crisp changes in speed and motion without loss of stability. It’s not about subduing someone else. It’s about working one’s body and teaching it to perform.

What might “conversations of the sword” have in common with cancer? Everything! Check out the words of fencing. Advance, a step forward, propels me in a positive direction. Retreat, a backward movement, reminds me to maintain proper distance between my nemesis and me. To parry deflects the attack, wards off the disease, side steps and dodges it. And then there’s the lunge, where I charge full-force against the insidious poison that lurks in my body and finally thrust it from me. Ultimately I recover, regaining my balance and control.

Fencing, which has been in existence for 4,000 years and is now an Olympic sport, requires a keen eye, an alert mind, and a conditioned body. It is a way to develop physical coordination and stamina. What it also involves is practice and desire. I like the energy of it. The conquering of weakness.

By nature, I am mild tempered. During a fencing bout, I often fail to follow through. “Don’t be so nice,” says Cesar, when the point of my weapon brushes against my opponent and falls away. So I measure my target, anticipate my move, parry and riposte. After scoring a win against cancer, I’m more willing to seize the moment and make every second count.

The Fencing for Fitness program is for men and women who have suffered the insult of cancer. Cancer leaves one helpless, reminding us that there is much that cannot be controlled. It zeroes us down and gnaws at our self-image, our strength and our dream of invulnerability. But with my fencing gear on, I’m invincible, powerful, and protected.  My mind is ready. My body is on guard.

Prepare, encounter, execute, and take charge: fighting words for any foe, especially cancer.

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Posted by Ruth Weiner on Oct 28 2010. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.