For anyone whose New Year’s resolution is to start exercising but isn’t motivated by the thought of walking on a treadmill, the Chattanooga Fencing Club has two words for you: “En garde!”

The Chattanooga Fencing Club was founded in 2002. The club founders and board members are Richard Breon, Andrew Breon, John Greenfield, Mattie Kertay and Paul Smith.

From humble beginnings that necessitated a $1,000 grant from the city, the nonprofit club has grown in membership and now routinely has 30-40 members show up at the Belvoir Christian Academy gymnasium Wednesdays from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Information about the club and news about fencing and can be found at chattanoogafencing.com.

“The Internet has been our largest source of growth,” said Richard Breon, the club’s president during its first six years. “We’re big on word of mouth, too. We’re one of the fastest growing sports. It is the fastest growing women’s sport in the United States. We’ve tripled our membership in the last year, and a lot of those are females.”

The Chattanooga Fencing Club’s mission is to bring together people who share old-world values of honor through competition in a historic sport that still has values today. The club aims to build character, individuality and strength, instilling a sense of self in someone learning to be a humble winner and a gracious loser.

Breon said members are 8 years old and up. Current president Rick Kephart, who moved to the Chattanooga area from Orlando, Fla., is the oldest current member at 54.

“There’s a lot of overlap with martial arts,” Kephart said. “I was into that at one time, then got into this because one of my students was a fencer. There were a couple of 90-year-olds fencing where I came from in Orlando. It’s a sport for a lifetime.”

Competition is offered in all three of the sport’s weapons: foil, epee and sabre. Officials emphasize that the local club includes all levels of expertise, from novice to advanced. The resident teacher is Paul Smith, a five-time state champion. His son, David, is the club’s armorer and does repair work on the swords.

“I started fencing when I was 19,” Paul Smith said. “Now I’m 48 and I’m grateful I can still compete. There’s not a whole lot of sports where you can say that.”

Heather McPherson also teaches at the club and regularly offers lessons in Tiftonia for high school students.

“Normally I work with Paul, giving the basics once someone gets involved,” McPherson said. “I really try to help people that don’t have much experience. You adjust to the level of the person you’re fencing with. You’re constantly teaching, trying to get them to be a better fencer. Nobody’s bullying anybody.”

The club’s montly dues, which top out at $25, are essentially donations. The club in turn buys equipment and furnishes gear to newcomers, although most who have an ongoing interest end up buying their own.

In the beginning the club gathered at the indoor tennis facility at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Breon said the organization was grateful that UTC allowed them the space, but the hardwood floors at Belvoir Christian are a welcomed relief from concrete.

Back then club members did “dry” fencing. These days their scoring is monitored electronically.

Belvoir Christian also permits the fencers to store their equipment at the school. The club now owns four fencing strips, and each has two reels, two floor cords and a scoring box.

“I can remember when we could carry everything we had in one bag,” Breon said.

Last August it hosted a clinic that featured two of the sport’s rising stars in brothers Brian and Chris Cheney from Dickson, Tenn.

“We don’t get to fence with many Olympic hopefuls,” Kephart said.

Because the club is a member of the United States Fencing Association, conceivably someone could emerge from its roots and become an Olympic champion like Mariel Zagunis from Portland, Ore. But as the city’s only public fencing club, they’re happy to welcome anyone, including those just looking for a different way to burn off some calories.

“It’s a physically challenging, mental game,” Breon said. “We’ve had children come in for lessons and the next thing you know the whole family is fencing. We encourage people to jump in and try it. A lot of them find they really enjoy it. All we’re trying to do is make it fun and easy for people to fence.”

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