The Good Life – March-April 2018

WRITTEN BY: KRISSY NESS
PHOTOGRAPHY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
If you have ever been interested in
fencing but don’t know where to
begin, F-M Fencing Club is a great
place to start. Beginners are welcome
to join in anytime and the club will
supply them with equipment until
they are able to purchase their own.
The F-M Fencing Club has been
running from its current location,
Grace Lutheran School, in Fargo,
ND, since 2011 and the arrangement
is a perfect fit. With the exception
of their weapons, the school has
graciously offered them storage for
all of their equipment and a full size
gym to practice in. “They allow us to
use a closet in the gym to store all of
our equipment,” said Bianco.
Dr. Robert Bianco PhD has been
fencing foil since 1996. — Foil
is one of three weapons in this
Olympic sport, all of which are
metal. A Foil is flexible, rectangular
in cross section, and weighs under a
pound. A foil fencer's uniform features
the lamé, which is a vest, electrically
wired to record hits. It is the most
commonly used weapon when beginning
to learn the sport.
Dr. Bianco began in grad school at the
University of North Dakota and continued to
fence while attending The University of Iowa
as he worked on his postdoctoral fellowship.
It was there that he participated in foil and the
occasional saber event in the UI club. He moved
back to the F-M area in 2006 and still had the itch
6 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com