Epee clubs accepting visitors in San Jose, CA?

[tbryan]

I'm going to be in San Jose April 16 - April 20. I see on the fencing clubs map that there are several fencing clubs in the area: Fremont Fencers, Salle de Cesare, California Fencing Academy, Victory Fencing Club, the Fencing Center/ASGARD, etc. Does anyone know whether any of these clubs has strong epee fencing and permits visitors to drop in for some bouting?

I don't normally pack up all of my fencing gear if I'm just going to be out of town on business for a few days, but I really hate to go an entire week without practicing this close to Sectionals.

[striker]

I'm going to be in San Jose April 16 - April 20. I see on the fencing clubs map that there are several fencing clubs in the area: Fremont Fencers, Salle de Cesare, California Fencing Academy, Victory Fencing Club, the Fencing Center/ASGARD, etc. Does anyone know whether any of these clubs has strong epee fencing and permits visitors to drop in for some bouting?

I don't normally pack up all of my fencing gear if I'm just going to be out of town on business for a few days, but I really hate to go an entire week without practicing this close to Sectionals.

tbryan,

If you are willing to drive a little, you will be able to get strong Epee
fencing in one of the following clubs. Please call them and ask what is their
policy regarding visitors. They may ask you to pay a floor fee. Also
please check their schedule.

Cardinal Fencing Club in Palo Alto. About 20-25 minutes drive from San Jose.
http://www.cardinalfencingclub.com/

East Bay Fencers Club. About 50 minutes drive from San Jose.
http://www.eastbayfencers.com/

[Cerian]

Salle Santa Cruz is half an hour or so away down Highway 17. You can probably find stronger epee, though Eric Hansen is here. I can't remember which club he goes to to get in practice bouting right now though. When it comes back to me I'll let you know...

[smurfette]

The Fencing Center in San Jose is your best bet. Tuesday and Thursday nights. A number of strong men: Eric Hansen (tues?), Mark Wheeler (a strong B), and Mike Botenhagen would be the high points, with a few others thrown in.

[Cerian]

That's it, TFC, that's what I was thinking but I wasn't sure.

[counterattack]

The Fencing Center in San Jose is your best bet. Tuesday and Thursday nights. A number of strong men: Eric Hansen (tues?), Mark Wheeler (a strong B), and Mike Botenhagen would be the high points, with a few others thrown in.

This is the run down:

TFC: Downtown San Jose (the only club actually in San Jose). They have some good epee fencers. Wheeler, Burdette, Botenhagen, and a rotating cast of others. If closeness to SJ is your main criteria then this is the place for you. As mentioned, Eric Hansen shows up there pretty often these days. That is good fencing. But if you are willing to drive 20-30 minutes you can do better in terms of number of potential tough bouts.

CFA: Mainly kids, but some good ones (Jennings and Schoolcraft). Not really the best choice no matter what your criteria are as a drop in fencer.

Stanford (Cardinal): 20-30 minute drive. Tuesday and Thursday 7:30 or 8 until 10. Nice new facility with 10 grounded strips. Strong group of veterans (e.g. Bothelio), and when the students show up (NCAAs are done so that is less likely right now) really good fencing: Martin Lee and Clayton Kenney, plus a handful of others. On a good night there can be 7 A-rated fencers as well as a handful of Bs. I fence here twice a week.

Golden Gate: All the way up in SF, but can be worth the hour drive (and possibly you could car pool up to the city and back with me on Wednesdays, PM me if interested). A few guys who frequent the top-32 of NACs, Ordody, Bethel, and Kip Cox (though only on weekends), a few tough veterans (Gerring), plus a group of kids that are getting pretty tough, though you have to get there early to fence them. Recently grounded all of their strips, too. I fence here once a week.

East Bay Fencers Gym: Also an hour drive, but also worth it. Their notable attraction is Keith Lichten. They also have a half dozen other fencers who compete (Jefferies, for example, if you are looking for Vets), and on strong turnout nights have a really good group. Their facility is not so good, though, only four ungrounded strips.

Halberstadt: Only blocks from Golden Gate FC in the city. Long drive also. They have a group of kids who are getting stronger, but not enough quality to be worth the drive now that Michael Pearce is away at college.

Salle Santa Cruz: 30-45 minute drive. Not sure if Hansen is also fencing here or what. A decent group of fencers, but if you're driving that far Stanford is a better bet. You can often run into some of their fencers at TFC.

Elite Musketeers Fencing: 30 minute drive. Not sure who is fencing there right now. They are mainly a very good foil club right now. If Veeco is in town, this is where he fences, but he doesn't live here anymore so the odds are low.

There are a few other small clubs around, but none that would be worth visiting over the ones I already mentioned.

[Poulet]

How long until "Eric Hansen frequents our club!" becomes a standard advertising point for clubs in the area?

[tbryan]

This is the run down:

Wow! Thanks for the great info. It'll partially come down to which night(s) I have free and what time I get free to go find fencing. I'm guessing that I'll be spending one or two evenings hanging out with co-workers.

Thanks again!

[veeco]

How long until "Eric Hansen frequents our club!" becomes a standard advertising point for clubs in the area?

Well you see, the nice about the Bay Area is that all of the clubs are pretty cooperative with each other. And good fencers actually do travel to all the clubs, trying to raise the level of fencing in the area. There are some feuds, but over all, if it helps the fencing, they are forgotten.

So a lot of the fencers in the area do frequent several clubs. And the level of fencing there is pretty high...