Welcome to the Mid-Pines Fencers' Club, which started in August 2022. I, Randy Schuyler, am the head coach. I offer classes in the three Olympic fencing weapons, foil, sabre and épée, and then continue teaching them in the club.
People usually decide they like one better than the others. Teaching all of them gives students a chance to sample them and choose their preference, but knowing something about the others is useful, too.
I ran the Monterey Peninsula Fencers' Club in Monterey, CA, for 14 years and bequeathed it to a student when I moved back to Texas. I hold professional certifications from the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association.
Anybody 9 or older can sign up for a class, but you have to get my permission to join the club. People who have never fenced should take the class first. If you have some experience in foil, sabre or épée, contact me so we can talk about it. We teach all three in the club, so someone who starts in one weapon will get exposure to the others sometime during the year. During open fencing at the end of the club session, fencers can fence the weapon they prefer.
Despite its swashbuckling image, fencing is one of the safest and most low-impact sports around. People very rarely die fencing, and the only real danger is eye injuries from waving swords around without protective equipment. For that reason, safety is strenuously taught and observed.
People routinely fence their entire lives, and have been known to bout up into their seventies. For more information, write to mail@swordplay-nac.com
We are a club, but not a salle. What does that mean? Well, both usually offer classes, but salles often offer open fencing, meaning that a person could come, pay a fee, and fence with whomever else is there who fences that weapon. We don't offer that.
Our routine is warmup, footwork, lesson, game, open fencing. Everybody has to participate in everything. And we cycle among the three weapons and everybody has to do that, too, even if they prefer one. Indeed, we expect them to, and that's why we do all three -- to help them decide their preference. Our model makes for a close, cohesive group.
The next beginner's class will be épée and tentatively will start Sept. 26, 6-7:30. Check with the Rec Center to sign up.
The club meets from 10:30 to 12:30 on Saturdays. All classes are held at the Nacogdoches Recreation Center on North Street.
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