Down by four points with his opponent needing just one more to claim victory, Jaydon Mou took a deep breath and let the nervousness that had been his constant companion all weekend drain from his body.
The 12-year-old from Coquitlam who attends John Knox Christian Secondary School in New Westminster raised his foil.
Mou had come further than he’d ever imagined possible in his first international competition. He already had much to be proud of.
Mou pulled down his mask.
“It felt like I was in a practice match,” he said later.
Mou quickly scored four points and then another to win the gold medal at the recent USA Fencing Super Youth Circuit competition in Portland, Ore.
A fencer for less than two years, it was the biggest victory of Mou’s burgeoning career in the sport he started when a family member took him along to one of his training sessions at the Dynamo Fencing Club in North Vancouver.
It may also be a turning point Mou said, as it showed him what’s possible when he puts his faith in his foil and trusts his training.
“I’ve learned I can do it,” he said. “My confidence has definitely gone up.”
Mou, who also competes in mountain biking, as well as skis and snowboards, said he likes the individual challenge of fencing. Plus his friends thinks it’s pretty cool that he “sword fights.”
Mou said the sport is as much mental as it is physical.
To hone the latter he does specific exercise like running to bolster his cardio capabilities and lunging the point of his foil at a series of targets affixed to a wall to speed his reflexes and hone his accuracy.
The mental preparation, though, is a little more abstract, elusive.
Mou said it’s all about boosting your morale if a match isn’t going well and zeroing in for the attack when you have the advantage. There can also be an element of gamesmanship, such as asking for a time-out to tie a shoelace to throw off an opponent’s momentum.
Mou said a fencing bout can be gruelling; a typical match lasts three minutes while elimination bouts consist of three three-minute periods with a minute of rest in-between.
Mou said the tunic and protective pads are hot, the helmet that covers his entire head and face is heavy.
Lunging, thrusting and parrying are tough on the legs, exerting pressure on his knees, calves and thighs.
“It really hurts,” he said.
Now that Mou has had his first taste of success on an international piste, he and his coach, Igor Gantsevich, who was the Team Leader for Canada’s fencers at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, have decided to step up his competitive calendar.
He’ll be attending a Super Youth circuit competition in Santa Clara, Calif., and then the North American Cup in Kentucky, in October.
Mou said he’ll also move up an age category to further his skills against older, more experienced fencers while also being able to continue to collect points that make will make him eligible for more competitions.
“I believe in myself,” he said. “I know I can do well.”
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