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Epee lessons and classes in Baltimore

Back to School! Fencing at JHU’s Homewood campus returns for the 2022-23 season

Strictly speaking, we’re not returning—because we never left! But after a hot summer fencing in the air-conditioned comfort of Homewood Fencing Club’s six-strip Salle, we’re welcoming back active and inactive adult epee fencers, as well as the Hopkins fencing teams.

We’d like to extend our invitation to join our adult epee group every Tuesday and Friday at 7:00PM — especially JHU undergrads and graduate students who either did not try out for the team and/or just want to keep in shape doing the best sport that’s ever been invented!

Here are the answers to all your questions:

What if you’re not a JHU student? We won’t hold that against you — no matter if you drive down from Towson University, Goucher, Morgan State, Loyola or any other local college that doesn’t have a fencing program, you’ll find a second home with Homewood Fencing…

What if you don’t have a car? Pretend it’s Europe and take the Shuttle! (Here’s the schedule!)

What if the last time you fenced, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, or George Bush were in office? Doesn’t matter—it’s just like riding a bike! (Woodrow Wilson? Well, you’ll get used to electric scoring in a jiffy.)

What if you’ve never fenced before? Doesn’t matter, we’ll teach you the basics and you’ll be fencing in no time!

What if your gear “shrunk in storage”? Doesn’t matter, we’ll tide you over with a loaner jacket, plastron, mask, and glove!

What if you’re a “classical fencer”? We won’t hold that against you, either—show us just how well you hit without getting hit!

Do you have to be a member of USA Fencing? Yes. For insurance purposes, you have to be a member. That’s about $10/year for the non-competitive membership. We have all the proper forms handy.

What if you belong to another club? Again, you’re always welcome at Homewood Fencing Club.

What do we mean by “adult fencers”? Anyone 14 and older. If you can tie your own shoes and are able to put down your phone for as long as a bout takes, we consider you an adult. Okay, almost.

What does it cost? You pay Homewood Fencing Club $150 every 10 weeks and we’re good. Let me break that down for you: That’s $15 a week — so if you come fence on Tuesday AND Friday (like any reasonable person would do) that’s $7.50 a night. Can’t beat that! Plus, there may be discounts for college students.

Do you have a youth program? We sure do: JHU Coach Austin Young has a foil program for kids aged 8 and up.

How about private lessons? You can sign up with Coach Austin!

How do you get in touch with us? Call or text Coach Chris Amberger at 410-790-8033. Better save that number, because the JHU Newton White Athletic Center is about as secure as Fort Knox and we’ll have to let you in.

August Fencing News

  • It’s final: Our now former host, Loyola-Blakefield, has canceled the fencing program. We will not return.

  • Open Bouting continues on Tuesdays and Fridays for our epee fencers, foil classes continue on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays under the guidance of Coach Austin.

  • The Olympic Games may be over, but we’re just getting started: We have an outdoor pop-up epee tournament on 8/14/2021 at 9:30AM at the Towson High School athletic field!

  • We’re looking for a venue to expand in the medium term.

Epee fencing in Baltimore, post-COVID

The Pandemic of 2020/21 has taken a toll on local fencing. Two clubs in the region have closed their doors permanently. Those clubs who depend on schools and colleges for their venue found themselves in front of locked doors. Doors that will remain closed until September of 2021…

On the other hand, our adult epee group has been growing by leaps and bounds.

After a 3-month hiatus following the lockdown in March 2020, Vince and Chris started fencing again outdoors, on the athletic fields of Towson High School, soon to be joined by Aidan and Ethan. Using wireless and our prudently sequestered mobile scoring units, we instantly were independent of the regular club set-up. All we needed was a flat surface to fence on!

When the biting flies got too much, we moved from the defunct pole vault track to the pavement under the high school auditorium’s overhang roof. We found another regular in Daniel in the fall, and an A-rated challenge in Sarah. Our friends from the old BFC days, Latif and Hannah, also joined back up.

As the days grew shorter and colder, it became apparent that we’d need an indoor space to continue our bi-weekly Duels at Dusk. Thanks to Vince, we found an unused commercial space at the Rotunda shopping mall in Baltimore City. It was sufficient for a single Leon Paul “Gryptonite” strip. And because we capped occupancy at 6 persons at any given time for the first couple of months, that was more than enough for us. We also invited Homewood Fencing Club — who was in the same predicament as we were — to use the space for foil classes during those days we weren’t fencing.

We fenced close to 1,000 epee bouts in this place. Our group now has around 20 members, including novices and experienced fencers, so each bouting night, you can expect to find between 6 and 12 fencers ready for action.

In October of 2021, the Nomads joined Homewood Fencing Club, located at the Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood Campus off University Parkway. We now have six metal strips at our disposal, enough for our continued weekly Tuesday and Friday night bouting.

Experienced fencers, just grab your gear and simply show up at or around 6:00PM every Tuesday and Friday. If you have never fenced before but always wanted to, give Coach Chris a call at 410-790-8033.

We’re now establishing friendly alliances with other local and regional clubs, aimed at keeping Baltimore-area epee fencing alive through what remains of the pandemic.

We’re meeting at 733 W. 40th Street, Baltimore MD 21211, Tue/Fr 6:00PM.

Fencing February-March 2021

No news, in some cases, may be good news. In our case, it’s merely no news: We have not received any information from our hosts at Loyola-Blakefield if or when the school’s facilities may be available for restarting classes and private lessons…

Continue reading “Fencing February-March 2021”

Our New Epee Program Kicks Off on Tuesday, January 8, 2019!

fast-epee-2012

Just a quick reminder that Baltimore Midatlantic Fencing Academy’s Epee Program kicks off the fencing year on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, at 7:30PM at Wheeler Hall.

Baltimore MidAtlantic Fencing Academy offers an ongoing class for beginning and advanced epee fencers that focuses on footwork and blade competency, as well as applying fencing concepts to bouting.

The class is open to fencers of all skill levels and welcomes new members!

Sign-up for January, February, and March Classes is Open!

Our Friends at the Blakefield Experience (who is hosting Baltimore Midatlantic Fencing Academy) have posted your most current Membership and Class subscription and payment options. Continue reading “Sign-up for January, February, and March Classes is Open!”

Happy New Year to All Our Friends and Members!

fireworks

The coaching staff at Baltimore Midatlantic Fencing Academy wished a happy, healthy, and successful New Year to all our students, members, friends, and families! Continue reading “Happy New Year to All Our Friends and Members!”

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