Ruth Tolkien is believed to be the only blind fencer competing in sighted competitions in the UK. Her UK ranking in 2015 is 186 in the UK. After fencing for four years at Truro Fencing Club, Ruth was not only selected to fence for Cornwall in the Ladies Foil Team at a regional level at Excalibur, but went on to win her first individual medal at the Wellington Open in May 2015.

I began lessons at Truro Fencing Club age 28 and purely out of choice began taking the British Fencing Achievement Awards in February 2013, determined to conquer all nine before by my 31st birthday!

Unaware of any other VI fencer in the UK to receive every grade, I only discovered I was the first after I had got the last one in late September 2013. An incredible birthday present! Following this, I was inspired to push further.

In May 2014 I entered my first ‘open’ competition in Wellington. Winning every fight in my first poule and in the final DE I only missed a bronze medal by seven hits. According to my coach this was “an incredible achievement even if I could see where I was going!”

Continuing to train devotedly every day at home and two nights a week at the club, including sparing and two individual lessons, the following April 2015 I was selected to fence for Cornwall in the Women’s Foil Team for Excalibur, a regional competition. An enormous honour and an utterly mind-blowing experience, I managed to win over half my bouts overall. Less than a month later I again entered the Wellington Open, and won my first medal – bronze for Women’s Foil.

In September this year, I took part in my first major individual event at the Bristol Open and honestly went not expecting to win a fight but to give it my all and for the experience of a high level event. I did, however, win one fight in the poules and the DE was certainly no knock-out! No medals this time, but there’s next year! Currently, I’m training hard for the Welsh Open in less than two weeks at the beginning of November. Following this, my next goal will be the Nationals in 2016 which I believe is the next ‘landmark for my “levelling of playing fields” in terms of the limitations of vision. En guarde!