Issaquah’s world champion coach attracts elite fencers
November 8, 2011
By Christina Corrales-Toy
Wang Yung brought home gold for the Americans at the 2011 World Veteran Fencing Championship held in Croatia. Contributed
Fencers from around the country travel to the Washington Fencing Academy in Issaquah just to train with Wang Yung.
That’s because Yung is one of the best saber coaches in the country. He’s trained national and world champions, all while still competing in the sport himself.
Yung recently brought home the gold medal after competing in the World Veteran Fencing Championship in the 60-69 age division.
Entered in the men’s saber category, Yung was very pleased with the win. His competition has included past world champions.
“The opponent I beat for the gold is an extremely, extremely competent fencer,” Yung said. “He was on the British Olympic team. So, beating him was very satisfying.”
Yung is an expert with the saber, one of three weapons commonly used in fencing. Saber fencing is unique in that points can be scored by hitting the opponent with the side of the blade, as well as the point of the blade. Fencing with a saber requires great body control and quick movements.
“Saber is much more athletic,” Yung said. “That’s why you see the fencers leaving the ground a lot.”
Ellen O’Leary, one of Yung’s students, lives in Atlanta, but makes the trek to Issaquah to train with him a few times a year. She took home a silver medal at the World Veteran Fencing Championship, but hopes to win gold next year.
O’Leary said Yung’s coaching style suits her perfectly.
“He doesn’t yell. He does not criticize, he directs. He instills confidence in the student,” she said.
Yung loves competing. He’s been doing so since 1969. But he’s just as satisfied sitting on the sidelines and coaching his students.
“I like coaching because I know a lot and I like to see my students improve,” he said. “It’s about sharing something that you love with people.”
Serge Timacheff, a co-founder of the Washington Fencing Academy, said that Yung is an asset to an already accomplished coaching staff that works at the Issaquah training center.
“We have a very strong diversity of coaching,” Timacheff said. “Wang continues that tradition in terms of providing links to a wide variety of people in a number of areas of fencing, both domestically and internationally.”
Timacheff also praised Yung’s coaching philosophies and the way he works with students.
“He’s a very detailed, personal coach,” he said. “He’s very involved with individual development. He also is somewhat of an intellectual type of personality. So, he’s not only into the physical, but also the mental aspects of the development. He’s able to really help people understand what fencing’s all about, not just going through the motions, but to really understand what it is, not only to fence, but to be a fencer.”
Yung encourages everyone to give fencing a try. He coaches people of all skill levels and ages.
“I think anyone can fence. Fencing is a sport that does not require brute force,” he said. “The most important thing about fencing is that you need to be intelligent, have really good discipline and have great body control.”
For Yung, being able to coach at the Washington Fencing Academy has been a great experience. Yung gets to fence, but more importantly, he gets to share his passion with his students.
Christina Corrales-Toy is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
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