Marlboro's Goldfarb excels in fencing

It's a sport that requires speed and quickness, stamina and mental toughness. And, dedication.

Yet, it is a sport unfamiliar to most. The same attributes that make for an outstanding athlete in any of the varsity sports offered in the Freehold Regional District are what have made Marlboro's Brian Goldfarb a nationally ranked fencer.

Recently, the Marlboro sophomore won the Cadet (Under 17) division in Foil at the New Jersey Division of the U.S. Fencing Association's Junior Olympics held at the Bucks County Academy of Fencing.

"It [fencing] looks really easy but it's not," Goldfarb pointed out. "You have to be fast and have great coordination.

"No one can be great at it right away," he added.

Goldfarb has been fencing for four years. He started, in part, because his older brother, Carl Goldfarb, was a fencer. Carl Goldfarb is now competing for Brandeis University where he is a sophomore.

"I get a kick out of it," said Goldfarb, who competes and trains at Lucchetti Fencing USA in Princeton. "It's a different feeling from all the other sports. It gets the adrenalin going."

There are three different weapons in fencing — foil, épée and saber. Goldfarb competes in foil, which can trace its roots back to medieval times and was used by the nobility to train for duels.

The targets in foil are the torso, back and shoulders. In tournament competition, the first person to five points wins in pool play. When the competition reaches direct elimination, it is the first to 15. Matches are three minutes, but can go to overtime if it is tied.

It's possible to have 10 or more matches during a tournament and that is where conditioning comes in. Goldfarb explained that he could tell if a fencer is conditioned or not, and when he senses it, he attacks.

Besides the physical nature of the sport, it is a very technical one as well.

"There is a lot of strategy that goes into it," said Goldfarb. "A lot of tactical thinking."

That is what a fencer can only gain through experience over time.

Goldfarb described himself as more of a counter-attacker and someone who goes on the attack. He likes to counter the moves made by his opponent.

It's a sport, Goldfarb noted, in which no lead is safe. He recalled trailing 10-1 in a match and coming back to win it, 15-12. He saw a match in that someone had a 14-1 lead and still lost.

"It takes mental toughness," he said. "If you are down, you can't give up."