Meet The Engineer Who Founded Penang’s Only Fencing Studio & Is Trying to Revitalise the Sport

For this writer personally, the sport caught their attention when South Korean fencer Kim Jun Ho appeared on the popular reality TV program The Return of Superman with his son Eun Woo. Due to a lack of a strong fencing culture in Malaysia unfortunately, most of us are probably unfamiliar with the sport.

However, 28-year-old Kenny Cheah is trying to introduce fencing to everyone here in Malaysia, specifically in Penang by establishing the island’s only official place for fencing, Fencing Zone. Kenny is a full-time Engineer by day, and a fencing coach by night (or well, after hours). Although Fencing Zone was founded by Kenny, he has a group of friends helping him out and he says, “As long as I can cope, I’d be happy to do both.” Rojak Daily reached out to Kenny to speak with him about his new venture.

Stepping into the World of Fencing

Kenny is a veteran in the sport with 16 years of experience, “I started fencing at the age of 12. Back then, we trained at the hall of Pykett Methodist School (now MCKL College). What got me into fencing was how it requires the intelligence of the game of chess, the physicality of a martial artist, and the grace of a ballerina.”

Over the years, he has also amassed a number of accolades and medals, representing Malaysia on a couple of occasions in the South East Asian Fencing Federation Championships 2009 and the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2009. He also bagged two bronze medals in SUKMA under the Men's Foil and Men's Epee category.

Speaking about the lack of awareness about fencing in Malaysia, Kenny commented, “My best guess would be that we fencers are super shy. In all seriousness, perhaps the impression is that the barrier of entry is higher compared to other sports. The impression is that the student needs to practice the footwork for months before holding the weapon and another few months before fencing.

“For that reason, I would usually teach the basics on the first day and let them fence. How would you know what it is about if you've not tried it? Let them pick up the nuances as they go,” he continued.

Advancing Fencing in Penang

Fencing has been in Penang since the year 2002 when The Penang Fencing Association was founded back in 2002 by Dato' Seri Kenny Ong and the late Mr. Lim Peng Jin, he shared, “In 2008, we had about 18 to 20 of us who would train every single day, sometimes 8 times a week, in the halls of Pykett Methodist School.” He elaborated that many fencers have walked the path but each time there were no more than 20 of them.

“The journey leading up to starting a club really happened in 2012 when my coach left for other opportunities and all of us needed to figure things out on our own. Being the most experienced at that time, I would come in for training an hour and a half earlier to train myself and when the rest arrived, I would guide them to the best of my knowledge. That really opened me up to coaching which, if you think about it, is needed to start a club.”

“Coaching can be really fulfilling as you go from teaching them the basics to one day having to make a tremendous effort to fence against them! It's the ability to share the same passion and be there for their journey.”

“As I was pursuing my tertiary education, there were always people looking for a place to fence here in Penang. I thought once I started working, fencing would be a thing of the past, but then came the fencers from Chung Ling [high school] who reached out to me to coach them. So that became a weekend thing and you’d be surprised that Penangites actually want to fence! So, it’s really one thing that led to another, keeping the fire alive that made me decide to start a place for fencing, thus Fencing Zone.”

Having Their Work Cut Out for Them

“Starting a fencing studio, or rather, a fencing club, was always at the back of my mind, but never would I have thought it was achievable!”

“Finding space to start Fencing Zone was not easy at all given the limited budget. We needed a space that had high ceilings, long enough to fit the piste (14 meters) and more importantly conducive for younger students to be around. It took days and weeks of scrolling through websites, 2 days of round island drives, walking into random shady buildings and feeling creeped out to be able to find the current place we have.”

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How Much Does Fencing Cost & What Training Sessions Are Like

For those who want to try out fencing for themselves, the entry-level equipment costs around RM1500 or so and will last several years. Fees for the whole month at the Fencing Zone are RM250 for fencers to come fence once a week. The fees may vary depending on the students' requirements, the frequency of sessions, and even private sessions.

Kenny also shared what a typical training session is like for a fencer, “Typically we start off with warm-ups, followed by footwork and bladework drills. Once that is done, we'd go on with the learning objective of that day which usually comes in the form of a pairing activity. As we draw closer to competitions, we increase the frequency of free fencing to gain momentum.”

Since the club kicked off in June 2023, Fencing Zone now has 30 members, 23 kids and teenagers as well as seven adults.

Setting Sights on SUKMA

For those who want to be assured that they’re in good hands, Kenny affirms to us that they are affiliated with the Penang State Sports Council (Majlis Sukan Negeri) through the Penang association.

“I’ve been in the Penang Fencing Association since I was 12, and with the encouragement from both founders to take a more active role in Penang Fencing Association, I'm currently the Vice President of the Association with Dato' Seri Kenny Ong as our President.”

Fencing Zone currently has 12 contenders training for the upcoming SUKMA. To qualify for the program, the fencers have to train five times a week and have competed in an under 19 national level competition.

“Fencers came and went over the years for the lack of a program especially when fencing was left out of SUKMA. Now that fencing is back in SUKMA, we're really picking up the pace, and hopefully, we'll be able to start more programs in schools this coming year.”

We also asked Kenny what the goal for Fencing Zone is, perhaps… The Olympics? “The goal of the club is twofold - One is to grow the community here in Penang to perhaps 100 people in the next two years (hopefully even more after that) and to pave the way for the children and fencers to pursue further education through fencing and sports scholarships which would mean at least winning a medal on the national level.”

Allez! We’re really thinking about giving fencing a go ourselves!

For further information, visit the Fencing Zone’s Instagram page or follow them on Facebook.

Address: 1-2-13A The Sun @ Sungai Nibong, Tingkat Bukit Kecil 2, Kampung Sungai Nibung Besar, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang

Image credit: Fencing Zone, Kenny Cheah