Modern Sport Fencing
At KAB, our primary focus is on modern sport fencing, like you would see in the Olympics. We fence all three weapons: the foil, epee, and saber regularly and several of our members compete in these weapons as well. We offer classes for all ages, though we do tend to ask for members of our Beginner classes to be at least 10 years of age. There is no upper limit on age, either, which makes fencing a perfect sport for families!
John Farmer is our head Sport Fencing coach, with Kenyon Patterson as his Assistant Coach.
KidFence!
Stephanie Farmer is the KidFence! coach.
Italian Renaissance Rapier
At KAB, we don’t just teach modern fencing. We teach a variety of Historic Weapons (also known as HEMA, or Historic European Martial Arts) as well. The first one we added to our curriculum was the rapier of Renaissance Italy. We teach the use of the rapier and various “companion” weapons, such as the dagger, the buckler, and the cloak. In addition to learning to fence with the weapons of the Duelists, participants will learn about the history of the weapons. Our rapier curriculum draws from a variety of sources, including: Camillo Agrippa, Salvador Fabris, Nicolo Giganti, and Giacomo DiGrassi. Students taking this class will also learn the use of the sidesword (a heavier predecessor to the rapier), the montante or Renaissance greatsword, and storta or Italian falchion.
Tom Farmer is the coach with Stephanie as his assistant.
Highland Broadsword
In addition to teaching our students modern, competitive saber, we also offer a class in the weapon known as it’s “Great grandfather,” the Scottish Highland Broadsword. This weapon is much heavier than its modern descendant, but many of the actions have a core of similarity. This is the weapon of the Jacobite Rebellion and one of the most visually recognizable weapons in the Western world. We teach primarily out of Sir William Hope and Donald McBane’s work, but also draw from the work of Henry Angelo, Richard Burton, and even sources as late as the 1906 US Navy Cutlass manual. This class will also cover weapons McBane and Hope considered important to learn alongside the broadsword, such as the smallsword, singlestick, targe, and cutlass.
Tom Farmer is the Highland Broadsword Coach with Mike Huddleston assisting.
German Longsword
The most recent addition to our offerings is the German Longsword. We are proud to have two of the first ever “Moniteurs d’Escrime Historique” awarded in the United States here in our club. The German Longsword is a vastly different weapon from the others we offer. It is heavier, larger, and requires much more discipline to use safely. Even so, fighting with the longsword is still “fencing” in the original sense of the word. Our students learn the timing, distance, and even tactics of this surprisingly graceful weapon. Hans Lichtenauer is our main source for the longsword, and we also teach material from Hans Talhoffer, Hanko Döbringer, and the manual (erroneously) attributed to Sigmund Ringeck. Anyone taking this class will also be exposed to so-called “halfsword” material as well as messer and spear.