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Officers and Affiliations The Huntsville Fencing Club was originally established in 1971 as an outgrowth of the M.A.R.S. Fencing Club founded by NASA engineers in 1963. The club has been under its current direction since January 2009. Our officers include co-directors Mike Greene, Benerson Little, and Brian Parker; instructor Benerson Little; secretary-treasurer Geoffrey Babb; and armorer Dave Young. As always, our officers are ably assisted by the rest of the membership. The Huntsville Fencing Club is a member of the United States Fencing Association (USFA), the governing body of modern fencing in the United States. The USFA is a member of both the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Federation Internationale d’Escrime (FIE), the international governing body of competitive fencing.
Purpose To provide a local venue for recreational and competitive fencers of all levels at the lowest reasonable cost and free of unnecessary encumbrances; to promote the sport of Olympic fencing at the recreational and competitive levels, especially epee fencing; to maintain the traditions of honorable combat with swords; to encourage the study of swordplay, past and present; to provide affordable quality beginning instruction and individual lessons; to minimize the administrative, logistical, and financial requirements associated with fencing; and, especially, to encourage an atmosphere of competitive camaraderie. The benefits of fencing go far beyond exercise and competition—we consider the historical and swashbuckling connections, the social atmosphere, the lifelong process of learning to fence, and the sheer fun of fencing to be just as important, or more so.
Open Fencing We practice at the Huntsville Athletic Club (HAC) in the Aerobics Room on Tuesdays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to around 5 p.m. Visitors are always welcome. Club membership (not required for students in the beginning class) is $30 per year, prorated, the membership year being August 1 to July 31. Floor fees are $3 per visit, waved for first-time visitors. These are the only required fees, and they are used entirely to pay club expenses such as rent and the purchase and maintenance of club equipment. Out-of-state visitors are not required to join the club unless they routinely train with us. Members of other clubs are welcome, but if they intend to train with us routinely we require them to become associate members. The HFC is by and large an epee club, with only a handful of fencers who have ever actively fenced foil other than in a beginning class, or saber. This is due in part to recent changes in foil and saber that have significantly altered their character, and in part to the number of experienced epeeists who have made the club their home over the last decade. The technique and rules interpretations of foil and saber remain in flux and are being driven by the FIE’s need to make fencing more popular to a television audience in order to keep the sport alive as an Olympic event. Given this arguably unfortunate present state, many fencers now prefer the complex simplicity of the epee as opposed to the now highly subjective, overly convoluted, and often arbitrary-seeming refereeing of the modern form of the other two weapons. Further, the associated recent descent of foil and saber from “combat swordplay as sport” into pure sport has put many older foil and saber fencers off. Epee, however, has remained more or less unchanged since the advent of electrical scoring some seventy-five years ago. It is the weapon most similar to the swordplay and conditions of the duel, and is the most “democratic” of the three weapons, in that the weaker fencer always stands a better chance of winning against a stronger fencer than in foil and saber. Epee also permits a wide variety of styles and has the largest body of technique, even though many epeeists keep their game simple. All of the forgoing has led to epee become the most popular of the three weapons. The old belief among many fencing instructors that epeeists must be tall has been repeatedly disproved, including at the Olympics and World Championships.
Instruction in General We offer group instruction in beginning fencing, as well as individual instruction in epee primarily, although foil and saber lessons are also available. We also occasionally run clinics in footwork, technique, tactics, and weapon repair, and for diversion we occasionally offer clinics in historical fencing, specifically the smallsword and backsword/broadsword/saber/cutlass. Students may begin learning to fence at almost any age, and we have had many students begin in their forties, fifties, and sixties. However, we seldom instruct students under the age of twelve, as fencing does require a minimum level of physical and psychological development, and most youth under twelve, no matter how bright, athletic, or enthusiastic, do not meet this requirement. We do not want to see a young student’s enthusiasm diminish in the face of the physical and mental discipline fencing requires. As long as the student is reasonably able, we have no upper age limit. We do not offer individual instruction to beginners with no fencing experience. Instead, we require that all students who have never fenced before first take a thorough beginning class. Only then will we offer the student individual lessons. Beginning class instruction and individual lessons are provided by Benerson Little. Ben has been fencing for thirty-four years and teaching fencing for fourteen. He originally studied fencing under world-class Hungarian fencers and masters Dr. Francis Zold and Dr. Eugene Hamori (see Links Page), and is mentored as an instructor by Dr. Hamori. Although Ben has had instruction in all three weapons, and has competed in all as well, he is primarily an epee fencer, with a strong associated background in foil. Ben is a Professional Member of the USFA.
