【明報專訊】Fencing has brought Rain not only honours but also friendship. It has perhaps earned him an admirer too!

Leung Chin Yu, Rain (梁千雨), a form one student at Diocesan Boys' School (拔萃男書院), is a fencing athlete that represents his school and Hong Kong. "My brother said fencing was fun. Playing with a sword sounded cool to me," said Rain, who began doing fencing when he went to Stewards Pooi Kei Primary School (培基小學).

Fencing has brought Rain valuable friendships. "We primarily play against each other, but we would chat with one another after the games, and many of us have become friends!"

One of Rain's long-time friends is Jankin (鄧誌信). They have known each other since kindergarten, and are each other's training buddy. The two started fencing in primary one. "I'm tired!" said Jankin after a match with Rain in a fencing class at school. Jankin likes to lure his opponent into attacking him and look for opportunities to strike back. "I think that is an easier way to gain points," he said.

Rain has to practise three days a week and two to three hours a day. In January this year, he felt pain in his ankles. Intensive training had caused wear and tear in them. "I didn't feel any pain during the game because I focused on it. When I got home I began to feel it." In April 2016, when he was a primary six student, he competed at the All Hong Kong Inter-Primary School Fencing Competition (全港小學校際劍擊比賽) and won the championship in the Boys A grade Foil (花劍) event and third place in the Boys A grade Sabre (佩劍) event.

「MoMo: What an intense and exciting game between Jankin and Rain! 」

Come on! Do your best!

Fencing is one of the oldest games. The earliest evidence of fencing comes from an Egyptian carving in a temple near Luxor, Egypt (埃及樂蜀). That temple was built around 1190 BC (over 3,000 years ago). Fencing began to gain popularity in the 17th century. It is a sport that incorporates agility, strength, coordination, balance and timing.

■ Key words

swordsmanship 劍術

sword 劍

fencing 劍擊

■ English highway﹕

strike back

To strike back at a person is to try to harm him in return for an attack or injury you have received from him.

e.g.Eason threatened to strike back against the Smarties.

■ Glossary

kindergarten (n) 幼稚園

lure (v) 引誘

opponent (n) 對手

ankle (n) 腳踝

intensive (adj) 密集的

incorporate (v) 包含

agility (n) 敏捷

coordination (n) 協調