Students are often not handed sharp objects on
school grounds to play or practice with. However, on
Tuesday, February 14, the cast of the upcoming play
Treasure Island held a fencing workshop, complete
with swords to improve their skills.

The workshop started off with the instructor,
Mr. Vato, explaining the parts of the sword. Since the
students will be using what they learned in the play,
Mr. Vato urged students to not “break their wrist” when
swinging the sword. He also encouraged when lunging
to keep their feet in a “magic box” and to stand in an
athletic stance.

After the explanation, Mr. Vato then instructed the
students to line up on the back line of the Little Gym to
practice lunging and retreating with imaginary swords.
Following the lunging and retreating, the students were
split into groups of four, ordered from tallest to shortest
to ensure that no one would have a drastic advantage in
their ability to touch their opponent.

In the groups two swords were assigned and the
students practiced blocking and striking slashes in the
shape of a triangle. To finish off the class, participants
took out mats and made a big rectangle to practice taking
hits. The students then lined up in front of the mats
and practiced rolling after being hit by an imaginary
sword.

The experience was very unique as a schoolbased
activity. Dolly Lebow (9), said “I really enjoyed
it. I thought it was interesting and engaging. I had a
really fun time.” Bryan Rivera (9) shared that his most
favorite part to the workshop was when they all learned
the steps, parrying, and doing the footwork. All in all,
the workshop will definitely make the sword-fighting
scenes in the play seem more realistic. You can catch
Treasure Island here at Falls Church High School on
May 4, 5, and 6