For Parents A polite word of warning, to parents especially: if you are looking for a club where hand-holding is the norm, this is not the place for you. Although we offer thorough instruction and are always willing to assist fencers, we have neither the time nor the philosophical inclination to engage in excessive hand-holding of fencers or, for that matter, their parents. Club members of any age must be self-motivated. They alone are responsible for attending fencing sessions, engaging in free fencing, seeking out instruction if they want it, and, if they choose, attending competitions. Over-attention,
while it obviously makes good business sense for some clubs, is ultimately
counter-productive. It wrongly teaches fencers to rely on their instructors
rather than upon themselves, thus denying them the greatest lesson that
fencing teaches, that of self-reliance under pressure. The traditions and
forms of modern fencing originated with the 19th century duel, in which
adversaries had to rely solely on themselves while engaged in combat. We
strongly believe in and encourage the values of self-reliance and
self-motivation. The Beginning Fencing Class Beginning Fencing is an eight session class (sixteen total hours of instruction) designed to provide the beginner with practical ability in the basic skills necessary for free fencing. Course material is based largely on classical foil and also includes an introduction to modern epee fencing. Safety is emphasized. The course also provides the novice fencer with a working knowledge of the traditions, courtesies, and rules of fencing followed worldwide. Fencing is physical, psychological, and intellectual, and no other sport has a history as rich and colorful. We provide all necessary equipment (foil, mask, glove, and jacket). Students must wear comfortable clothing, preferably athletic, and athletic shoes. Sweat pants or similar clothing must cover the legs: shorts do not adequately protect the legs from inadvertent thrusts or hits. Court shoes or cross trainers are preferred over running shoes, but are not mandatory. We mix youth and adult fencers in the same class; we do not run separate youth classes. As noted above, students must be twelve years or older, although we can make exceptions for students as young as ten years old. The decision is the instructor’s. Course dates are posted on this website at least two weeks in advance, and are often determined only two to four weeks prior to the start date. We typically run three beginning courses per year, although we may run as many as five or as few as two. Course dates are determined by the instructor's schedule. Classes run on Saturdays, noon to 2 p.m. Pre-registration is not required, but please contact us in advance so we have a rough idea of likely class size. The class fee is $100, payable not later than the end of the second class. Students are not required to join the HFC during the class, nor pay floor fees. Membership in the Huntsville Athletic Club is not required for the classes nor for HFC membership.
Individual Instruction We also offer individual lessons in epee, foil (classical and modern), and Hungarian saber, although epee lessons overwhelmingly predominate. Lessons are usually available Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., subject to the instructor’s availability. Our goal is to promote the sport of fencing, thus our rates ($7 per 20 minute lesson) are very reasonable; we are not a business. The instructor determines the lesson order among students and makes no distinction between competitors and purely recreational fencers. This ensures that all fencers who want lessons have an equal opportunity to get them. The instructor does not offer “private” lessons—that is, lessons not associated with his duties as instructor at the HFC—to students at any level. All students must be members of the HFC.
Clinics We occasionally hold periodic clinics (1) for former fencers who wish to begin fencing again but are perhaps too rusty to jump right back in, (2) for current fencers who desire additional instruction in footwork, technique, or tactics, and (3) for those who wish to learn more about weapon repair and care. Clinic dates are determined as required, and typically consist of one or two two-hour sessions on consecutive Saturdays.
Historical Fencing On occasion we run two-hour instructional clinics in historical fencing, primarily in the smallsword and broadsword/backsword/saber/cutlass.
Demonstrations
Inquiries If you are interested in taking classes, arranging for lessons, attending a clinic, or scheduling a demonstration, use the email address on the Contact Us page and we'll gladly get back to you with the required information. Please understand that our officers have lives outside of fencing and may not be able to get back to you immediately. If you do not hear from us within a week at most, please re-send your email. On occasion, emails get mis-routed or our contact person may be unavailable for short periods.
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Copyright © 2004 Huntsville
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