Hawaii Fencer's Club

The Herd Thunders
Good Morning, Fencers and Fencing Fans! Last Saturday at Waikiki's Ala Wai Clubhouse (the only fencing venue in the state that boasts its own Golf Course and Ballroom), those present were treated to a sight rarely seen since the time of Ancient Rome. It was...the Ride Of The War Elephants.

Eric "Hannibal" Mueller led the War Elephants to the strip for the division's annual Team Epee event. It was, as always, a rousing battle.

This particular battle began with a face-off against Salle Honolulu in which Eric "O Captain, My Captain" Mueller and Darrel "Triarii!" Jung made a contest of it against Salle, earning a 1-touch lead going into the third bout of the match. It was then that Chris "The New Bob" Han made his poorly-timed epee debut, and suddenly, the War Elephants found themselves in a 5-point hole. Onlookers winced. Pained expressions soon gave way to jubilation as Darrel "Rally Cap" Jung turned his ever-present bandanna inside-out (figuratively, of course) and brought the War Elephants back into the lead. However, Salle's onslaught of epeeists proved to much for the Elephants in this match; the final score was 45-35 for Salle.

The next match on the War Elephants' dance card was with Kanaka Pahi Kaua, fielded by the OFC. "Tag Team" Tim Scanson subbed in for Chris "That's Harder Than It Looks" Han to revitalize the Elephants, but they were still to face another uphill battle. The team appeared to be in trouble from the beginning, until Eric "Go-Go-Gadget-Epee" Mueller unleashed the long-range artillery to stage a comeback, and Darrell "Chase the Salvoes" Jung took that momentum and propelled the team into the lead. The battle was well-fought, but the Elephants ultimately fell in a narrow defeat, 45-42.

In their final match of the day, the War Elephants faced SwordFightClub's "Locked Out". Seeking to apply their opponents' name to the scoring box as well as their captain's apartment, The Elephants made their final charge of the day. The early stages of the bout saw our Elephants slipping deeper into a hole until "Comeback Kid" Darrell Jung rallied yet again to even up the score. A brief lull saw the HFC backslide ever so slightly until Darrel "MVP" Jung returned to the strip and snatched the lead from the tournament favorites. A rested and wiser Chris "Grasshopper" Han stepped back in to try to hang on to the lead, but was outclassed and outgunned, and Eric "Last Ditch Maneuver" Mueller's Last Ditch Maneuvers could not keep the island's perennial epee champion at bay. It was another 45-35 loss for the Elephants.

So, the Elephants turned and marched back across the Alps from whence they came. Their necks were, regrettably, unadorned; however, their spirit remained strong. After all, a War Elephant never forgets that a bad day on the strip still beats a good day at work!

Fencing News Blog
Your favorite Fencing News*, now in a format that allows you to conveniently provide your feedback, dispute assessments, and explain why you deserve a better nickname than you got! Check out http://swashingbuckles.blogspot.com!

*Assuming that your favorite fencing news is that of tournaments that your humble correspondent happens to attend and feel like writing about.

Better Late than Never, Right?
The 08-09 Season has already seen two exciting events, though you wouldn't know it from our website...time to remedy that.

September's first event was an Open Epee tournament, but HFC's fencers wisely saw that as the mere distraction that it was, and went straight on into the sabre, so let's do the same, shall we?

Jesse 'The Producer' Payton (U) warmed up slowly, going 50-50 in the pools and breaking even on his indicator to garner a #7 seed and going up against SFCH's Mikaela Louie in the first round. Jesse's quickness and tactical acumen scored him a win in round one, but could not overcome OFC's Henry Chang in the quarterfinals. Jesse placed 6th overall.

Tom 'Victory Lap' Delewski (D08) arrived ready to do business; he reeled off six straight victories in the pool round to take the #1 seed and with it a bye into the quarterfinal round. He then reprised two pool performances to defeat Kelly Borukhovich and JR Oakley in the tables of 8 and 4, but could not pull out a victory against OFC's perpetual sabre contender, Tom Miller. HFC's Tom took home the siver medal.

