fencing 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 28, 2022 0

Nomads in the News

We may not be rich, but we’re now kinda famous. For their Spring Edition, Baltimore’s Child featured a piece on Baltimore-area fencing. And, funny how things work out, Coach Chris got to plug our Epee Nomads in the piece.

Find the Baltimore’s Child article on fencing right here

April 5, 2022 0

Youth Fencing is Back!

Homeland Fencing Club is offering its first beginners’ class for kids aged 8 to 13:

Our 10-week Youth Beginners Class starts Saturday, February 5, 2022

every Saturday from 11AM to Noon!

It’s your kids’ favorite new sport — and they don’t even know about it yet!

Every Saturday from 11AM to Noon!

January 30, 2022 0

September Fencing and GREAT expectations for October!

First things first: Tuesday and Friday epee nights will continue throughout September at the established days and times:

Tuesdays at 6:00PM — Skills clinic

Tuesdays at 7:00 PM — Open bouting

Fridays at 7:00PM — Open bouting

Looking beyond September, we have some GREAT prospects we’re working on. Epee Nomads may be joining a brand-new fencing room with 6 grounded strips before you can say “Happy Halloween!”

Details to follow!

September 3, 2021 1

1st Epee Nomads Outdoor Tournament

Summer is wrapping up and two of our youthful Nomads are heading off to college.

What better way to conclude our first year of nomad life than to stage an unlicensed, unsanctioned, uninvited flash mob tournament on the long-jump track of Towson High.

On August 14, 2021, 7 competitors battled it out for possession of three top-of-the-line medals: 90-degree heat and high humidity were no impediment. Youth and treachery won out over age and experience!

August 21, 2021 0

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.

August 11, 2021 0

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.

June 17, 2021 2

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 →

February 3, 2021 0

Season’s Fencing 2020/21

Epee Nomads, our renegade active fencer group, will ring out 2020 with a last open bouting on December 18!

Holiday travel and subsequent self-imposed quarantines will delay our first open bouting to the first full week of January 2021. We’re not sure yet if we’re restarting First Tuesday (1/5) or First Friday (1/8), but restart we will! You’ll find out right here where and when.

Despite the shutdown of our training venue at Loyola-Blakefield, our rogue Epee Nomads are looking back on a memorable fencing season: Many hundred individual bouts fenced, first in 90-degree heat outside on the pole vault track of Towson High, then underneath the protective awning of Towson High’s Auditorium, and now in our temporary indoor venue at the Rotunda (see picture above).

The Nomads have attracted fencers from a variety of local clubs that shut down during the pandemic. We fence according to “old-school” epee rules: Bouts for 15 touches, no lime limits, none of the “lack of combativity” nonsense, no coin flipping. Those are intense fights that truly grind you down and allow the fencer to adapt, counter-adapt and re-adapt to his or her opponent — the way epee is supposed to be.

In our indoor venue, fencers wear face masks and Leon Paul clip-ins under their FIE masks. The rule is that when the fencing mask goes down, the face mask must be up. The group provides face shields to be worn by anyone not actively bouting. All points of communal contact are disinfected, and our maximum attendance for each evening is 6.

Actually: This has been so much fun, I’m not sure if we actually want to stop!

So, rest your bones, cure your pulls and strains, let your bruises fade for the next couple of weeks.

To all fencers and their families, we extend a hearty “Happy Holidays!” Stay safe and prosper!

We’ll meet again in 2021!

—Coach Chris

December 16, 2020 0

Learn to Fence * Compete * Have Fun!

Tag