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Andy Gearhart began his fencing career in 1983 at the Rochester Fencing Center under the instruction of Master Coach Buckie Leach. During his competitive career Andy focused on foil and found great success through his college career at Penn State. He still ranks in the top ten all-time career leaders for men’s foil fencers there. After college Andy turned his focus to coaching and his passion for the sport shines through when he coaches. His favorite aspect of coaching is as he says “when I see the light go off in my students eyes and know that they got it”. He looks forward to sharing his knowledge and working with anyone who wants to learn.
michael mehall has been involved with fencing for over 25 years and still competes regularly winning several national medals. Michael loves working with fencers of all ages and his passion for the sport certainly shows.
PROGRAMS AND CAMPS
Our club offers classes for ages 6 through adult in Foil and Epee for beginners through advanced level fencers. Our goal is to meet the needs of our community whether that be as a recreational fencer or someone who wants to compete at the highest levels. Most importantly it is about learning the sport of fencing and having fun.
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NEW TO FENCING
Foil, epee and saber are the three disciplines used in the sport of fencing. While it is possible for fencers to compete in all three events, an athlete typically chooses to focus on one discipline.The foil is a descendant of the light court sword formally used by nobility to train for duels. The foil has a flexible rectangular blade, approximately 35 inches in length and weighs less than one pound. Points are scored with the tip of the blade and must land within the torso of the body. The valid target area in foil is the torso from the shoulders to the groin in the front and to the waist in the back. It does not include the arms, neck, head and legs. This concept of on‐target and off‐target evolved from the theory of 18th‐ century fencing masters who instructed their pupils to only attack the vital areas of the body – i.e. the torso. Of course, the head is also a vital area of the body, but attacks to the face were considered unsporting and therefore discouraged.The foil fencer’s uniform
The epee (pronounced “EPP‐pay,” meaning sword in French), the descendant of the dueling sword, is similar in length to the foil, but is heavier, weighing approximately 27 ounces, with a larger guard (to protect the hand from a valid hit) and a much stiffer blade. Touches are scored only with the point of the blade, and the entire body, head‐to‐toe, is the valid target area, imitating an actual duel.A full‐body target naturally makes epee a competition of careful strategy and patience – wild, rash attacks are quickly punished with solid counter‐attacks.The saber is the modern version of the slashing cavalry sword, and is similar in length and weight to the foil. The major difference is the use of the blade. The saber is a cutting weapon as well as a thrusting weapon; therefore, saberists can score with the edge of their blade as well as their point. The target area is from the bend of the hips (both front and back), to the top of the head. This simulates the cavalry rider on a horse. The saber fencers’ uniform includes a metallic jacket (lamé), which fully covers the target area to register a valid touch on the scoring machine. Because the head is valid target area, the fencer’s mask is also electrically wired.