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Karen Lieu always knew she had a competitive streak, but as a girl, she never found an outlet for it. The sports she tried didnt work for her.I tried to see if I could do gymnastics and did a handstand against the wall. Well, I ended up breaking a few lamps, she said. My parents were furious, so that stopped. Tennis wasnt for me. Id hit the ball out of the court.During the summer of 1992, after graduating from high school, she found her sport. She was watching the Barcelona Olympics when the telecast turned to fencing. Shed seen swordplay in movies but had never seen the sport, with its masked athletes, fierce attacks and electronic scoring systems. She thought it was fascinating.That fall, when she enrolled at Pasadena City College, she found fencing in the class schedule. She signed up, and in the midst of her first class, she was smitten. Soon she was taking two classes at school as well as outside lessons. Within a year, she qualified for and competed in the AAU Junior Olympics.Lieu, 42, competed through college and now takes part in national adult tournaments. She also coaches children and adults, works clinics, organizes tournaments and serves as an official. Lieu, who works for the county of Los Angeles as an operations assistant auditing budgets for the use of Sheriffs officers at county courts, says fencing has been a force in her life since those 92 Games.At 5-foot-4, she can stand tall with a foil in her hand.With any other sport, you had to be a certain size or had to have a certain physical [characteristic], said Lieu, who lives in Rosemead, a suburb east of downtown Los Angeles. For a gymnast, you had to be really flexible and maybe petite in proportion. Volleyball or basketball, you had to be really tall. But in fencing ... if I worked at it, I was able to become good. I worked really hard, and I was able to excel quickly. It was exciting.Fencing round the clockToday, Lieu coaches after school, in the evenings and on weekends at the Beverly Hills Fencers Club in Culver City. Her schedule conforms to her work hours. She trains at night and on weekends -- when she also competes -- and puts in time at the gym on her lunch break.Fencing has taught me to have really good time management, she said with a laugh.In the gym, she works with weights on isolated muscle groups, especially in a surgically repaired knee, to gain strength and quickness and on cardio machines to gain endurance. But she doesnt run.I could lunge as much as I wanted and not get tired, but if you ask me to run a few miles, youd get me really winded, she said. Youre using different muscles in fencing -- for powerful, explosive moves.Since she turned 40, she has competed in the veterans division. Her first year, she was ranked nationally and placed among the top 16 in the nation. Last year, she didnt compete as much because her knee injury flared up. Now fit again, she is learning new techniques and hopes to place higher at nationals.I like to watch a lot of videos, she said, noting that recent Olympic matches from Rio de Janeiro are on YouTube. Fencers from each nation have different styles and tactics she can study and emulate.Nobodys foilLieus weapon of choice is the foil. She has tried the sports other two styles -- saber and epee -- but foil suits her best. The foil is a long, light, thin blade just over 35 inches in length. Matches are as long as three minutes but can end within seconds. Points are scored only with the tip of the blade. The target area is the torso only.Lieu disliked the slashing, more physical attacks in saber (I didnt really like getting hit in the head a lot, she said) and wasnt comfortable with epee, in which the entire body can be targeted.Perhaps what she loves most about fencing is the mental duel. She must be quick, have good technique and be able to physically execute her footwork and blade action with precision. But the chess-match nature of the sport is its most compelling aspect, she said.Whats your move, and whats the other persons move, and your counter move? she said. You have to outwit them.She appreciates the culture of fencing and that its a lifetime sport. In fact, she plans to compete into her 70s. The fencing community is small enough, too, that she has made friends everywhere. One time, she recognized a former Olympian, but that Olympian knew of her because of her years as a coach and competitor.Im like, Wow, you know me! she recalled.The sports impactYears ago, after Lieu injured her knee and had surgery, she went home to her two-story condo and dragged her mattress downstairs so she could sleep on the ground floor while recovering. It was then that her mother finally understood her daughters passion for fencing. Until then, her mom had questioned why she wanted to do a boys sport. She couldnt understand why her daughter put so much time and energy into it.I camped out for two weeks, so I wouldnt have to go up the stairs, Lieu said. And my moms like, Look what this is doing to you! I cried and cried and said, Im not quitting. After that day, she never questioned my love of fencing.Lieu cant imagine what her life would be like if she hadnt come across Olympic fencing on TV back in 1992. The sport has given her so much. When she was little, she says she was an introvert, and fencing helped her grow.In fencing, you have to take the initiative to attack the person, so it gave you courage, so to speak, so Im less introverted, she said. I think that is good to teach kids and adults to deal with obstacles. [You think], Oh, that person I cant beat. OK, Im going to try a different tactic and learn how to overcome. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Custom Hockey Jerseys . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. http://www.customjerseysnearme.com/ . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Clearance Custom Jerseys . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Custom Baseball Jerseys . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. AUBURN, Ala. -- Despite the elation Auburn felt after toppling LSU a week ago, there were still some potentially dangerous problems lurking under the surface.Auburn (3-2) had failed to score a touchdown in any of its six trips to the red zone, and head coach Gus Malzhan yearned to give his receivers more vertical routes to try and take the top off the defense.Against Louisiana-Monroe (1-3), both of those boxes were checked off. Auburn dominated the Warhawks Saturday 58-7 to notch its third win of the year and end the season-opening five-game homestand on a high note.Sean White threw for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both of which were 48-yard deep balls on play-action routes. The first went to freshman Kyle Davis, and the second to senior Tony Stevens for his fifth-career scoring catch.We talked about that two weeks ago, that we need to give our guys more chances down the field, Malzahn said. Thats been kind of an emphasis, and we did that today. Hit a couple, one I think was a pass interference, came close on another. But you gotta take chances down the field, its good. I think we had two of our freshmen catch touchdowns, all on deep balls.Kerryon Johnson spearheaded Auburns rushing attack, accounting for 146 of the Tigers 410 yards on the ground. Auburn outgained Louisiana-Monroe in total yards 688-251, the fourth-most in school history.White ended the day going 14 of 17 for 239 yards before giving way to backup John Franklin III midway through the third quarter and Auburn leading 42-7. Franklin scored his first touchdown at Auburn two plays later, racing 80 yards untouched on a read option. He addeed his first-career scoring pass a drive later, dropping a perfectly thrown 39-yard pass to freshman Nate Craig-Myers in the end zone.ddddddddddddAny touchdown is a pretty touchdown to me, Franklin said. It was definitely a nice pass to Nate (Craig-Myers). He got open and made it easier for me to drop it in. I was just thinking, `Dont miss this touchdown. Its too easy right now.The Warhawks only score came as time expired in the first half, a 2-yard pass to Marcus Green that got Louisiana-Monroe within 28-7.I just told them we have to bounce back, said Louisiana-Monroe head coach Matt Viator. We win and lose as a team. They beat all of us -- players and coaches, everybody. They outplayed us and outcoached us, so thats just the way it is. We all have to learn from it and get better.THE TAKEAWAYAUBURN: The red zone issues that plagued Auburn against LSU were nearly nonexistent. The Tigers scored touchdowns on four out of the five trips inside the 20, and the only trip they didnt score on came from the backups with less than a minute remaining.LOUISIANA-MONROE: The Warhawks dropped their third consecutive game, but will get a chance to right themselves against Idaho on a more level playing field.FIRST-DOWN FRENZYAuburns 36 first downs are the most since 2002 when the Tigers picked up 37 against Western Carolina, and three short of the school record.UP NEXTAUBURN: Travels to Starkville to play Mississippi State next Saturday.LOUISIANA-MONROE: Returns home to host Idaho next Saturday. ' ' '