Sports Hero

Fencing

Head Coach of Fencing Arena Wong Ho-yin

Since Cheung Ka-long won his gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the city has soon had a mania for fencing.  Fencing seems to be a simple sport, with two players competing with swords in the playing area and scoring by touching the opponent.  In fact, it is much more complicated than it first appears, in a sense that there are different types of fencing, each with respective scoring methods and tactics.  Wong Ho-yin, the head coach of Fencing Arena and a retired fencer, acutely recognises the importance of delivering suitable training for athletes.  With years of competition experience and extensive knowledge in the sport, he has devoted himself to coaching.  Tailor-made tactics are devised for students based on individual merits and strengths, thereby helping them achieve the best and secure notable successes in competitions.

 

Wong was introduced to fencing by his secondary school teacher.  He thought that fencing was a novel experience, so he gave it a try by taking an elementary fencing training course organised by the LCSD.  He mocked himself by saying that he was actually no different from other young peers, in a sense that he fell in love with fencing in those early days simply because he looked particularly awesome when in the white suit and with the mask on.  Since then, he has formed a bond with this sport for over two decades.

 

In addition to looking smart, Wong gradually realised that there were other attractions of fencing as well.  He expressed that fencing looked simple with seemingly low skill requirements.  But since he got into this sport, he has deeply understood that it required strength, speed and use of tactics.

While daily practice is indispensable to fencers, the keys to victory turn out to be on-the-spot reactions and judgement.  Athletes adept at making accurate judgement in a game may turn the tide, coming back from behind to seal a win.

 

Looking back, Wong did put in a lot of effort by gritting his teeth through difficult times, eventually thriving and achieving his goals.  He aspired to be a fencer as early as his student years, when he had to squeeze time for training alongside his demanding studies.  Later, he won a scholarship and became an athlete.  His goals have become clearer since then.  He realised that he had no alternatives but to sacrifice leisure time in pursuit of dreams.  Having encountered the ups and downs of his career, he was finally selected to the Hong Kong team, competing in international events such as the World Championships and the Asian Championships, and having an opportunity to receive overseas training.  It is well said that his sacrifice and hard work are not in vain, eventually paying off handsomely.

 

Time flies, and now Wong is retired from his playing career and becomes a coach.  His mentality and manners of handling things are remarkably different to the past.  He pointed out, in particular, that what athletes had to do were simply focus on their performance, concentrate on training and strive towards their goals.  But as a coach, he has to strike a balance among various factors without neglecting any single aspect.  Specifically, he must put himself in students’ shoes, observe their merits and weaknesses, as well as devise targeted training for them accordingly, in a bid to help them achieve their best in competitions.

As a coach, in addition to striving to enhance performance of students, WONG also hopes to increase the public’s access to fencing.  He frankly pointed out that people did not all have the chance to try this sport, even with huge popularity gained among the public on the back of the gold medal success of Cheung Ka-long.  He remarked that he looked forward to doing fencing outdoors, thereby encouraging greater participation from the public in the sport.

 

For WONG, his motto is: “Never say die in relentless pursuit of goals”.  Despite a sharp decrease in the numbers of students and coaches during the epidemic, WONG remained devoted to fencing, and persevered his efforts to hold various fencing courses online, such as those related to footwork and tactical analysis, regardless of the challenges he faced.  In doing so, students would have the opportunity to review what had been learnt, while acquiring new knowledge.  WONG remained undaunted by the seemingly unsurmountable difficulties, and did his utmost to pursue his goal of promoting fencing.  This is exactly what we can learn from his past experience.