[Missouri-l] Fw: [acb-l] Mass. schools for blind gear up for fencing match

[Jeanne Fike]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kim Lookingbill" <seadolphink at comcast.net>
To: <acb-l at acb.org>
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 3:54 AM
Subject: [acb-l] Mass. schools for blind gear up for fencing match


> Mass. schools for blind gear up for fencing match
> March 28, 2010 - 2:07pm
> By MARK PRATT
> Associated Press Writer
>
> WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) - Cory Kadlik has never let being blind stop him 
> from
> golfing, skating, learning martial arts or riding a dirt bike. He had his
> doubts when it came to fencing.
>
> "I never even knew this was possible," said Kadlik, 19, of Medway as epees
> clanged, his teammates whooped in triumph, and coaches barked out
> instructions in the gym of Perkins School for the Blind.
>
> "I'm on Twitter, and I mentioned to my followers and friends that I was
> going to be in a fencing tournament and I had ten replies saying 'Blind
> people can fence? Really? No way!' Yeah, anything is possible."
>
> Kadlik duels Monday in what's being billed as a first-of-its kind match
> between students at schools for the blind _ Perkins and The Carroll Center
> for the Blind in nearby Newton.
>
> The match was the brainchild of Perkins fencing instructor Cesar Morales,
> founder of the International Fencing Club in suburban Boston and also a
> teacher at the Newton school. Morales said the students got bored fencing
> against the same people week after week and needed outside challenges.
>
> Fencing teaches the balance, agility, mobility, timing, listening and
> navigational skills that the blind need to make their way in the
> sight-oriented world, said Peggy Balmaseda, a physical education teacher 
> at
> Perkins for 25 years.
>
> "This helps with orientation," said Kadlik, who lives on his own in an
> apartment on the Perkins Watertown campus. "When you're walking along, and
> you come to a crosswalk, you need to stay in a straight line to cross the
> street, and learning to stay straight in fencing reinforces that feeling."
>
> The Carroll Center has been teaching fencing to its students for exactly
> those reasons since 1954, said vice president Arthur O'Neill. But to his
> knowledge, this is the first time there has been a fencing match with
> another school.
>
> About a half-dozen students from each school will compete.
>
> Any kind of physical activity benefits the blind and visually impaired, 
> said
> Mark Lucas, executive director of the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes
> based in Colorado Springs, Colo.
>
> The organization oversees competition for the blind in sports including
> cycling, swimming, skiing, and judo, but Lucas said he's never heard of a
> fencing tournament for the blind, perhaps because it takes so much 
> hand-eye
> coordination.
>
> "This sounds like a wonderful opportunity," he said.
>
> Blind and visually impaired people who participate in sports tend to be 
> more
> competitive and higher achievers, Lucas said.
>
> "The unemployment rate for the blind nationwide is something like 70
> percent, but we surveyed our members and found that it's more like 30
> percent for those involved with sports," he said.
>
> For the Perkins fencers, fencing is just plain fun and proves that the 
> blind
> can do anything the sighted can.
>
> "I'm not limited by the way I am," said Perkins student Sam Robson, 17, of
> Westport, Conn., who also wrestles, swims and runs track. He said he's 
> lived
> his life facing skepticism about his abilities.
>
> "Don't tell me I can't walk across the street by myself," he said. "I can 
> do
> that. Don't tell me I can't fence. I can do that. I think it's a big
> statement that can show people we are not afraid."
>
> Minh Farrow, 21, the only woman on the Perkins team, said she was inspired
> to try fencing by her younger brother. "I just do it because it's fun," 
> she
> said.
>
> There are no special rules and no greater risk of injury for the blind
> students, Morales said. They wear the same protective jackets and headgear
> as sighted fencers. They start with their weapons touching, then fence on
> command from the officials, just like a fencing bout for the sighted. 
> There
> are no verbal cues from coaches, and they use the same electronic scoring
> devices that buzz and light up when a fencer touches the tip of their 
> weapon
> to their opponent's torso or head.
>
> To keep the blind fencers oriented, Morales uses a rectangular carpet much
> like the "strip" sighted fencers use.
>
> Kadlik, blind since birth, uses his other senses to judge the movements 
> and
> distance to his opponent. He listens for their movements, feeling the
> vibrations of their footsteps through the carpet.
>
> "You can feel the guy step, you know which way he's stepping, and as long 
> as
> you follow his blade, you are in good shape," he said.
>
> Even administrators at the school are getting into it. Perkins President
> Steven Rothstein has a friendly lunch wager with his counterpart, Michael
> Festa, at the Carroll Center.
>
> "We take our competition very seriously here at Perkins."
>
> ___
>
> On the Web: Perkins School, http://www.perkins.org/
>
> Carroll Center, http://www.carroll.org/
>
> U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, http://www.usaba.org
>
> International Fencing Club, http://internationalfencingclub.com
>
>
> Kim Lookingbill
> seadolphink at comcast.net
>
>
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