Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Sola and Ryan Cook.
Mary and Ryan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Mary: Coincidentally enough I began my fencing career at Swordplay in 1998. So this story really comes full circle for me. At the age of five, I took my first foil lesson with Tim Weske. Most people ask me how a five year old decide that they want to fence. My answer is “Peter Pan” & “Hook”. All I wanted to do was sword fight.
Fast forward, over the next four years my passion continued to grow for the sport and I began to accelerate in the competitive program. By the age of nine, I was competing in both regional and national competitions. At age ten, I was ranked number 5 nationally within her age group and was awarded several national medals. Over the course of the next eight years, I was consistently ranked as one of the top women foil fencers in the country. Some of my previous coaches included Al Carter and Olympic Coach Greg Massialas.
After years of hard work, I earned a scholarship at Northwestern University. Known as one of the top Division 1 fencing programs in the country, I embraced Northwestern Collegiate Athletics and in my first year celebrated a Midwest Conference Championship with my team. Team fencing was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and gave me such perspective on leadership and teamwork. I graduated All American and with a degree in Film.
After working as one of Swordplay’s fencing instructors and as an actress for the past five years, I was more than humbled when Tim Weske gave Ryan and I the opportunity to continue the legacy of Swordplay. It is also an exciting opportunity for me continue to develop and combine my passions of acting, fencing, and stage combat. As one of the co-owners of Swordplay LA, I look to inspire fencers of all ages who are looking to excel in the sport. This sport has given me so many incredible opportunities and I thoroughly enjoy coaching and giving back.
Ryan: I began fencing when I was fourteen years old. My interest in the sport sprang from my disproportionate love for Star Wars — I really just wanted to do something that resembled lightsaber fighting in some way. My mom found Swordplay LA and signed me up for a free trial lesson, and I was immediately hooked on the sport. I started fencing with foil, and while I’ve tried the other two weapons at various points — sabre and epee — foil is my weapon of choice.
Fencing not only satisfies my sword fighting itch, but it’s the only sport that I really loved. I have tried other sports — basketball, soccer, baseball — but none of them ever stuck with me quite like fencing has. Fencing is very much an individual sport, where victory comes down to your athletic abilities and wits alone — it’s very much a sport for someone who likes having sole responsibility for their victories and losses.
I fenced recreationally for a good chunk of high school, but I eventually started fencing competitively (I still compete in local USFA-sponsored tournaments to this day). And after I graduated from high school, I immediately became a fencing instructor/coach at Swordplay LA. I was a fencing instructor there for two years, and during my tenure there I trained students who went on to win medals at in-house tournaments and local USFA-sponsored competitions. I took a brief break from coaching during my last two years of college, but I returned after graduating in 2015 (I started working at Swordplay again in 2016).
I was coaching on the side after graduating, my main goal being trying to make it as a copywriter in the marketing industry. After leaving my most recent full-time job at a software start-up mid-2018, I started devoting a little more time to Swordplay — not only teaching but managing a company blog single-handedly. I was looking for another job at the time when Tim Weske — the founder and former owner of the club — called Mary and I in for a meeting about mid-November last year. We thought the meeting was going to be about restructuring the club’s classes again, but instead he offered to turn over ownership of Swordplay LA to us, which was completely unexpected. As you can probably tell, Mary and I accepted the offer and have gone into business together. Best decision I ever made — I’m privileged to dedicate my life to fencing and, more importantly, the club that got me started with this sport. I graduated with a BA in Philosophy.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Ryan: The main challenge I’ve had with turning fencing into my career is that it’s never felt like a live option to me. Let’s just be honest, because fencing isn’t a super popular sport in America, it’s difficult to make a living off it. Even when I first started coaching, I felt conflicted. I really enjoyed teaching, but on the other hand, I wasn’t making a lot of money off it. So I felt compelled to find a job with an hourly, consistent wage. That’s part of why I left Swordplay after two years of coaching, besides the fact that I was going into my junior year of college. Fast-forward to after I graduated and started coaching again — like I said before, I was trying to build a career in marketing (part of the reason why Tim offered me part-ownership with Mary was my background in marketing, but I digress). I was going into marketing because it was something that I was fairly good at, but I honestly had no passion for it. I jumped from job to job in that field, but my job as a fencing instructor remained a constant. All the while, I would wish that fencing could be my job — I hated having to devote more time to jobs I didn’t care about instead of the one job that I’ve ever been passionate about.
This opportunity fell into my lap without any intentional effort on my part, but there is an extent to which I made this happen. Like I said, I started managing a blog for Swordplay LA back in 2018. I tried to fence at the club as often as I could, and it was obvious to Tim that I cared about helping my students excel. All in all, it was because my passion for the sport and teaching others about it was obvious that this opportunity came up at all. I’m very grateful to Tim for giving Mary and me this opportunity, and I’m glad I seized it. For once, my full-time job is something I care about deeply.
Of course, now there are a whole new host of issues to confront. Besides honing my craft as a fencing instructor, there’s all the stuff that comes along with being a first-time business owner. But the club is still around, and hopefully we’ll keep it that way for another 30 years.
Mary: There were plenty of struggles along the way, but looking back at it now I learned so much from all of them. Because of the intensity and level, I was competing at it did take away from time to focus on schoolwork and I did miss out on aspects of the typical middle school/ high school social life. It was very demanding as a young person but I was way ahead of others continually developing time management skills and learning to work under pressure.
Thats where I immediately feel the need to thank my parents. They were both such a critical part to keeping my momentum throughout my competitive career and were/ still are my biggest cheerleaders. Without them my story may have been a little different.
Now as a first-time business owner there have been a list of minor bumps in the road for Ryan & I but we both are eager to tackle them with enthusiasm and grace.
Please tell us about Swordplay LA.
Tim Weske established Swordplay LA in 1992, making us the oldest fencing club in the Burbank area. We primarily provide fencing instruction, although we also offer stage combat courses and lessons. We offer coaching in all three fencing weapons — foil, sabre, and epee — although we are primarily known for being a foil and sabre club. We attract a lot of different people here, from current fencers to total newbies, and actors who need stage combat training or want to put fencing on their resume.
Besides being the oldest club in Burbank, we are by far the most affordable one. We’re accessible in many other ways, too. Many fencing clubs in Los Angeles won’t even take on new students unless they have prior fencing experience, and many of them are so hyper-focused on producing competitive fencers that they suck all the fun out of the sport. We not only love introducing newbies to the sport, but we welcome competitive and recreational fencers alike.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Ryan: If I had a time machine, I would go back to the year when I was about six or seven years old and tell my mom about Swordplay LA so I could have started fencing and competing when I was a lot younger. In general, I wish I had trained more and competed more in high school and college. Besides that, though, I shouldn’t have stopped coaching in the middle of college. On the other hand, I had to get more life in me, so to speak, and I was in a much better place emotionally and mentally after graduating. So maybe it was a good thing that I took a break.
But it’s worth noting that these regrets were more poignant before I became co-owner of Swordplay. Now that I’m running the club, I’ve been able to make peace with all that.
Mary: This is a tricky one. The impatient part of me on some days wishes I had allocated more time to some of my other passions other than fencing over the years. But I know in my heart I have a whole life ahead of me continue to grow as a coach, actress, business owner, friend & person. I am thrilled for what the future holds.
Pricing:
- First Lesson = Free
- Basic Intro Packet for Classes & Lessons (after free lesson) = $118
- Private Lessons = $25/half hour
Contact Info:
- Address: 416 S. Victory Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502
- Website: www.splafencing.com
- Phone: 818-566-1777
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Mary Personal Pic: Colton Mai
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