World-class Fencers in Pint-sized Bodies

It was of all things a TV show that first interested now-10-year-old Ryan Jenkins of San Juan Capistrano in fencing. It sparked her curiosity and she shared it with her twin sister Morgan.

After some research and internet searching, the Jenkins family discovered the Laguna Fencing Center located in Laguna Hills and decided to give it a try.

Flash forward to now, and Morgan and Ryan Jenkins are the only Y10 female saber fencers currently ranked in three nationally recognized age divisions. 

“We had played many different sports, and as soon as we tried fencing, we fell in love with it,” Ryan Jenkins said. “Now when people hear what we do, a lot of them think that we are just fighting with swords, simply trying to stab each other. It is a lot more than that, and there is a lot of hard work that goes into our training.”

“They just showed up to practice a new sport and they fell in love with it, and now I can’t get rid of them,” said Nick Dinu, owner and head coach at  and the girls' coach. “The girls' success is a result of their passion toward training and competitive fencing.

"They have so much fun doing it, are always positive, and their parents are very supportive. That is the magic solution right there: Work hard, have funand have the support.”

The goal of fencing is to cleanly score points on your opponent and not to hack them to pieces, Dinu said. Fencing is an intense mental game, in additional to being physically challenging.

Fencers score touches by either attacking or by hitting after a successful defense. Fencers jockey for an advantage, trying to find the best time to launch an attack, and at the same time, the other fencer is searching for weakness, ready to attack or defend, Dinu said.

“If you don’t have the mental strength, it is so hard for you to do it because you can get so depressed, and you feel like you can’t win any more and can’t do it,” Morgan Jenkins said. “Also, it is also about not thinking about winning,  but being focused on the elements of the match.”

The girls recently competed – against each other – internationally in the Pan American games where Morgan came first and Ryan came second.

“They had no choice to fight each other in the finals because they beat everyone else," Dinu said. "Because they are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country, often they get to fight each other in the finals.”

With the National Championships and July North American Cup for fencing this year scheduled for June 29-July 8 in Anaheim, the girls are excited to compete in their own back yard, and they both have their eyes on the championship.

“My dream for this year is to try to win nationals,” said Ryan Jenkins, “and obviously my sister shares the same dream.”

“It is better to lose to my sister than to lose to someone I don’t know,” said Morgan. “It is not really hard feelings, but of course you get a little bit emotional because you just lost, but on the other hand your sister just won, so you just have to be really happy for them.”

Fencing is a physical game of chess that relies on a combination of speed, agility, creativity, and control, the girls said. One thing that dueling and fencing share is passion; whether fighting for your life or for a medal, fencing requires focusing all of your mental and physical energy on defeating the opponent.

“We have the greatest coach, and without him, none of this would happen,” said Morgan Jenkins. “Everyone here is so supportive; it feels like a big family. The biggest thing I have learned from fencing, it is that you can never give up, because once you give up, it is over. Coach has taught us that you can’t be negative in this sport; you always have to be positive. “