A month or so later...(yes, I KNOW. I'm WAY behind. Keep your pants on.)...The HFC once again took to the strip, this time at the Kailua Rec Center

Jesse 'The Pride of Punahou' Payton (U) had another on-and-off day in the pools, again winning half to get the #10 seed. He drew Salle's Cornelia Jolitz in the quarterfinals, and dispatched her handily only to be dispatched himself in the semis by SFCH's JR Oakley. Jesse placed 7th.

Darrell 'The Prospective PT' Jung (D06) returned to the division with authority. He was unstoppable in the pools, going undefeated and scoring a +24 indicator to easily take the number one seed. He made short work of Jason Akiyama and Jesse Miyamoto in the DEs, but met the same end as Jesse when he faced JR in the finals. Welcome back, Darrel, and congrats on the silver!

There was some real fencing done that weekend, as well; HFC fielded 4 sabrists out of a field of 13.

Darrell 'Difficult to Nickname' Jung (E07) has clearly been suffering from sabre withdrawal, with a rocky start in the pools en route to a #11 seed and a first-round DE bout with SFCH's Kyle Louie. Regrettably, this was Darrell's last sabre bout of the day; He finished 11th.

HFC's Jesse 'Down the Middle' Payton (U) won half and lost half of his pool bouts (is anyone else seeing a trend here?) to get the #8 seed and a first round match against HFC's reigning Veteran Tim 'Semi-Retired' Scanson. As usual, youth and enthusiasm were eventually vanquished by old age and experience in a narrow victory; Jesse took 9th place.

Speaking of Tim, HFC's Ironman ~~(U)~~(E08) went 2-3 in the pools for the number 9 seed and, after squeaking by Jesse, faced OFC's Henry Chang. Shortly into a dramatic bout, Tim tumbled to the floor to the alarm of onlookers, who rushed to his side with ice and wraps. In the face of advice to cede the bout, Tim 'Damn the Torpedoes!' Scanson regained his feet within his allotted time and, in front of an amazed crowd, pressed the attack. Tim went on to a victory in courage and spirit, but alas, not one on the scoreboard. He finished 8th.

In what appears to be his final individual competition in the division, Tom 'So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish' Delewski (D08) clawed through a heavy pool to a #2 seed. Fortunately, this earned him a bye in the quarterfinals and some needed rest before facing SFCH's Wayne Miyamoto. Tom got by Wayne to reach the semifinals, but couldn't steal tempo from Kyle Louie, and so went home with a bronze.

Darrell 'Three-Weapon' Jung (E07) was the only HFC competitor in that day's Epee event, where a pool performance reminiscent of Jesse won him a #6 seed. This, in turn, got him a bout against JR Oakley. Despite his best efforts, he could not pull off the upset against SFCH's B08-rated epeeist and took 6th place.

Phew...that's a lot of fencing for one article. We'll see everyone on the strip for November's Unclassified Event!

Season Closes with HFC Ratings Bonanza
It is said that all good things must come to an end. The Aloha State Games, and with them, the 2008 Hawaii fencing season, are no exception. But, if they must end, we can all be grateful that they have ended on a high note...but, more on that later.

HFC entered four fencers in this, the final event of the 2008 season, who met with varying levels of success.

Johnny "Sabre's Over, So Who Cares?" Chang used the pool round to rest and recover from the sabre tournament, and turned the juice back on in the DEs, trouncing Fran Sakaguchi-Soares of OFC, but succumbing to Edward Kelleher, fencing unattached.

Eric "Gonna Make It" Mueller didn't seem like himself in this event, due to the fact that he somehow fenced the whole tournament without having a major equipment mishap. He split his pool to go 2-2, only to be met in the DEs by the same two fencers that gave him trouble in the pools. He successfully adapted to overcome OFC's Noah Baron, but it takes more than a good plan to get by JR Oakley. Eric's 8th-place might not attract the attention of the US Olympic coaches, but did snag him an E08.

