Sunlight glitters on the veranda as a fencer takes a tentative step forward and begins a daunting attack on an opponent. The sound of metal on metal rings out as their blades meet again and again. Suddenly, the fencer lunges forward, scoring a point.Remember that epic scene in “The Princess Bride” where Inigo Montoya and the man in black are nimbly dancing amidst the cliff-top ruins, crossing blades? If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at swashbuckling battles, here’s your chance. Guilford’s new fencing club makes it possible for Guilfordians to learn the exciting sport.

Junior Damian Romney will be the president of the new club. Romney has a background in fencing.

“(My brother) was a fencer for several years before I was. Kind of a legacy thing, I guess,” Romney said, describing how he got into fencing. “My mom would stick pipes in the ground and we would take them and beat each other up.”

The club’s first meeting took place on Sept. 11 and began with a half-hour lesson on footwork in which the participants practiced moving and lunging, imaginary blades thrust forward in their fists, with Romney and vice president Colleen Hayes, a sophomore, guiding them.

Afterwards, Romney and Hayes suited up in fencing regalia and performed a mock duel for eager onlookers, explaining their techniques as they battled.

“There are three different weapons: foil, épée, and sabre. Foil has a target area which is just your torso, excluding your arms and head. In épée, you can hit from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet and everywhere in between. In sabre, you can only hit the torso, the head and the arms,” Romney said, demonstrating.

He plans to begin lessons with foil. “Foil is more complicated rule-wise,” Romney said, “but I think it’s a good beginner weapon.”

Following the duel, the onlookers cheered excitedly and crowded in to question Romney and Hayes more about their experience and the sport.

First-year Nicholas Lowry said, “I like it. I’ve always been interested in learning how to fence and duel with swords.”

Romney and Hayes’ first goal for the club is to teach people at Guilford how to fence. Secondly, they’d like to host tournaments, starting with the UNCG fencing team and private fencing clubs around Greensboro.

“I think it would be prudent if the fencing club could host bouts against other schools, be it against teams or other clubs,” junior Drew O’Donnell said.

In order to start hosting tournaments with Guilfordian fencers, Guilford needs some skilled fencers who understand the three types of Olympic fencing.

Both Romney and Hayes agreed that the footwork is essential. The club’s first few meetings will focus mainly on the footwork.

“Most people think that fencing is about playing with blades, but my personal philosophy is that it’s all about the footwork,” said Hayes. “It doesn’t matter how good you are with a blade if someone is two feet in front of you attacking. If you don’t know how to move, it won’t matter if you’re good with a blade.”

En garde, Guilfordians!