The faces all shared a common bewilderment as they looked on at the action that took over Cadillac Square.
The sport of fencing steals attention of the summer Olympics every four years, but the passion for the sport is an everyday thing for a growing sport.
"Fencing is not what you think, people have this idea what it is and I assure you, you're going to hear it before you see it," top ranked United States male fencer Jason Pryor said.
Nearly 2,000 fencers will be at Cobo Hall this weekend for the North American Cup event. Amateurs, experienced fencers and Olympians will participate, and you can check out the action for yourself, for free.
"It's one of the sports than anyone can do and you can do it for forever," local fencer Ben Schleis said. "I've been doing this for 19 years since I was in college and we have people well into their 60's still able to compete at this sport, it's an excellent sport for everybody."
The North American Cup is free to the public both Saturday and Sunday.
