By Paige Lambert
Gary Van der Wege examined his fencing equipment, ending another week of coaching the ancient sport. He hobbled into his Kyle house, passing memorabilia from his Paralympic years.
He said fencing was always a hobby, picking it back up when he moved to Texas in 1979. He would attend lessons and competitions within Austin.
Fencing developed from sword duels in the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Competitors wear wired suits, which record when a person is struck by a sword.
His hobby came to a standstill when a motorcycle accident severely damaged his right leg. After numerous surgeries, it was an inch shorter than before.
Despite the accident, Van der Wege stayed involved in the sport. After a year of rehabilitation, Van der Wege began giving fencing lessons. He would hold a crutch in one arm and a blade in the other, he said.
“Just moving around was very good training for me,” Van der Wege said. “I can still coach, and I can still do it to an able-bodied extent, but my legs aren’t strong enough to compete.”
At the time, the U.S. Fencing Association had a coaching college in Colorado Springs, where Van der Wege honed his coaching skills.
He also took opportunities to officiate for competitions. While officiating for the 1999 national competition, the U.S. wheelchair fencing coach talked with him about trying for the Paralympics.
“I still had that feeling that I really wanted to compete, and find something that I could compete on an even level,” Van der Wege said. “So I gave it a shot.”
In wheelchair fencing, two competitors sit across from each other thrusting and parrying the other’s blade. Divisions are determined by disability, but the wheelchair is the neutralizing factor, he said.
Van der Wege said the first competition surprised him, describing it as “a knife fight in a phone booth.”
“In able-bodied fencing, you can step back. But in chair fencing, it’s a constant game of in-fighting,” Van der Wege said. ““I got my butt kicked and made me realize it’s harder than it looks.”
Van der Wege kept training, competing in national and international events.
“He never thought about being a wheelchair fencer, but I knew he was a good able-bodied fencer,” said Jerry Benson, former paralympic fencing assistant coach. “But when Gary goes after something goes with all his heart.”
In 2004, he competed in the Athens Paralympics. Deciding to go into retirement, he took up coaching and writing a coaching manual for wheelchair fencing.
“As I did that, I realized there was a lot I hadn’t explored as an athlete,” Van der Wege said. “And I thought it would be interesting to see if I could apply this.”
He rose through the qualifying competitions, eventually going to the 2012 London Games.
After a difficult competition, Van der Wege decided to definitely retire, saying competitions put too much stress on his body.
He went back to coaching, both in small sessions and academic levels. Now he teaches in universities and communities between Austin and San Antonio, including Texas State University.
Last year, Van der Wege completed his wheelchair-fencing thesis. The thesis is now used as a manual and exam to certify able-bodied coaches.
Van der Wege said he will continue coaching and reaching out to other communities such as military and deaf fencers. One of his veteran students, Patricia Dykes, is training to compete in the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Dykes said having a coach who also competed in the paralympics is a huge help to her training.
“He can actually show me how to move and knows what competitions are like,” Dykes said. “It’s not an able-bodied coach jumping into a chair.”
