Lexington's 'Chang Gang' Fulfills 20-Year-Old Prophecy

LEXINGTON, MA – It started out as the kicker in a 1995 Boston Herald story about a fencing father and his swashbuckling kids: "And so sometime in the 21st century, there will probably be three generations of Changs fencing in the same competition." But writer Michael Gee proved to be something of a clairvoyant.

Flash forward 22 years. It's the 21st century, and Fritz Chang, now in his 70s, his son, Tim Chang, a 39-year-old director at a cybersecurity firm, and his son, a third-grader at Fiske Elementary School, will all compete at the U.S. Fencing Nationals in Salt Lake City the week of July 4.

Known as the "Chang Gang," the Lexington family's love for fencing began with Fritz, who took up the sport as a student at Queens College in New York. He told the Herald he envisioned himself as the next Errol Flynn.

Fritz might not have ended up on the silver screen, but he found a passion that he passed down to all three of his kids – Heidi, Greg and Tim. Tim, the youngest, started fencing at age 10 on weekends during soccer, tennis and basketball seasons. At first it was like any other youth sport, but where other kids' enthusiasm wanes as the competition gets tougher, Tim said his and his siblings' "snowballed."

And they're not just enthusiastic about fencing – they're good. Very good, in fact.

Tim was on four world teams and competed in the junior national championships as a teen, netting him close to a full ride to Stanford University. Greg competed in the Junior Olympics and 2004 Olympics, and the eldest Chang, Heidi, is forever immortalized in the Wellesley College Hall of Fame.

Now, it's the next generation's turn.

"Now that I have kids, they knew that it was a part of my life and have taken an interest in it," Tim said. "They sort of naturally gravitated towards it."

This year Tim's son will be competing in the U-10 division at his first nationals. Fritz, who has fenced competitively for the past five or six years, qualified for the Veteran 70+ division.

"I had no intention of fencing at all after I retired in '04," Tim said. "But since [his son] picked it up and qualified, they looked at me and said, 'are you going to try?'"

And 13 years after his last match, Tim qualified for Division 2 at the U.S. Fencing Nationals.

The Chang family practices at New England Movement Arts in Burlington, which is very much a family affair. Tim's uncle runs the studio, and his parents oversee the fencing program. The youngest Chang helps out when he's not traveling for work, practicing with students and keeping up with the sport for exercise.

For the Changs, fencing is about more than just competing. Tim said the sport has instilled important life lessons in his family that have been passed down through generations of fencers.

"Like any sport, it's about the lessons that you learn, having grit and perseverance and having goals," he said. "That's what we're hoping to pass on, is understanding that aspect of the sport."

Safe to say in 20 or so years, we'll be writing about the Changs once more.

Photo via Tim Chang