Local teen Ketki Ketkar's recent bronze medal at an international fencing competition represented the tip of iceberg—a growing fencing community here in Sammamish. For relatively wealthy communities such as ours, parents are very keen on finding activities that pique their kids' interests and allow them to specialize in something for extracurriculars and college applications. Fencing has become an attractive alternative for kids who do not have the height nor size to play traditional sports such as basketball or football. It has also become a surprising forum for gender equality, where girls start out competing at the same level as boys. At the same time, new interest among Asian families has helped to diversify the sport. For this episode, we interview a competitive fencer, a coach, a fencing mom, and our very own editor (who is also a fencer) to talk about why they love playing with swords and what it takes to compete.