Michelle Wu (right) is an 8th grade fencer for Great Neck South H.S. team, and is undefeated in 18 matches in her career. Photo courtesy of Wu Family.
Sometimes, inspiration strikes while watching television.
Usually it makes a person order a product they don’t really need, or reminds them to watch a movie they’d forgotten they wanted to see.
But in the case of Great Neck South Middle School 8th grader Michelle Wu, TV gave her a new passion in life, and maybe an incredible career.
Wu and her family were watching the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021, and she was intrigued by the men’s fencing competition.
“I just loved how elegant it all looked, with everyone dressed in white and how quickly (the fencers) moved against each other,” Wu recalled. “We watched a lot of it and I really liked it.”
Particularly, she noticed French fencer Romain Cannone, who won the gold medal in èpèe. Cannone had spent time training at New York Fencing Academy, who have gyms all over Long Island and in NYC.
So, heading into fifth grade, Wu decided to try fencing, along with her younger brother Matthew, who was in fourth grade.
From that one decision, a star was born. Joining the Great Neck South High School juggernaut last year, Wu went 8-0 in èpèe, including winning the Brentwood Tournament and helping lead the Rebels to the Long Island championship.
This year, in 8th grade, Wu has continued her stellar performances, remaining undefeated in 10 matches through Jan. 4, and she is showing what it takes to possibly win the county individual title in February.
“She came out of nowhere last year and really impressed everyone with her poise and knowledge out there,” said GNS head coach Catie Sagevick. “She would do things on the strip and you’d be like ‘how does she already know how to do that?’”
Wu said that once she decided to try fencing, she was all in, going to NYFA as much as she could to learn the techniques and athletic ability needed.
“You have to train physically and learn how to do all the footwork and the drills, but mentally it’s really difficult, too,” Wu said. “If you’re losing in the middle of the bout, there’s pressure, people watching you, and time is against you. You have to learn how to channel your stress and manage all that.
“I love the challenge of it.”
Getting on to the GNS team at such a young age meant Wu was quite a bit younger than most of her new teammates. But she said last year’s squad, led by sisters Kira and Ashley Nguyen, were more than welcoming.
“They were so incredibly nice, and we’d go out for team dinners and for bubble tea at Mr. Wish (in Great Neck),” Wu said. “They supported me and help me get used to team competitions.”
Wu showed herself on an international stage this summer in Costa Rica, winning first place at the Pan American Youth Championships in the Women’s Pre-Cadet èpèe division (for girls aged 12 and 13).
Sagevick said her young standout’s mental game has improved this season.
“She just has such great technical understanding and composure about when to be aggressive and when not to be,” Sagevick said. “And she responds very well to suggestions from me or from the other girls. She’s just such a great kid to have around.”
Wu, who also plays the violin, has a long way to go before college but said she definitely hopes to get a chance to fence at the Division I level (there are currently 29 colleges at that level that have fencing programs).
And having fencing be the family sport now (Matthew, in 7th grade, is on the boys team at GNS) helps, too.
“I fence him a lot. Sometimes he wins, sometimes I win,” Wu said with a laugh. “It’s great to have someone to talk about it with at home. My Dad has gotten so into it, too.
“I love it and want to keep getting better at it,” Wu added. “I think I’ve gotten better about controlling my emotions out there this year, not getting down on myself.
“So I just want to keep getting better.”