Leo He (‘25) may not have mastered the art of fencing, but he’s come pretty close. He began fencing in fifth grade, and his now seven years of practice have taken him far. Recently, he announced his commitment to Johns Hopkins University.
Dream of Fencing
“Fencing is a very mental sport. A lot of people describe it as physical chess. You always try to be one step ahead of your opponent, that matters the most in fencing, and that’s why I always find it engaging,” said He.
When it comes to fencing, He plans to compete for both the school and for himself.
“There’s a NCAA tournament where you usually participate there as a team, but if you do really well you get an invitational tournament that’s individual. It’s for personal glory and my goal is to at least go to that.”
He began fencing after trying a myriad of different options. Ultimately, he settled on fencing, where he’s been ever since.
“Before going into fencing I went through many different sports to see what fit my niche. I tried soccer, badminton, tennis, and even ice skating. Eventually I found fencing which fit me the best because it aligned with most of the skills I had.”
The recruitment process began early for He in June of 2024.
“[Recruitment] really begins when not only your performance, but also your conduct and sportsmanship will be evaluated. As your senior year approaches you reach out to different coaches at different colleges and if you get lucky, they will respond to you and ask for an interview.”
He plans on majoring in biomedical engineering, and will be balancing his major with fencing for Johns Hopkins.
“I would say that fencing does help with fine motor skills. Surgery is about manipulating a blade and I would say that fencing is the same thing.”
