By Elizabeth Sims
Enterprise Editor
Most little boys have pretended they are a brave knight riding into battle with a gleaming sword drawn at one point in their lives. Typically, those daydreams fade with time and these boys grow up to exchange their imaginary swords for footballs and hockey sticks.
However, junior Derek Weix has found a way to keep his childhood fascination with swords alive through the unusual sport of fencing.
“When he was little, he always had a pretend sword. He would make his toys into a sword, and no matter where we went, whether it was the zoo or the amusement park, his souvenir was always a sword,” mother Marian Weix said. “He played soccer from the time that he was 4 to about 10 and we decided it was time for a change so he and his dad started looking at clubs.”
At just 9 years old, Derek began fencing foils at the Fencing Institute of Texas in Farmers Branch. After a few years, Derek wanted to switch to another style of
fencing called saber so his family began searching for a more saber-focused fencing club.
“I wanted to switch to saber because it is so quick that a lot of it is just reactions,” Derek said.
The family found the Dallas Fencers Club, which has recently changed its name to Husar Fencing School, and Derek began training under lifelong fencer Waldek Czaja.
“I have been Derek’s coach for about four years. When he first came to me, he was a foil fencer with a saber in his hand,” Czaja said. “He is one of the top cadets and on his way to being a top junior and has potential to be one of the top fencers in Dallas.”
At Husar Fencing School, students not only learn the skills and techniques necessary to excel in the sport, but they are taught life lessons.
“We emphasize four things: first is God, second is family, third is school and fourth is up to you. I want them to learn how to have strong relationships and learn these things through fencing,” Czaja said. “It’s all about building that strong foundation and teaching them honesty and hard work are the best ways to succeed.”
As his coach, Czaja has seen many of these qualities come out of Derek.
“Derek is very intelligent and uses his brain to serve others. He has really become one of the leaders in my class,” Czaja said.
His mother has also seen several changes in her son, both physically and mentally, that have shaped his personality.
“Physically, he has always been fairly athletic but now he is in incredible shape. Mentally, he is more focused and he has become more of a leader,” Marian said. “He has always been mature for his age but now he helps the younger fencers and has been asked to be captain of the team at competitions. He is very passionate
about the sport but can be grounded and keep his emotions in check.”
Derek employs this maturity and mental toughness when preparing for competitions and refocusing himself.
“It’s called physical chess for a reason. A lot of the preparation goes into practices. Often times before competitions I will meditate,” Derek said.
Through this sport, the Weix family has found they have become closer as they travel the country from competition to competition and support Derek.
“I think letting him become who he wants to become has been huge for him. We provide for him financially and support him,” Marian said. “We have travelled all over the country for competitions and provide him emotional support when things don’t go so well and celebrate when he wins. It has given us a lot of one-on-one time with him.”
As far as continuing beyond high school, Derek has found a passion in the sport that he plans to pursue for a lifetime.
“This is something I plan to do, hopefully, for my entire life. Certainly not professionally, though, because it is not a good money making business,” Derek said. “It is excellent exercise and I find it fun and it’s just cool to fight people with swords.”
