VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Fencer Eli Dershwitz Explains The Art Of Fencing

U.S. Olympic fencer Eli Dershwitz shed light on the critical skills necessary in fencing in an exclusive interview with uSports.

Dershwitz, who has represented the United States at the Paris Olympics in June, highlighted the importance of a unique blend of physical agility and mental acuity.

“I would say the combination of quick and explosive feet similar to how tennis players need very fast one-two steps from their stance, and in fencing, it’s no different,” he told uSports in April. “The strip isn’t that wide or long, so those first one, two, three steps need to be really explosive.”

The Olympian emphasized that the ability to change direction rapidly is vital for staying competitive in fencing. This quickness, he noted, allows fencers to react and adapt in real-time to their opponents’ movements, a necessity in a sport where fractions of a second can determine the outcome of a match.

Physical speed alone isn’t enough in fencing. “You need to be able to change directions quickly,” Dershwitz observed. “You need to be explosive in that regard; it’s a game of physical chess,”