Liz Cross started a free fencing program for veterans to help them readjust to civilian life. Fencing provides both physical exercise and mental stimulation through strategy and focus. The program, called Veterans On Guard or The Fencers Club, has 20 veterans and active duty members who meet twice a week to practice epee fencing. In addition to improving skills, the program aims to help veterans integrate into the community and support each other by sharing their experiences. Participating veteran Alberto Cruz has found the program beneficial for staying disciplined and learning from others who served in different wars.

1. Fencing Group for Veterans
By Richard Battista

2. Veterans returning from service
often struggle to readjust to the
life of a civilian. However, finding
a way to bond with fellow
veterans has been proven to be a
successful technique of
reacquainting with everyday life;
veterans going through the same
struggle can work together to
ease into normality.

3. Knowing this, Liz Cross set out to
create a free program that
would allow veterans to meet
and bond, while receiving a fair
bit of exercise to help work
through the frustrations of
previous experiences.

4. According to an article recently
completed by ABC News, when
designing this program, only one
sport came to mind that could
meet all of her requirements.

5. Fencing, which relies heavily on a
combination physical activity and
mental agility, would be the
perfect solution for struggling
veterans and active duty
members.

6. To her, the sport’s emphasis on
strategy, focus, determination
and a strong honor code just
naturally meshed well with the
existing traits of those who
serve; in essence, to Cross, the
sport was a sort of natural
extension on a veteran’s abilities.

7. The group she formed, often
referred to as Veterans On Guard
or The Fencers Club, began last
fall and now holds twenty
veterans and active duty
members. Participants are of all
ages and come from a variety of
wars and branches of the
military.

8. They meet twice a week to
study the epee style of fencing.
In a typical session, participants
engage in conditioning, the
study of footwork and
techniques, as well as lunges,
jumps and arm work.

9. Cross’s goal with the group was
to engage disabled and able-
bodied service members to
integrate into the broader
community, through a variety of
experiences, both involving in
the actual study of fencing, as
well as through the sharing of
stories and knowledge from their
time in the service.

10. Most participating veterans, such
as Alberto Cruz, first heard of the
program through the VA of New
York Harbor’s Healthcare System.
Cruz, a United States Air Force
veteran, has found the club to be
very beneficial; focusing on
fencing allows for a return to
something familiar—discipline.

11. Through the community of
veterans, he has also learned so
many new things, from vets that
served in a variety of different
battlefields and wars; it has been
a very positive means of getting
out frustration and helping others
at the same time.