2025 Term One Beginner Course Info Is Here!

These courses are for ages twelve and above. Children aged 8 - 11 are invited to attend our U12 club on Tuesdays from 5 pm - 6 pm at the Tolosa Street Hall in Glenorchy.

If you want to have a go at fencing before you sign-up for a course, please attend the first Saturday club session on February 15th, at Tarremah Steiner School Hall in Huntingfield. Please send Head Coach Avery a text earlier in the week so he knows to expect you and can bring additional equipment.

MONDAYS, 7 WEEKS STARTING FEB 17th, 2025
7 pm - 8:30 pm.
83 Federal Street, North Hobart.
$120 + bring a friend for free.

Mon dates: Feb: 17th, 24th, Mar: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st

Maximum twelve beginners so we can maintain quality coaching.

SATURDAYS, 7 WEEKS STARTING FEB 15th, 2025
1:30 pm - 3 pm.
Tarremah Steiner School Hall, Huntingfield.
$120 + bring a friend for free.

Sat dates: Feb: 15th, 22nd, Mar: 1st, 15th, 22nd, 29th, Apr: 5th

Maximum twelve beginners so we can maintain quality coaching.

TO REGISTER FOR ONE OF THESE COURSES, PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM AND PAY USING THE BANK DETAILS PROVIDED.

ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM HERE.

Beginner courses in 2025 will be limited, to allow for progression of all fencers throughout the year. Please contact us to register your interest in attending a beginner course at one of our locations.

We do not have the capacity to train absolute beginners who start attending mid-term.

*Beginner courses are suitable for ages twelve and above.

We run sessions for ages 8 - 11 on Tuesdays.

Please contact Head Coach Avery Holderness-Roddam for information.

Ready to Have a Stab at fencing?

Fencing improves balance, agility, problem-solving skills, confidence, fitness and so much more.

You are never too old to start learning the sport, and we love welcoming newcomers.

Check out our ‘Fees’ page for Beginner Course dates.

The Basics:

There are three fencing swords:

Epee: Score with the tip of the swords and the whole body is valid target. Epee fencers can score double points, when they hit each other simultaneously.

Foil: Score with the tip of the sword, and the torso and bib of the mask are valid target. Foilists follow rules of priority and only one fencer can score a point at one time.

Sabre: Score with any part of the blade through primarily cutting actions. Everywhere above the hips (excluding the hands) are valid target, and Sabreurs also fence using rules of priority - only one fencer may score a point at a time.

The field of play:

Fencers ‘bout’ on a ‘piste’, or aluminium strip which is 14 m long, and 1.5-2 m wide.

The piste is earthed out so fencers cannot score a touch on it.

What to expect at your first session:

You should bring a drink bottle, comfy and clean sneakers, and full-length pants to every session.

Sessions always start with a group warm up, followed by footwork practice.

You will be introduced to the On Guard stance so you can fence with balance and ease of direction-changing. Once you can stand on guard, you will learn to Advance forward and Retreat backwards, so you can chase your opponent, and you can avoid being hit by them.

Next you will learn to keep-distance; using your steps forward and backwards to keep enough space between your opponent and yourself to be just out or reach, whilst being close enough to launch your own attacks.

Finally it’s time to kit up and learn the safety rules so you can get started with the blade skills.

We get beginners started with the Epee at VDFC, so you will learn how to hold the sword, how to not poke anybody’s eye out with it, and how to aim and hit your opponent.

From there you will gradually learn parries (blocks), ripostes (hitting one you’ve blocked), hitting whilst pushing your opponent’s blade away, counter-attacks, feints, drawing attacks so you can lure your opponent in then hit them, and a range of other fencing skills to add to your fencing tool kit.

We get newcomers fencing on their first session if they feel comfortable doing so, but if you’d rather just practice on a target board, that’s okay too.

Bring a friend!

It can be a bit nerve-wracking turning up to a club where you’re new to the sport and don’t know anybody.

We are very friendly, but we also understand that you might like to bring a friend along and we warmly encourage that!

Just let Coach Avery know that you’re planning to come along so he can keep an eye out for you. Text him your name/s and when you’re planning to come: 0428 057 473.

When to come along?

We welcome newcomers to the first two club sessions of the school term, when we run sessions to teach you the basics so you can see if fencing is for you.

We also run beginner courses several times a year, the first of which are on Saturdays and Mondays in Term One.

We ask newcomers to not start mid-term (unless your fencing friend invites you, which means that they will be planning to teach you the basics) because it takes the coaches away from coaching club members while they make sure they get you up to speed. It’s also much better to start learning in a beginner-specific session so you have plenty of time to learn the basics, which can sometimes take a little bit of practice to get your head around. :)

Social or Competitive?

The majority of fencers fence for the fun of learning new skills, for the fitness aspect, and for the like-minded friends they make at the club.

We also have competitive fencers and we run tournaments throughout the year for those fencers who wish to enter.

We treat all club members equally though and do not give preferential treatment to a member because they are competitive. Every member contributes to the lovely fencing community that we value greatly. We DO make sure to provide plenty of training opportunities to all members who wish to hone their skills.