Welcome to the Madison Fencing Academy
Have you seen The Princess Bride, Pirates of the Caribbean, Zorro, The Duelists or The Three Musketeers? If your heart pumped a bit faster while watching these movies, may we suggest that you learn to fence.
Fencing is a wonderful sport that maximizes your mental focus and physical athleticism. You can do it! You'll have a blast and you get to use swords.
Fencing Academy News and Events
Wisc. C and under Championships results...
The Wisconsin C and under Championships (also known as the Division Qualifiers) were fenced last Saturday, 3/22/08. The best fencing of the day, in your author's humble opinion, occurred in the Y14 Mixed Foil event.
Alden and Ellis Grasse from Milwaukee Sport Fencing, Hans Gabler from Caliburn, Alexander Shilakis from Cracovia and Johanna Pluymers from the Madison Fencing Academy made up the Y14 roster.
Alden and Ellis both worked hard and scored beautiful touches. The Grasse brothers both exhibited excellent sportsmanship far beyond their years.
Hans Gabler, fencing as if he was 7' tall, overcame weapon failures to fence tough bouts against all his competitors, Hans fought for each touch; the mark of a champion.
Alexander Shilakis gave everyone a master class on sportsmanship and competitive spirit. Alexander lent his weapons to competitors, congratulated his opponents when they did well and encouraged them when they came up short.
Johanna Pluymers, the only girl in the competition, showed that elusive blend of grace and competitive fire. Johanna used tempo and the control of distance to score fantastic touches that drew "ooohhs" and "ahhhs" from the gathered crowd.
All the kids fenced hard and gained everyone's admiration. At the end of the day Johanna took first place, winning a tough match against Alexander. True to his gracious nature, Alexander was the first to congratulate Johanna, telling her, "Great bout!"
Congratulations to all the fencers and especially the Y14 kids. They made us all proud!
Mike Garrison
3/24/08
Epee pool Monday 3/17/08
We continue our tradition of monthly single-weapon competitions this Monday, 3/17/08. This month we'll fence epee. Here are the details:
When: 7:30 PM
Where: Madison Fencing Academy (1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI)
Cost: $2.00
We'll have plenty of room for general fencing, so even if you don't plan on fencing in the epee pool, don't stay home.
Any questions? Just ask.
Director's Clinic. Saturday March 1st, 2008
The Madison Fencing Academy is proud to host the division's first director's clinic of 2008.
Where
Madison Fencing Academy
Orchard Ridge Church, 1501 Gilbert Ave. Madison, WI 53711
When
Saturday March 1, 2008
10:00 AM to ~3:00 PM
Cost
$25.00 ($20.00 for students)
Bring
A copy of the current USFA Rules (Sept. 2007). Download at http://www.usfencing.org/usfa/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,95/func,select/id,17/
A copy of the National Referee Exam Study Guide. Download at http://www.fencingofficials.org/
A copy of the Referee's Handbook. Download at http://www.fencingofficials.org/Info/HandbookForReferees.html
Note pad and pencil
Your fencing gear, including electric equipment, as we'll have strips set up.
Instructors
We are lucky to be able to bring you the guidance of Fencing Master Anthony Gillham and Coach Dan Torchia. Maestro Gillham coached the University of Wisconsin's NCAA fencing team for 18 years. He is currently coaching at the Caliburn Fencing Club in Milwaukee, WI. Mr. Torchia is the fencing coach at Catholic Memorial High School and holds USFA Referee ratings of 3 in foil and 4 in epee.
Contact
Please RSVP to Mike Garrison.
Mike's home #: 608-273-3477
Mike's cell #: 608-444-6160
Mike's e-mail: mgar919@gmail.com
Please note...this is an instructional clinic only. The FOC test will not be offered at the end of the day.
Why are we running a clinic without the exam? Well, simply put, the exam is tough and most people need more instruction than a single FOC clinic to pass. Also, we wanted to make high level instruction available to the division in both a convenient and reasonably priced way.
I think we can all agree that our division needs more qualified directors. So, if you're directing at the local level and want to improve your understanding of the rules and their application, this class if for you. If you're directing frequently in one or two weapons and want to broaden your skills to another weapon, this class if for you. Finally, if you're planning on taking an official FOC class and the accompanying exams, this class will REALLY help you pass the exams and earn your rating.
Schedule link added to MFA menu
Hello all,
Please check out the Schedule link. It's right under the Home link on the menu at the left side of the screen. Special events, like our March 1st Director's Clinic, parties, single-weapon pools and No Fencing dates will all be posted to the Schedule link.
Any questions??? Just ask.
Mike
2-10-08