In 50 years, Scott Dustin has done it all. He has been knighted, worked on the sets of major Hollywood motion pictures, traveled the globe and performed on Shakespearean stages - and it's all because of the love of a sport he discovered in the 1970s and the admiration for his mentor.
Dustin picked up the sport of fencing as a freshman at Wallingford's Lincoln High School in 1971. A friend from karate class asked him to join him at a local community center for an introductory course in fencing. It was there that he met Ray Coates, a fencer well-known within the sport's circles for his skills as a trainer.
"He really taught me the classic, old styles of fencing while everyone else was learning the newer techniques," said Dustin, who now teaches the same Italian style of fencing at the Northgate Community Center.
The Italian and French styles of fencing are the two most classic techniques of the sport, with Italian being the least practiced. "He still used classic weapons while no one else was," Dustin explained. "Really, that was probably the reason why I've done so much."
Sharing the sport
Last July, Dustin received the honor of knighthood from the College of Arms in London. According to Dustin, it was at the request of Coates - a favor in the final days leading up to his passing. Coates, of course, was a knight himself and had trained the greats such as three-time gold medalist Aldo Nadi.
Like his mentor of more than 35 years, Dustin's love for the sport extends to teaching it to others. For the last 25 years, he has trained future Olympic qualifiers and North American Cup contenders at the youth and collegiate levels.
Though never an Olympian himself, Dustin has put his skills as a fencer toward other causes, including working on the set of the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie as a weapons coordinator. When an old friend working for Gray's Harbor Historical Seaport Authority needed an expert in handling antique weaponry, Dustin's phone rang first.
And so Dustin left his North Seattle home and headed aboard the Lady Washington in Aberdeen, Wash., to offer training to the cast and crew members in the 2003 hit film.
The experience was exciting, but no dream worth chasing, he said. After all, Dustin had worked on The History Channel before, with numerous local theater companies and at opera houses. His love was in teaching, not Hollywood glitz, he said.
"I get more excited watching new people get excited about the sport than I am on film sets," Dustin said.
His desire to continue teaching has hardly kept him away from taking on new cinematic projects, however. Most recently, Dustin has been working with MGM as the fight coordinator for a new movie set to debut within the next two years.
Equal footing
Though the sport is more popular on the East Coast, he said that it's been gaining popularity in the Pacific Northwest of late: "It's just what Ray [Coates] did. He worked on the grass-roots level, and I always preferred working at that level, as well."
Dustin has scaled back his work pace. Just a few years ago, he said, he was coaching at more than five colleges locally, while offering private lessons.
This year, Dustin is partnering up with Robert Ernst for classes at the Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Ave. N.E., each Thursday. While Ernst - who works as a research associate professor in the University of Washington School of Medicine - teaches the courses, Dustin oversees the instruction of classical Italian-style fighting.
Dustin also continues to offer private lessons.
"No matter what walk of life you might be in, everyone is equal in fencing," Dustin said. "Whether you're a doctor, lawyer or student, it's all the same, and that's what I love about the sport."
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