Forget the valiant knights of the Middle Ages. Forget the swashbuckling pirates of the Caribbean. Senior Natalia Heller, a five year fencing veteran, has become the new champion of swordplay at Liberty.

Heller started fencing at age thirteen, when a friend introduced her to the sport. She quickly found that she enjoyed the intensity and quick wit fencing requires.

“I enjoy the complexity of it,” Heller said. “There’s a lot of thinking about what you’re going to do and planning, and it’s a bit like physical chess.”

While few Liberty students participate in fencing, it is actually an international sport. Competitors have the chance to compete on a state level, where they work their way up through the rankings until they are eliminated. However, for Heller, fencing is about much more than poking a few people with a sword, and she recommends that any Liberty student who is interested in fencing give it a shot.

“It teaches you humility, patience, how to roll with the punches,” Heller said. “It teaches you to get knocked back and stand up again.”