BATON ROUGE — Get 2 Moving this week visited the Red Stick School of Fencing for a unique workout.

“Fencing is an awesome sport, pretty much anybody can do,” instructor Ryan O’Connor said. “It’s the most level playing field of any sport because it’s as much mental as it is physical.”

O’Connor describes the fast-paced activity as an anaerobic workout.

“It’s everything you’ve got for a short period of time, and then you get a short rest,” he said.

Fencing is a lot like sword-fighting seen in classic old-style movies like "The Adventures of Robin Hood" or "Seven Samurai."

“Fencers stand and move in a very particular way, and they’ve been doing so for hundreds of years. It keeps the sword between me and you and allows me to attack quickly but also defend just as quickly,” O’Connor said.

From lunging to perfecting stances, fencing combines agility, quick thinking, and total-body exercise. “This is a workout — it can already be felt in the legs,” he said, highlighting the intensity of the footwork and blade work involved.

O’Connor notes that getting hit is part of the sport.

“You need to know that you’re going to get hit. That’s part of the game,” he said.