SEATED next to a fencing strip, Edward J Kaihatsu, a Japanese-American fencing coach, is all eyes as he watches his young fencers launch into a barrage of attacks during a fencing competition in Shanghai.

Kaihatsu, who has been coaching American universities and colleges since the 1980s, is in Shanghai since October at the invitation of SECA Academy, which recently staged the first SECA Fencing School League Tournament in the Pudong New Area.

The tournament attracted 92 students from schools in Shanghai and Suzhou who vied for titles in four categories in group competitions.

The highlight of the event was, of course, the tournament’s affiliation with the American-based National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a first step toward global recognition.

Kaihatsu was the director of the Shanghai tournament and also agreed to take up a coaching role at the academy until June.

“Foreign kids are more active, while Chinese children appear to be more physical and aggressive in competitions,” he told Shanghai daily. Apart from coaching, Kaihatsu’s main task over the next few months will be to instill NCAA’s rules and ideas among local young fencers.

“We will reach out to the local fencing and education associations, contact schools with fencing clubs, and organize NCAA-sanctioned competitions for young fencers,” said Kaihatsu.

NCAA is a dominant collegiate athletic organization in the US, which regulates student-athletes of over 1,000 institutions, conferences and organizations. It organizes athletic programs and competitions among colleges and universities in the US and Canada.

NCAA has set 23 sports championships. American football, baseball, men’s basketball and ice hockey are among the most popular ones.

Fencing is one of the association’s 10 non-ball sports, with over 40 NCAA members setting up teams and competing regularly.

“NCAA is the world’s best developed collegiate athletic association,” said Liu Yu, CEO of SECA Academy. “We hope the introduction of NCAA and its management ideologies can help inspire the development of China’s youth sport.

“Chinese athletes usually follow the development mode of graduating from a sports academy before being recruited into a professional team. With NCAA mode, we are attempting to build a training and competition platform for the sport of fencing among local schools,” Liu added.

The introduction of NCAA-sanctioned coach and rules was the first step.

Unlike the FIE-sanctioned rules that govern international events like world cups, world championships and the Olympic Games, NCAA-sanctioned rules put more emphasis on the individual ability of a fencer.

In the relay event, competed under FIE rules, each bout consists of 5 hits. The first two opponents from two teams duel until one of them scores 5 hits. The next two opponents battle until one of them scores 10 hits. The team that scores the maximum 45 hits becomes the winner. Even if a fencer loses in one bout, his or her teammate can win it for them in the following bouts.

“However, according to NCAA, every bout is important,” explained Kaihatsu. “Each team that scores 5 hits first takes the bout, and the side that claims five bouts out of nine are the winners. It means every single fencer needs to be competitive, and their losses cannot be made up by his or her teammates.”

Kaihatsu admitted that compared to mainstream sports, fencing under NCAA has failed to spark big interest. Equipment costs and the relatively small nature of the sport have also limited it to a small number of schools.

“But it also means that mastering fencing is probably a shortcut for students seeking admission into American universities,” said Kaihatsu. “NCAA institutions offer scholarships to student-athletes from around the world. Since fewer students take up fencing, those good at the sport stand a better chance of getting into universities.

“Those familiar with NCAA-sanctioned tournaments will definitely be more comfortable in a new environment.”

“Fencing is an intellectual sport where desire and motivation are more important compared to physical conditions,” said Kaihatsu. “Asian fencers are no less competitive compared to their taller European counterparts, because height and strength are not the key factors in the sport. You just need to be smart, and then work hard.”

For the young fencers competing at the SECA Fencing School League Tournament, the interest for fencing was the major reason they took up the sport.

“It’s fun compared to other sports I had tried,” said Andrew Goh, a seventh grade student of Shanghai American School, who helped his team win the foil group competition at the tournament.

The 11-year-old started taking fencing courses at SECA Academy about eight months ago, and soon became a key member of his school team.

Goh’s mother Fiona Liang, who has been companying her son for trainings and competitions, has seen the huge changes in her son since he joined the academy.

“He never had any interest in sports until his first fencing class,” Liang said.

“He became so devoted that he would spend all his spare time watching and learning about the sport from videos that he downloaded from the Internet. His self-confidence has been boosted. The better he does in the sport, the more motivation he gains in learning and training.”

According to Liang, Goh takes five to six fencing classes every week, and each class lasts for two hours. “He was nicknamed Kungfu Panda by his coaches because of his chubby figure, but is also a quick learner,” she said.

Apart from the boost in self-confidence, Liang thinks the experiences of the competition, and the understanding of sportsmanship, would do good to develop Goh’s personality.

“We once encountered bad judgments by referees in a competition,” said Liang. “I told my son that unfairness is sometimes part of sports and life. We can do nothing but make ourselves even stronger and simply learn to dominate the opponent.”

Learning fencing is costly, but Liang thinks it is worth the money spent.

Apart from the 48,000 yuan (US$7,512) yearly membership fee at the academy, Goh’s parents spend 1,000 yuan per week on Goh’s personal trainer.

Equipment like helmets, shoes and blades cost 1,000 to 3,000 yuan each.

“A child should be accompanied by one sport during his formative days, which eventually develops into a life-long hobby,” said Liang.