Parents do not, as a rule, encourage fighting among their children. Particularly one-on-one dueling with long pointy sticks. And yet, there was Mary Beth MacLaren last week in Austin, Texas, cheering on her 11-year-old son Rob as he engaged in exactly that type of combat. Of course, when Rob lost a bout at the U.S. Fencing Association's national championships, she would have been upset if he hadn't calmly taken off his mask and shaken his partner's hand. After all, Rob has been trained in the etiquette of the ancient sport since he started fencing at age 5.
At a time...
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