London Fencing Club
November 2012 Newsletter, No 48
Tournaments • Christmas Party and break • Coaching: Gabriella and
Andrea
• Forthcoming trip to
St.Petersburg • New Members FAQs
Tournaments results
I am pleased to report that London Fencing Club took
first place at London
Team Trophy tournament on 20 October 2012. The
tournament was hosted by ULU fencing in Barnes. 47
teams competed in three weapons. Our Club was
represented in foil and epee, two teams in each
weapon. Congratulations go to our epeeists Adeel,
Raj and Silviu who took the gold. Good effort
to all our other participants!
There was another excellent performance by Anna at
the highly competitive Bristol Open where she
finished 3rd out of 95 participants. The result
placed her in the top 50 of the national rankings.
Well done, Anna!
Interested in taking part in team tournaments in
London Area? Contact
Armando who's coordinating our teams for the
London League.
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New Coaches
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Foilists
attending Wednesday sessions have already
met and trained with our new foil coach
Gabriella Varga. Gabriella, who is still an
active fencer, won European Championships in
2003 and competed in Olympic Games in 2004
(6th place) and 2008 (12th place). Gabriella
comes from Honved Club in Budapest (which we visited in
summer 2007).
We also have a visiting coach from South
Italy, Andrea Benedetta Perrone. Andrea, who
is in London as a student, has competed in
World Championships in 2003. In 2004 she won
the mixed team event at Italian
Championships. While with us Andrea is
helping with the Thursdays sabre class.
You can book lessons with Gabriella and
Andrea on http://www.londonfencingclub.co.uk/private_lessons.php
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| Above: Gabriella fencing
Valentina Vezzali in Beijing 2008 |
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Christmas Party
The annual bush is scheduled for Wednesday,
12 December 2012
from 8 pm till
2 am.
Venue: The
Chapel Bar, 29a Penton Street, London, N1 9PX
(5 min walk from Angel tube)
This time we've invited City
Fencing Club to join in (poor souls spend all of
their socials at the police station). Expect
strong 80s selection from the DJ, snacks,
experimental performance and meeting with old
buddies.
Please feel free to bring your
partner and a home made cake!
Christmas break
The last day of training this year
will be Wednesday, 19 December and
we'll re-open on Thursday, 3 January 2013.
Christmas buys
While we're on the subject of
Christmas while not treat yourself to the luxury
of a new body wire or even new weapon or mask? We
have a number of brand new items at discounted
prices for the members:
 Masks (350N non electric) - £50 (or
second hand for £10)
Body wires, copper with transparent
plug (epee), much better than Leon Paul - £12
Body wires for foil or sabre, bayonet or two pin -
£12
Weapon bag - £12
Epee (electric) - £50
Foil (electric) - £45
Sabre (electric) - £40
Set of epee + body wire + bag - £70
Hold all fencing bag - £35
Epee blades (electric) - £25
Foil blades (electric) - £20
Sabre blades - £12
And other items which we might be
able to build or order for you. Email your
requests!
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Trip to St.Petersburg in May 2013
 Every three years or so
we visit Spartak fencing academy in St.Petersburg,
Russia. People at Spartak are friendly and
tolerant. They like when we show up.
The level of coaching is very good. One of the
coaches Nicholai who we met and partied with in
2004, won the bronze medal in this year's Olympics
in London.
The trip is suitable for everyone: from recent
beginner to a seasoned competitor. The training
will include group sessions and individual
lessons. There is also a varied cultural
programme.
I do not have the exact dates yet, but it'll be
one week in mid May, so please put it in your
holidays schedule.
Pictures and write ups from previous trips: http://www.londonfencingclub.co.uk/spb.php
http://www.londonfencingclub.co.uk/spb06.php
http://www.londonfencingclub.co.uk/spb2009.php
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Info for new members
Warm welcome to the members who've recently joined
the Club!
I hope you'll enjoy the lessons as
well as the social side of the club. If
you need help or have a question, please do not
hesitate to ask: your fellow fencers in the class
and, of course, our coaches will be happy to assist!
I list below some of the frequently asked
questions - and the answers.
How many
times a week to train?
We recommend attending the fencing sessions at least
2-3 times a week - this way your skills will build
up much faster and you won't feel that after a week
of inactivity you forgot what you've done on the
previous lesson! Two evening classes + Saturdays
free play is probably the best combination which
will give you a good balance of learning and
practice. This plan is only £55 per month (£35 + £10
+ £10) and we'll also give you a free complimentary
private lesson every month!
Can I fence more
than one weapon?
I'd recommend learning 2 weapons. There are things
that you can acquire in epee which will come very
handy in sabre, foil ideas that will benefit your
epee fencing, etc. Do not try to fence all three -
this will just confuse you, but two - by all means!
Do I need private
lessons?
Private lessons can be extremely beneficial to your
progress as a fencer! Whether you compete or not,
this is your chance to develop your individual
tactics, 'golden strokes' and correct the bad
habits! Try to book at least 20-40 min of private
lessons a month if you use fencing recreationally
and more if you compete. You can book the lessons
via the website: http://www.londonfencingclub.co.uk/private_lessons.php
on pay-as-you-go basis.
The members' rate for individual lessons is
currently £48 p/h (they can be 20, 40 or 60 min).
There are cheaper rates if you set up a pre-paid
lessons account.
We also offer the dedicated Individual Lessons plan.
The deal is simple: add £36 per month to your
subscription and receive a monthly 1 hour individual
tuition allowance (this makes it 33% cheaper than
the usual members' rate). If in any particular month
you cannot use the whole allowance, it is rolled
over to the next month!
Should I get my own
kit?
This not urgent but bare in mind that having your
own fencing kit is more comfortable, safe and
hygienic than the beginners' range you use at the
club - with it you'll enjoy fencing more! It will
also allow you to fence when ever you feel like it:
at home with friends, visiting other venues or even
other countries! It will be necessary if you decide
to fence using the electric scoring at the club or
enter a competition (yes, one day it might happen!).
We have a dedicated page on the website which will
give all necessary information about what items you
might want to buy - and where it can be done: http://www.londonfencingclub.co.uk/equipment/
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Tim Gadaski
newsletter editor
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