{"id":351245,"date":"2026-06-08T04:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T04:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/351245\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T04:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T04:00:25","slug":"essay-panic-turns-to-fun-as-a-high-school-student-tries-a-swordfighting-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/351245\/","title":{"rendered":"Essay: Panic turns to fun as a high school student tries a swordfighting class"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Historic<\/a>A historic sword in the Musumeci Greco Arms Academy in Rome. (Photo by Domenico Stinellis\/Associted Press)<\/p>\n

Have you ever disliked something, only to try it and discover you liked it after all?\u00a0<\/p>\n

I originally disliked swordfighting<\/a> and found it weird. I wanted nothing to do with it, but then the new school year started. We had to pick three options for our \u201cx-block\u201d period. (X-block is what my school, High Tech High, calls an elective.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

Most of the options were only for 11th and 12th graders, so as a new 10th grader, I didn\u2019t have many options. Swordfighting happened to be on there, so I put it as a backup choice, hoping I wouldn\u2019t get in.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I got the email in the middle of class the next day. I instantly panicked. I didn\u2019t know anything about swordfighting. It seemed too rough and weird to me. My friends, the ones who already did this sport, were sitting right next to me, so I showed them the email. They immediately reassured me, telling me everyone there was nice, and filling me in on some basics. It was nice, but it didn\u2019t exactly calm down my panic and internal screaming.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how I got into swordfighting \u2014 my original third choice.<\/p>\n

The next afternoon, I walked in quietly and nervously. Everyone else in the class looked either scary or intimidating. That was my first impression. I ended up having fun that day, because the teacher was very helpful and nice. I learned a lot and ended up meeting new people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the weeks went on, I got more help from others and made new friends. We freshmen were all new to this x-block and sport, and laughed about our failures as we learned together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What surprised me the most was that the experienced, older fighters were the most friendly and helpful. While my freshman friends were more fun, the seniors were the most patient and stuck with you, giving tips.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

They even encouraged me to join the club, and I did. Everyone who was in the club was someone I knew, so we were a close group and helped each other out while\u00a0having friendly competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I learned a lot. For example, there is more to swordfighting than just the sword. They taught me how to use a shield and a javelin, which I found annoying to use, and there are even some pikes for the more advanced or daring fighters. I\u2019m not ready to touch those yet, but I\u2019ve grown more comfortable with the shield and sword combination.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I also like swordfighting because it keeps me active. I\u2019m not much of a competitive person, but having something to do, like a sport, makes me feel better and I get exercise in this way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSword training is an intense aerobic activity. It offers a comprehensive fitness regimen that elevates your heart rate, which in turn improves your cardiovascular endurance. Consistent practice helps burn calories and increases lung capacity,\u201d according to the Sword Experience website<\/a>. \u201cUnlike traditional workouts that isolate muscle groups, sword fighting engages the entire body. Each session improves muscular endurance, stamina and overall conditioning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Swordfighting now gives me three hours and twenty minutes of this all-around conditioning every week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always had a problem with balance and coordination, but sword fighting helps improve those skills for me. I grew faster and quicker, without toppling over. It turns out that swordplay isn\u2019t just good for exercise; it also enhances and improves many other important skills your body has.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It also helps improve my social skills and circles, allowing me to get to know other people I most likely wouldn\u2019t have gotten to know if I hadn\u2019t joined the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The javelin is still annoying to me, but I\u2019m getting used to it.<\/p>\n

Kylie Wisdom\u00a0and she is a 10th-grade student at High Tech High<\/a> in Point Loma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A historic sword in the Musumeci Greco Arms Academy in Rome. (Photo by Domenico Stinellis\/Associted Press) Have you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[143607,10853,137641,74,76,75,143608],"class_list":["post-351245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-elective","tag-exercise","tag-high-tech-high","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-swordfighting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}