Shawn Lim

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” - Michael Jordan

My name is Shawn, a passionate fencer and coach at Champions’ Forge Fencing Academy. 

To me, fencing is a medium for me to pursue the very best version of myself - and as the quote goes - for me to prove to myself that I can “make it happen”. Similarly, my coaching philosophy is simple: To be that catalyst in aiding my students to become the best version of themselves. 

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So what made me become interested in coaching? This actually happened in 2021, when I was still fencing in my school fencing team. Back then, I held the position of Foil Captain, and was in charge of organizing simple training sessions to improve the physical fitness of my Foil team. However, due to the then lack of a strong coaching presence for our team, I found myself beginning to look for ways to coach my Foil teammates to improve in their technical skills. This led me to gain a strong interest in understanding coaching techniques in the sport, and I also found myself enjoying guiding others in learning something new, which helped them fence better. 

Since then, my dual role as both a coach and a fencer has helped me to form a synergy within both roles, as my experience from training and competition constantly gives me new insights on the common struggles in fencing, and my coaching skills allow me to formulate new solutions to these problems and teach them to my students. 

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As a coach, I believe that fencing involves having respect for your opponent and yourself at the highest level. Respect goes both ways in fencing, to respect yourself as an athlete and the tremendous amounts of work you put into improving yourself, as well as showing respect to all other role-players in the sport: Be it the opponent, the referees, the officials or the coaches. Through coaching the sport, I hope for my students to enter society as respectful individuals that can contribute positively in whatever they choose to pursue. 

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My goal as a coach is for every student to leave every single training feeling better about themselves, knowing that they have put in their 100% effort into something and gained something out of it.