She steps up to the red line, adrenaline pumping through her veins, eyes focusing on the massive man in front of her holding a sword that has given her many bruises and aches before. But today is different. Her arm rushes through the air, jabbing with all of her force into his chest, his protective plate rattling with crippling defeat as the match comes to an end.

Grasping a sword that not many grasp, Clarisse Burns is a junior who has recently started fencing at the Austin Fencers Club. Burns wanted to find a sport that respected her independence so she put on the white glove that introduced her to the new sword wielding sport of fencing at the end of last summer.

“I like being on my own and like having to rely on myself especially if I  mess up or something and there is not many sports when you’re not by yourself,” Burns said. “I am sure it does look good for colleges but I don’t know how good you have to be but I really just needed another extra curricular and it might as well be something interesting to me and fun.”

Hannah Danforth explains, that although it seems like just some jabbing motions fencing is  actually more than that.

“Fencing isn’t exactly ostrich racing, but it’s still fairly unique. What’s really special about it is its versatility,” Danforth said. “You can shred it down to the basic touch for a point, but you can also add so many technical and strategic implements that really add to the complexity of the sport.”

Burns was looking for an activity that let her fulfill her love of physical activity and her junior boyfriend Jackson Coats agrees that it is a great sport and also helps to relieve stress.

“I think she is already a well rounded person and fencing adds even more,” Coats said. “Also I feel like having a hobby like fencing can really help people take their mind off of the stressful parts of life and help their state of mind.”

After a long day of stressful classes not many are willing to give up the little amount of free time they have for other activities but her mother, Nieves Burns, says thinks its worth it.

“It is awesome seeing     Clarisse fencing every time. I can see how she uses her hand-eye coordination, balance, concentration, self-control and confidence.  A good fencer bides his time and tries to out think his opponent. It’s like physical chess,” Nievas said.

Fencing is a good balance for Clarisse because  it lets her be independent but still lean and interact with other players, Danforth also agrees.

“There’s no team pressuring me to be better, but there’s the encouragement of fellow classmates to force me to improve just by participating,” Danforth said.

Fencing is a strong mental sport and it takes certain characteristics to stick to it, close friend Amanda Urrutia explains.

“She’s really diligent and she is very persevering, and she won’t let anything or anyone stop her, if she wants to do it she will, even if that takes away time from friends or family or something, she is very hardworking” Urrutia said.

Practice is only once a week but it is a three hour long class and it can be hard to balance it with her other activities like violin in orchestra and academics but with that it has taught her time management.

“When it was on Wednesday it was harder, it’s just up to me to manage my own time so it’s helping me to plan ahead and plan when I am going to do my homework which is a useful skill, Clarisse said. “But it does interfere sometimes but it’s only once a week so it’s not that bad.”

Although the practice can take up a lot of time, after just a few months her mom has already seen improvement.

“She has definitely improved. Her footwork looks much better and her score ‘hits’ or ‘touches’ on her opponent are also better. She is always excited about her next class and I am always excited to see her improve,” Nieves said.

As a beginner, never having picked up the saber before, fencing was not what she expected.

“When I first put on the mask, I felt like I could do anything,  but when we actually started, I realized just how wrong I was. The heat of my breath surrounded me and I could feel myself strapped into the pulley,” Danforth said.

“As my opponent advanced for the first time, I was trapped and couldn’t breathe, it was all I could do to keep myself from running away. But now it’s no big deal, as long as my hair is not in my eyes.”

Clarisse plans on keeping with the sport for a while, she would like to continue through college or at least through high school as long as she’s having fun.

“I definitely would like to be better, it’s going to be a long term thing hopefully and I know I am only a  junior now, but when I look at colleges I am always looking if they have fencing and would love to join it one day and I’d like to go to tournaments in the future,” Clarisse said.  “It’s something that I love and I won’t ever forget what it has taught me.”