In William Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor the character Rugby declares “Alas sir, I cannot fence.” Well Rugby could certainly take a leaf out of the book of Blues Fencer, Philip Birget.
Heralding from his native Luxembourg, Birget, a first year undergraduate at St Peter’s studying Biology, only took up the sport at the age of thirteen. Inspired by his grandmother, he began to fence for his local club in Luxembourg and within the space of a year, his rapid progress had seen him move from the local stage into the international arena. As a junior, he enjoyed further success in local competitions and was ranked number seventy in the world. The inspiration behind his success was twofold: firstly, his grandmother and secondly, his coach, whom he describes as being like a “father figure”.
Having successfully gained entrance into the University, in the matter of a few months, Birget successfully fenced his way into the University Men’s Firsts Fencing team. He is one of many undergraduates in a team made up predominantly of graduates, something which “is helping to keep the sport alive in Oxford”.
When talking about fencing, he does so with enthusiasm and energy. Specializing in Épée, he emphasizes the importance of the three ‘Rs’: rapidity, reaction and reflex. Despite the rapid nature of fencing, where attack is cancelled out by counterattack and where fencers are vulnerable at any time, he stresses the need for a calm approach. When analyzing his opponents he looks to exploit their weaknesses and lure them into making mistakes. In other words, “Fencing is like high speed chess.”.
Just over two weeks ago he enjoyed his proudest moment as a Blues Fencer as his inspirational performance in the Varsity Match, saw him single-handedly steal victory for the Épée team from the jaws of defeat. As for the immediate future, his focus is very much on representing Luxembourg in the annual European fencing tournament in Hiedenhiem, Germany, in March. Nevertheless, he does harbour concerns about the future of fencing especially in his native Luxembourg where, despite once being a hub of fencing activity, currently fewer than 120 fencers actively fence.
With all the tradition and historical background of fencing, it would be a great shame to see the sport relegated to insignificance. Nonetheless, with committed people like Birget in the world of Fencing, the sport can only go from strength to strength.
