CV’s Calvin Liang wins second USA Fencing national title

By Karen Billing

Carmel Valley 13-year-old Calvin Liang is now a two-time USA Fencing national champion. Liang recently bested the field in the men’s youth-12 saber division at USA Fencing’s Summer National Championships held in Atlanta, Ga., from July 4-13.
“I was pretty excited to win because there was a lot of pressure from last year,” said Calvin, an eighth grader at Carmel Valley Middle School. “It was a relief I got to keep [my championship].”
For the past five years, Calvin has traveled all over the country to compete at the national level, including tournaments in Portland, Houston, New Hampshire, Kansas City, St. Louis and Las Vegas. He has found success—winning this year’s North American Cup and racking up the medals displayed on a bulletin board in his home.
“It’s a really fun sport,” Calvin said. “You get to meet a lot of people and you really get a great feeling about it.”
Calvin started fencing at age 7. From a very young age he’d begged his parents to try the sport after seeing a fencing center next to the garden supply store he frequented with his grandfather in the San Francisco area.
From the very first class, Calvin loved to fence.
“You could tell he really understood the game well from a very young age,” said mom Michiko Mitsui. No one else in the family fences—it has been entirely Calvin’s calling.
The family moved down to San Diego when he was in the third grade and he started practicing in Rancho Penasquitos. He has since moved to train at a center in Escondido.
Calvin specializes in the saber category, which includes the complete upper body as targets, including the arms. Other categories are foil, which uses only the torso and back as targets and epee, which has a whole body target. Foil and epee are more stabbing and poking motions, in saber, “you can slash,” Calvin said.
“There’s always techniques or skills that are difficult to master, like really precise hand motions,” Calvin said. “It can get frustrating but if I practice a lot I can normally get it.”
In competition, Calvin carefully analyzes his opponents to figure out the best way to beat them. He tries to change up his style from more aggressive to more defensive to keep his opponents guessing.
Calvin won his championship this year in Atlanta, where 6,000 fencers were competing. More than 100 competitors were in his age group and Calvin said the championship match was very difficult for him to win.
“I had to go all around because my opponent was a good all around person,” Calvin said. “I just adapted quicker.”
This year Calvin will have to move up an age group and expects competition to be fierce. He will continue to practice three to five days a week to perfect his craft, aiming to someday fence for the U.S. team in the Olympics.
“It’s hard work but you have to be really committed if you want to be good,” Calvin said.