En garde! Meet Coach Mok, the Zorro of Malaysia

Free Malaysia Today

Former national fencer Mok Chek Wlong is training the next generation of Malaysians in the art of the blade.  Story by: Noel Wong Shot by: Fauzi Yunus Presented by: Dinesh Kumar Maganathan Edited by: Kiera Amin   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6 Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTLifestyle #MokChekWlong #Fencing #MalaysianZorro

Transcript

00:00 My name is Coach Mok. My students call me Coach Mok.

00:04 I've been involved in fencing since 1975.

00:09 Thrust. Parry. Dodge.

00:13 Fencing is usually seen as a sport for rich Western folks.

00:17 But there is one misconception Mok Chek Long hopes to change.

00:21 The 61-year-old is a former national fencer,

00:25 and the founder of Malaysia's first independent fencing club,

00:28 Touche.

00:30 He's also the proud father of Andrew Mok, a national fencer himself.

00:35 Mok has been fencing since his teenage years,

00:38 and was a protege of Ronnie Fasera,

00:41 a Malaysian Olympian who introduced fencing to schools.

00:44 You know, a young boy like you, watch Zorro, wow.

00:48 Okay, fencing. Very excited.

00:54 So I enrolled in the club.

00:57 The young Mok eventually joined tournaments,

01:00 and even represented Malaysia in the 1989 SEA Games.

01:04 1989, that's the time where fencing in Malaysia made a great impact.

01:10 That time we were a very small following.

01:13 The team won one gold, two silver, five bronzes.

01:17 So that was a very good result.

01:21 Three years later, Mok would establish the Touche Fencing Club.

01:26 In addition to educating Malaysians on the sport,

01:29 his goal was to train future fencers who could rival his own expertise.

01:34 Since then, thousands of students have been under Mok's tutelage,

01:38 and many have become coaches and national fencers in their own right,

01:42 including of course his son, Andrew.

01:45 That said, Mok acknowledges that the sport can appear inaccessible at times,

01:51 especially with lack of venues being an issue.

01:54 If you want to go play badminton, you know the badminton court is there.

01:58 If you want to play football, there's a football field.

02:00 If you play basketball, there's a court.

02:02 Mok says the sport itself is easy to learn and master,

02:06 and he's happy to offer free trials to curious Malaysians out there.

02:10 Ladies and gentlemen, young and old, are all welcome to pick up the blade.

02:15 But is it a safe sport?

02:18 Very safe.

02:20 You see they wear masks like the pictures.

02:23 It's very safe, all properly covered.

02:25 And then the blade material is not easily breakable.

02:29 If it breaks, it won't have sharp edges.

02:32 Ultimately, fencing is like a game of chess,

02:35 with your mind being as important as your muscles.

02:38 If you have both, chances are you're on your way to mastering the blade.

02:43 Dinesh Kumar Maganadan and Noel Wong, FMT Lifestyle.

02:48 (upbeat music)

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