Simon Fraser University's Kay Sze is eager to make her point. And not just with the tip of her sword, either.
The 23-year-old épée fencer has taken the road that most dedicated athletes travel en route to a national final showdown - thrusting herself into the impervious ring and jabbing past a skilled opponent.
As the two-time defending B.C. champion and 2012 national silver medallist, Sze is within sword's reach of her goal - to compete internationally for Canada.
It's getting to that next level that will be the true test of her mettle.
For someone who didn't pick up the sport until the age of 11 in her native Hong Kong, Sze quickly built up a fairly impressive resume as a teenager.
"I was fairly energetic. - The basketball and volleyball teams just thought I was fat and short so they didn't pick me. So I stayed (with fencing)," said Sze.
Starting late proved to be less an obstacle than a motivation. After trading her foil for the heavier épée sword, she rose up the Hong Kong charts and peaked as a member of the national cadet team.
In 2005, her biggest challenge came when the family immigrated to Canada, where the language barrier and new culture caused Sze to lay down her sword.
"I stopped fencing for three years when I came here because I couldn't speak English," she says. "I was just too scared to reach out to the clubs. When I saw my old teammates going to competitions, I cried."
Once the Centennial Secondary student had her feet on the ground and felt comfortable with her surroundings, she returned to the sport - and discovered her skills with the épée were not totally rusty.
"At least I had my footwork. - I have the basics that way, so I can develop easily. It's like blank paper; what my coach teaches me I learn."
That steely attention has been a boon to her clubmates, says fellow provincial champion Chad Linton.
"Kay's spirit and passion for fencing just makes everyone work harder at the club; it's contagious," says Linton. "Her spirit is what makes her such a tough competitor, and her passion is what drives her to work so hard."
A member of the Jerichobased Vancouver Theatrical and Modern Fencing and Simon Fraser University Fencing clubs, Sze has pushed herself through four years of biological engineering courses while practising her sport.
At times, the two focuses have worked in unison, requiring extreme discipline and dedication. When studies were tedious, fencing provided some relief. When practice got tiring, her school work provided an escape.
Waiting to find an opponent's weakness has its similarities to producing equipment to help people. Being assertive is just part of the skills one has to master - patience and innovation are crucial, too. Her engineering studies have her designing specialized instruments used by people with disabilities.
Entering her fifth year of studies, Sze enjoys the process of creating something out of a basic concept - like building on an Olympic dream.
At the provincials in June, the B.C. Fencing Association eagerly welcomed the participation of Canadian Olympians preparing
for London. Sze ended up facing Canadian pentathlete Melanie McCann - who would go on to finish 11th in London a few months later - in the provincial final.
"I did some research on her to calm myself. I think she wanted to gain some experience and that's why she came to the fencing provincials, and we met in the final. I think the BCFA prepared some good gifts for her, they had red wine and some nice pins for the champion - things they didn't have the past two years - and I think I broke their plan. I got the wine."
In the national final in Saskatoon last May, a strong start put the fivefoot-seven Sze in line for the gold. However, some nerves and a polished rally by her opponent ended up earning the SFU student the silver.
Coach Bac Tau, who coached the Finnish fencing team and previously served as the head coach of the B.C. Fencing Association, feels Sze has the potential to go even further.
"In my opinion as her coach, if she trains hard, is disciplined and committed, makes sacrifices and is ambitious, she can potentially be the best lady fencer in Canada and on the International Fencing championship scene," Tau wrote in an e-mail.
And there's the rub, according to Sze.
Her goal is to reach the top and to represent her country - the question is how to carve out her own path to do it. There are two routes that could take her to a position on the Canada national team - and possibly 2016 to Rio de Janeiro.
One is to stick it out at home, attending the three annual national championships and the North American Cup at a minimum cost of $500 each - and keep striving to earn recognition and support from the Canadian Fencing Federation. It is the road most travelled for Canadians seeking advancement.
The other option could be just as costly, but would skirt much of the inner politics of the national fencing body.
Sze could follow in the footsteps of Canadian national team member and World Cup champion Sherraine Schalm and put her talent to the test on the International Fencing Federation tour in Europe before gaining her spot on the national side. If she can succeed there, opportunities at home should follow. She is currently leaning towards the latter.
"My ultimate goal is the world championships and Olympics," remarks Sze. "These days everyone puts Olympics in their dreams, but I have another thought about Olympics. It's kind of a commercial thing to me. Every year there is a world championship - the same athletes who go to Olympics.
"For me, to get to the worlds would be incredible. The world champions are amazing."
