Ten students of the blade put their skills to the test on Tuesday, June 24, during Cariboo Bladed Combat's third annual year-end tournament.
Held at the 100 Mile House Community Hall, the tournament drew around a dozen spectators to watch the tournament. The students were broken up into two groups of five, with the top two of each group facing each other in the semi-finals and finals. Tristan Feissli, the club's president and head instructor, said it was a great finale for the club's season.
"At the beginning of the season, we had a fair amount of Grade 12s who moved away, so we lost a fair amount of members. We were surprised that they got quickly replaced by new people joining in," Feissli said. "Every time we have the end of the season tournament, there are some veterans, but there is also a fair amount of rookies who still compete really well and give it their all."
Cariboo Bladed Combat was founded three years ago by Feissli and fellow swordplay instructor TJ Grabowiecki. Every Tuesday at the 100 Mile House Community Hall, the group meets for two hours of longsword fencing lessons. All are welcome to attend, with the club boasting a wide range of community members from teenagers in high school up to middle-aged business owners. Feissli said the club had around 25 members signed up this year, with around 17 showing up consistently.
On Tuesday night, the fighter who took home gold was Riad Hess, a piano teacher and father of five, who beat out Joe Wieduwilt in the finals. Paul Bingham and Neil VanderHorst took third and fourth, respectively, in the semi-finals.
Hess said he joined Cariboo Bladed Combat as an extracurricular to take part in that was just for himself. He remarked wryly that he doesn't enjoy lifting weights and he wanted to find a fun activity that he could look forward to doing. When he came across a poster advertising Cariboo Bladed Combat in December of 2024, he decided to give the club a try.
"I've always been interested in Robin Hood, King Arthur and his knights, those old school books, so when I saw this in the Save-On-Foods I thought 'well that sounds like fun!'" Hess recalled. "I went and saw it and I keep coming back. I love it, it's the highlight of my week."
During his first session with the club, Hess said he had a great exercise but ended up throwing up outside halfway through. After that, he realized it was a sport that is as physically exerting as you want it to be.
Hess kept with it and began to hone his skills over the last few months, learning how to attack, parry and defend himself. During that time, Hess realized there's a lot more strategy that goes into swordplay than at first glance.
"No matter what your age, what your height, strength or reach, everybody has a fair chance. I can have a very good fight with a 13-year-old just as I can with the instructor," Hess said. "You get taught certain techniques, but everyone has their own fighting style. You learn yours and other people's. Sun Tzu said 'don't win the battle the same way twice.' Tactics is as much a part of it as speed and patience."
Feissli agreed with Hess' assessment, noting that during the regular season, the club's members are good about respecting one another's abilities and ensuring everyone has fun. During the tournament, however, he said they play to win, which makes for some exciting bouts.
"The tournament itself went very well. A lot of people we didn't see coming actually got a fair amount of wins. There are some people who are not always the most intense at the practice, so it would be easy to deem they don't take it seriously as such. All of a sudden, they show you all the skills and moves you've been trying to teach them have been assimilated and they're able to use them," Feissli remarked. "As a coach, you like to see those kinds of moves start to be applied."
Winning the tournament was special for Hess, noting that in addition to his wife and children, his parents came out to watch him compete. He said the gold medal he received is the first thing he's won since he was a child.
"I feel like a child right now," Hess remarked with a smile.
With one win under his belt, Hess said he plans to take part in the club again next year. He noted that it's a sport his children could do when they get older and he's hopeful they'll consider joining. He also said he would encourage anyone with an interest in the club to consider coming out to a practice when they get going again in September.
"Come and have fun. Come out and see, it's more fun than you'd imagine," Hess said. "I appreciate Tristan and the other instructors. They keep coming year after year and it's nice to be able to count on something to go to on a Tuesday night. It keeps me out of trouble."
Looking ahead to next year, Feissli said they are just about at capacity for the amount of equipment, including practice swords, pads and fencing masks. He encourages anyone who is considering joining to go to Cariboo Bladed Combat's Facebook page to find out more.
"We've reached the point where the hall is exactly the right size for the number of people we have showing up," Feissli said. "Before we get into September and find out what the turnout is going to be, we're not going to advertise too much. The club is healthy, we keep having a consistent amount of practitioners and they're all putting in their best effort."