Roland "The Purveyor" Pendleton took the strip with high expectations. He was in his element as he swept his pool, and took the #1 seed with its 1st-round bye. Since Tom sat this one out, it fell to Roland to eliminate OFC's Riley Masunaga. Roland took his Tom impression too far; however, as he also emulated Tom's bad habit of losing to Lauren Chinn. He took a still-respectable 5th.

HFC's Ben "We Don't Need No Stinking Ds!" Leider hoped to repeat his performance at the state championship, but was a bit thrown off by the seldom-seen Ed Kelleher in the pools. This dropped him to the 6th seed and matched him up with Bob Farrow in the table of 16. Three authoritative whompings later, Ben was facing off against JR in the gold medal bout. Unfortunately, his momentum gave out, leaving him a mere 1 touch short of the gold. He instead took the silver medal and traded in his E for a C08.

Following the gold medal bout, the season was ceremoniously closed with a touching bagpipe solo by Roland "The Highlander Islander" Pendleton. See you all next year!

Aloha State Games - The Real Action
Day Two of the Aloha State Games, where they do the REAL (pronounced: 'Sabre') fencing, started with the Juniors.

Jesse "Just Warming Up" Payton was HFC's only Junior Sabrist today. Kurran Lawrence may have edged him out in the pools, but the DE was a different story altogether, and he proceeded to meet Kyle Louie in the gold medal round. It was a closely fought bout, but Jesse had to settle with silver...for now.

Seniors' Open Sabre threw the next party, and HFC crashed the gates with authority; none of the 5 finished below 7th.

Jesse "Most Improved" Payton's tentativeness was gone from the beginning. He looked sharp in the pools, earning a midrange seed, but was still the underdog in his first bout against the D07-rated Henry Chang. He managed to pull out enough new tricks to pull off a solid victory and advance to the quarterfinals, where Yervand Zakaryan sent him to a 7th place finish. Not bad for a foilist.

John "Why Is It So Early?" Chang was nursing a less-than-ideal shoulder; not that you'd know it from watching him as he won bout after bout in the pools with alacrity. The high seed he earned gave him no rest; however, as his first pool was against a 'strategically-placed' Tom McClintock. As can be expected, it was well and closely fought by both sides, but HFC's man came away with the win and advanced to face yet another Tom; this one of the Miller variety. Despite his best efforts, John would go no further than 6th place.

Roland "R-1000" Pendleton, known for his epee skills, surprised more than a few by sweeping his pool and taking the #3 seed. He made short work of SFCH's Roxanne Lopez-Diaz, but was cut down in the quarterfinals by clubmate and True Sabrist, Tim "T-800" Scanson. Roland happily took 5th place and looked to the next event...

Tim "Finally!" Scanson fought hard in the pools and DEs alike, seeding high and applying lessons learned to beat Ed Diaz in the table of 16. He went on to outdo clubmate Roland "I Wish Sabre Gear Wasn't So Shiny" Pendleton to enter the semifinals, where he would meet Yervand Zakaryan. Like many that day, he couldn't get by the rarely-competing master, but he CAN call himself a rated sabrist, as his semifinal appearance clinched his E08!

Proudly carrying the HFC's banner today was the big, beefy arm of Tom "The BURNiNATOR" Delewski. Ending a brief lull in his dominance of the division's sabre strips, he swept his pool and seized the #1 seed. Swordfightclub's Kurran Lawrance, tired by his previous bout, was driven off the strip as if his plentiful hair were on fire like a brown-robed peasant's. "Tom-dor" had enough to worry about in the next two rounds against the always-challenging Wayne Miyamoto and Tom Miller, but neither managed to stop our man, who was not surprised to see Yervand Zakaryan on the other side of the gold medal bout. If one must lose, it ought to be in the finals, and might as well be to a former national champion. Tom smilingly bowed to receive the silver medal.

