COEUR d'ALENE - The swordsmen danced across the gymnasium floor, their weapons flashing as they stabbed and parried.

John Hughes, a tall 18-year-old from Spirit Lake, was the larger of the two fencers. Rangy and long-armed, he attacked with confident precision, scoring a point whenever the tip of his whippy sword - called a foil - found its mark.

"I like the thinking process of (fencing). A lot of tactics," Hughes had said earlier. "I look for what kind of parry they use, and if they're primarily offensive or defensive."

His adversary, Thomas Poon of Beaverton, Ore., was short, bouncy and cat-quick. The fast-paced bout moved back and forth, the opponents searching for any advantage.

After a fierce flurry of action, Hughes maneuvered around Poon and scored his fifth point. The tactics had paid off - Hughes had won the bout.

But the young man wasn't finished. Not even close.

He would spend his entire Sunday at the Kroc Center, competing against fencers from Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho. It would be his second full day of fencing at the 2011 Pacific Northwest Sectional Championship.

"(It's) a lot of work," Hughes said of the sport. "It's really rewarding, too."

Over 50 male and female competitors attended the weekend event, hosted by Spokane Fencers Unlimited and Coeur d'Escrime, the local fencing club.

Ranging from 16 to over 50 years old, the fencers wore face masks and tough clothing made of ballistic nylon. They brandished three types of sword: the foil, the epee and the saber.

The top eight fencers in each event qualified for the national competition in Reno, Nev., the week of the Fourth of July.

"This is the first time this championship has ever been held in Coeur d'Alene," said Coeur d'Escrime head coach Noah Buntain. "It's great. Men's epee (Saturday) was really incredible. It was really high quality fencing. Some really nice action."

Each fencing weapon has unique characteristics, he explained. The foil is a finesse weapon; points may only be scored by stabbing an opponent's torso with the blunted tip. A foil bout is sometimes described as "physical chess."

"It's very difficult to score," Buntain said. "You'll see a lot of block work. A lot of maneuvering back and forth."

The epee is similar to the foil - it's also a tip-only, stabbing weapon - but with a larger bell guard over the hand. Epee competitors may strike any part of the body, head to toe.

"Epee is kind of the closest the sport has to actual dueling," Buntain said. "So epee is a very cautious weapon."

Saber is the flashiest fencing style, he said, very offensive and high-tempo. Modeled after a cavalryman's sword, the saber is a slashing weapon that can score points anywhere on the upper body, including the head.

Action movies often feature a clash of sabers.

During one of his many bouts on Sunday, Keaton Lovlyn of Coeur d'Alene, a member of Coeur d'Escrime, battled a swordsman from Montana. The 17-year-old held his ground, not afraid to be aggressive against an older competitor. Lovlyn would eventually tie for third in the men's foil event, earning a bronze medal.

When Lovlyn tangles with an opponent, he tries to make the other man uncomfortable. He moves his feet, feints, looks for openings. If the space and timing is right, he strikes quickly.

"Essentially, you're trying to find what they're doing on the defensive, what's their parries," Lovlyn said. Fencing is a mental sport, a game of strategy.

"There are physical aspects to it," he added, "and some fencers get away with a lot of athletic ability, but it doesn't get you very far."

Lovlyn picked up his first foil about nine years ago. He likes the individuality of the sport, competing one-on-one.

"I tried a lot of other sports, and fencing stuck with me," he said.

Lovlyn, Hughes and other Coeur d'Escrime fencers practice twice every week at the Kroc Center gym. They often compete in Spokane tournaments, but sometimes venture farther afield to Montana or Seattle.

Buntain, who fenced at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., helped grow the club from only five members to 15. He also teaches fencing classes at the Kroc Center and North Idaho College.

"You can do this sport your entire life. One of the main things in fencing, if you understand time and distance, you can make up for athleticism and speed," Buntain said. "I just love teaching the sport."

For more information on Coeur d'Escrime, log on to www.fencecda.com, or call 208-651-0756. Buntain can also be reached at noah.buntain@fencecda.com.