With age comes an acceptance that bodies are not as resilient as they once were. But that doesn’t have to stop you–take it from Evan Sagerman.

I got stabbed in the throat the other night. I was at my historical fencing class, sparring with two-handed longswords. I swung my sword to slash my opponent’s hands, and missed. Seeing my sword lowered and my body unprotected, my opponent thrust his sword out and stepped forward.

Fencing with historical weapons is a little different than modern, Olympic fencing. The swords are still blunt, but they’re 5 times heavier, so the blows are harder. Serious protective equipment is worn to deal with the impact. My padded fencing mask has a low bib that covers my throat. My padded fencing jacket has a high, thick collar that covers my throat. Overlapping all that is a thick padded throat protector.

Still, having a 4’ long, 3 ½ lb steel bar slammed into my throat hurt. I stopped the bout to check I wasn’t bleeding, then asked my opponent where I’d screwed up. After he made sure I was okay, he explained where my technique had failed. Then we got back to sparring.

Fencers drill to learn technique, then we spar to apply those techniques in real time. There are fencers who love the art and grace of learning the forms. Me, I love the fight. Sparring is where everything falls apart, an unpredictable mix of skill and chaos. No matter how well or poorly I do, sparring with swords is so present and vivid that I end each sweat-soaked class feeling clean, calm, and alive.

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The next day I had coffee with a friend who’s a choreographer. My bruised throat still hurting with each sip, I asked him how dancers handle pain and aging bodies. He explained that dancers spend their whole lives exploring what a is body capable of, and how to care for it. At 60 there were things he could no longer do, and it took him longer to warm up for, and recover from, the things he could do. Understanding this was part and parcel of dancing.

I heard the truth under his words. This sport of mine is not a lifelong pursuit. There’s only so much damage my body should sustain. For now, though, I’ll stretch more, ice often, and soak up the clarity, confusion, and joy of crossing swords.

With a Perspective, I’m Evan Sagerman.

Evan Sagerman is a San Francisco architect and children’s book author.

PerspectivesPerspectives

Evan Sagerman: Swords

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