All in all, a powerful showing for HFC sabre! "AA-OOH!"

Aloha State Games Start Off Strong
It's that time of year again; time for the Aloha State Games. Time for the thrill of victory, time for the agony of defeat, and time for athletes throughout the great state of Hawaii to compete in sports as diverse as equestrian, bowling, track and field, and trap shooting...but who cares about any of that when there's fencing going on?

There is never any shortage of fencing action during the Aloha State Games, and this year was no exception. Torbjoern "Tiny Hammer" Nielsen kicked it off in twelve-and-unders' foil, going 1 and 1 in the pools and overcoming OFC's precocious John Guetersloh Jr to win the silver medal.

Juniors' Foil was next. Jesse "The Recruiter" Payton was off to a rocky start, stumbling through the pools with only one win and unable to counter Riley Masunaga's speed and maneuverability in the DEs. Roland "Rain Man" Pendleton began a bit more auspiciously, earning a first-round bye and trouncing Jarrett Masunaga on his way to the finals. However, Jared Schreiber proved a bit too much for him, and he took home a silver medal.

Not finished yet, Roland "The Showman" Pendleton had his encore ready: dispatching both of the Masunagas to take the gold medal in Juniors' Epee with relative ease.

Seniors' Open Foil was next on the list; 4 of the HFC were on hand.
Chris "Somehow Not Bob Yet" Han gained valuable tournament experience in his second competitive appearance, and placed Not Last.
Jesse "I Like Being Bob" Payton was a bit scattered in the pools; he pulled it together in the DEs and bested clubmate Chris only to fall to JR Oakley in the next round.
Roland "All These Medals Are Getting Kind of Heavy" Pendleton used the pool rounds to get himself back in foil mode and pulled off an upset victory against a recovered Keith Lau, but was knocked out by SFCH's Jesse Miyamoto.
Ben "Cogito Ergo Dicto...et Dicto, et Dicto..." Leider tried to apply his foil-style epee game to foil; he won a midrange seed and breezed past Cornelia Jolitz, only to be breezed past himself by JR Oakley.

All in all, a great day of spirited competition; and this was just the beginning...

Better Late Than Never - Epee State Championship
Twelve fencers turned out on May 24th to see whom would earn the right to be called the Hawaii Epee Champion; among them were three members of Hawaii's Finest Club.

John "Mufi's Main Man" Chang bided his time and conserved his energy in the pools, coasting into an 11th seed and a DE versus OFC's Tom Miller. Unfortunately, the reach of the OFC fencer proved insurmountable. John being John, he immediately began his plotting and planning for the Aloha State Games.

Tom "But, It Was My Attack! Oh, Wait..." Delewski came in a bit closer to the mark, with two pool wins that took him to SFCH's Wayne Miyamoto. It was a close finish, but the quick Miyamoto was not quite elusive enough to avoid Tom's persistent beats and binds. Tom then advanced to yet another bout with Lauren Chinn. As usual, this was the end of Tom's road; he placed 7th.

HFC's runaway great was Ben "The Lucky Number" Leider who shined in the pools with 4 wins and a 4th seed. His brilliance did not diminish that day as he handily dispatched both long armed, quick-bladed counterattackers and nimble target-displacers has he bested Donna Rapadas, Noah Baron, John Gutersloh, and Lauren Chinn. His dominance over the field was indisputable, as even the most fortunate of his 4 opponents was overcome by a substantial margin of 4 points. Ben took home not only the State Championship, but also a new rating; an E08. Well done, Ben!

Better Late Than Never - Foil State Championship
It was, of course, a beautiful day on the banks of the Ala Wai Canal when the fencers of the Hawaii Division gathered to see who would win the right to hold the coveted title of State Champion.

Christopher "T" Han was the latest fencer to join the ranks of HFC's competitive fencers, and placed a very respectable Not Last in this, his first Senior tournament appearance.

Roland "The Graduate" Pendleton was apparently distracted by some shiny objects in the pool round; he escaped with only two wins, despite being the second-favored fencer in pool one. Therefore, he found himself staring down the strip at his clubmate, Tom "The Ala Wai Fox" Delewski. Roland knew exactly how he would attack Tom; unfortunately, so did Tom. Roland placed 10th.

Jesse "Still Just Bob" Payton earned himself a middle of the pack seed, and squared off against Keith Lau in round one. Jesse was feeling confident and strong after a victory over Keith in the pool rounds. As it turns out, he only needed to be stronger than Keith's hamstring, which gave out after Jesse pulled a 4-2 lead. Following that, a Battle of the Jesses ensued, and Swordfightclub's Miyamoto came out on top. This left HFC's Jesse placing 7th in his first top 50% finish in a Senior event.

At HFC's vanguard today was Tom "You Win Some, You Lose Some" Delewski, who did precisely that in the pools en route to a #7 seed and a DE with his aforementioned former protegee. After outmaneuvering Roland "The Piper" Pendleton, Tom met OFC's Lauren Chinn, who removed him from the bracket with a 6th place finish.

A Toast to the Ladies!
The gentlemen (using the term loosely) of HFC, would like to acknowledge their ladies fair for providing yet another reason to seek glory upon the piste! Our thanks to all the "Fencing Widows" of HFC who came to support their thugs...I mean KNIGHTS...at the Hawai'i Open.

Hawaii Open 2008, Part II
The Date: February 24th, 2008. The Place: The Neil Blaisdell Exhibition Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Event: Day Two of The Hawaii Open Fencing Classic 2008.

Equipment problems played a significant role in today's Senior Mixed Epee event, as nearly all of HFC's fencers were betrayed by their own blades at the moment of truth. Despite his checks, re-checks, and bringing enough spare blades to choke a Hungarian Sabrist, Eric "Papa" Mueller's luck in the weapons department was up to par...which is to say, extremely poor. Agitation ensued en route to a defeat by the eager Ambrose, from Canada (eh?).

Both of Tom "D'OH!" Delewski's epees managed to fail, earning him a red card in the pools as he frantically tried to scrounge a weapon while keeping his head above the water. A poor showing in the pools led him to OFC's Riley 'Not Again!' Masunaga, and...ok, we know how that one's going to end by now. Sorry, Riley. If it makes you feel any better, Tom was then handed his own neatly-carved-off posterior by No Fear Fencing's Doug Thistlewaite.

Johnny "Epee's Just a Warmup, Anyway" Chang got started slowly in the pools, but found his game in time for the DEs as he bested OFC's Donna only to draw Ted Padgitt in his second round.

As can be expected, it was Roland "How's My Hair?" Pendleton who shined, besting one local fencer and one of the mainland ringers on his way to a bronze medal.

Luckily for the HFC, the sabre has no moving parts, making equipment failures unlikelly. HFC also entered four competitors. Tim "Ow, Ow, My Wrist" Scanson wisely chose NOT to fence Eric "Oops, Sorry, Tim" Mueller on Friday night and so was actually able to compete on Sunday. His Kung Fu was strong, but not enough to overcome the sabre-fencing machine that is Johnny "The Boogeyman" Chang. The Chang-Man's momentum, built in the pool rounds, carried him through Tim to the end of his road at the hands of the Canadian, Lee Ambrose (eh?).

Roland "Ex-Bob" Pendleton's hopes of bringing home a second medal were high after finishing the pools with only one defeat, and that at the hands of a former national champion. However, they did not come to fruition, as after his bout with September, he had all the time he needed to fix his hair.

HFC did not go home medal-less from sabre, though, as Tom "The Defiant One" Delewski fought through three DEs to make the final bout, earning a shiny silver medal, and a shiny new D08.

Many, many thanks to those whose efforts made this event happen, especially those patient enough to come from the mainland to try directing under Aloha Rules. See you next time!

Previous 10 Next 10