Fencing in San Francisco

[edew]

Bill, did you not see the ?

[wwalkerjr]

Bill, did you not see the ?

Yes, I did. Sardonic humor (on my part) did not go through the internet very well. I will edit my post to add an emoticon.

To the entire forum: First Place Fencing is a great place. I've always enjoyed my visits. They teach epee there. Eric and Sean are excellent instructors. I mean this sincerely.

Bill

[Inquartata]

Didn't realize epee fencers were such a congenial bunch

Sort of like sheep and cattle are congenial.

[jjefferies]

Ah, Mr. Walker,
Sounds like it's time for me to start coming down to Cardinal again. But will these bright new lights actually come out and fence the oldsters.?
J.

[Simcoe]

I can't speak on behalf of any clubs, but I don't think any require that you be a USFA member to practice there. You just need to be a club member, pay the club dues (whatever the amount may be) and pay for lesson fees (if you choose to take private lessons).

I just saw on the GGFC flyer : "Eligibility: Any current USFA member".

Based on the reactions of European fencers coming to our club (DCFC) prepare expect the club fees to be much higher than you are used to in Europe.

That's what everyone is telling me.

GGFC membership price of $150 a month is, indeed, quite expensive (I currently pay 160€ (= $230) a year with equipment renting and private lessons included). At this price I wouldn't forgive me if I were to miss a night !
And suddenly I'm not so sure about going to different clubs...

HFC is indeed cheaper, although they don't have as many advanced épée bouting hours.
I can't find any pricing information on the EBFG website.

I see some are speaking about "floor fees" : those are the same as "club fees", right ?

[SFfencer]

I saw on the GGFC flyer : "Eligibility: Any current USFA member".

That's what everyone is telling me.

GGFC membership price of $150 a month is, indeed, quite expensive (I currently pay 160€ (= $230) a year with equipment renting and private lessons included). At this price I wouldn't forgive me if I were to miss a night !
And suddenly I'm not so sure about going to different clubs...

HFC is indeed cheaper, although they don't have as many advanced épée bouting hours.
I can't find any pricing information on the EBFG website.

I see some are speaking about "floor fees" : those are the same as "club fees", right ?

Yeah, Halberstadt pretty much has epee only on Monday/Wednesday nights, although some people come in and do epee on Tuesdays as well.

floor fees are per night/day fees, that is; if you aren't a member of the club, you pay the floor fee so you can fence there for that night.

[edew]

Also, floor fees are assuming that you're just "passing through" that is, you're there for a week or at most a month. If you're there for a year or longer, they expect you to sign up as a member. Insurance thingee.

[wahrman]

As has already been said, most clubs in the Bay Area are very happy to have a senior epee fencer drop in. And by most I mean all but one.

Don't be put off the threat of drama. There really is none in the senior epee camp. It's a very, very friendly crowd.

Most of the clubs charge $10 or $15 per night to drop in for non members.

I don't believe that any club in the Bay Area requires a USFA licence to practice and your FIE should be fine for local competitions but you might as well get a USFA just to avoid any problems.

Most clubs are quite happy to let you pay the floor fee as long as you choose. Again, all but one that I can think of.

[delmet]

EBFG club fee for last year was $800. I don't think anyone will dispute that it has the best epee fencer in the bay area. A lesson after that will cost you 15 bucks a pop.

Cardinal is quite cheap (for bay area), I think it is $500 for a year and they have the best place in town. Unfortunately, some of their best fencers who compete for the university do not show up at night, or if they do only one night a week. It also has 2 nights of epee fencing instead of 3 unlike ggfc and ebfg. Also the lessons are more expensive as far as I know.

GGFC is also pretty nice, but expensive. They have a few good fencers, and probably the most up and coming ones.

I think for you GGFC or EBFG would be the best. The level of fencing at these two clubs is comparable. Although the style and coaching are quite different. I know Abdul personally and he is an excellent coach and, he really does care how his people do.

I really doubt anybody cares if you are a USFA member to fence in their club.

[jjefferies]

I really doubt anybody cares if you are a USFA member to fence in their club.

Correct. GGFC wants all their fencers to be USFA members but I believe they are an exception. You don't need USFA membership unless you are fencing outside of your own club, i.e. NAC's, Sectional, PCC's, Bay Cup.

Suggest you try out all the clubs and then decide which one fits you best.
As mentioned previously the floor fee is a one time use fee. I also suggest taking at least one lesson at each club to make your determination. And tell them up front that's what you are doing so they will make room for you. Many coaches have their entire day allotted already.

[wwalkerjr]

Simcoe,

As you can see, we are a pretty friendly band of gypsies, who travel to each other's clubs fairly frequently.
Please let us know when you will be arriving and where you will be, I'm sure that you will get more bouts than you want.

Jonathan, I've heard from George Pogosov that a part of the savestanfordfencing plan is to have the kids visit the Cardinal club more often to extend the community outreach. I'm sure that Mike, Dick or I will post the nights on the yahoo epee board.

Regards,

Bill

[contre-Sixte]

As has already been said, most clubs in the Bay Area are very happy to have a senior epee fencer drop in. And by most I mean all but one. ....

Most clubs are quite happy to let you pay the floor fee as long as you choose. Again, all but one that I can think of.

Inquiring Minds want to know...

[sneakattack]

Inquiring Minds want to know...

I have heard rumors about CFA... Many, many rumors...

[evaluna]

The F.net guys have covered most subjects but I'd like to add a couple of points:

East Bay Fencers Gym, EBFG, (my home club) is easy walking distance from the BART station in downtown Oakland. We've had several young women from UCB who come by BART, The club is open for epee Tuesday, Thursday nights from 7:30 -10:00 and Saturday afternoon from 1:00PM to 3:00. The coach, Abdul Habeck is also head coach at the University of California Berkeley, and is Russian trained as a professional coach. Most people have found EBFG to be one of the most reasonably priced clubs in the Bay Area.

My preferred weapon is epee. And in the Bay Area the major epee clubs are EBFG, Golden Gate Fencing Center (GGFC), and particularly for Veterans, Cardinal (Stanford University). Halberstadt (HFC) is in the running but their epee contingent right now is not quite as prominent . Between GGFC and EBFG I believe that EBFG put more fencers on the podium or at higher placements at SN than GGFC (THIS YEAR). Neither one shown really well for a number of reasons including typical losses due to fencers moving. GGFC is the older, larger and definitely much more expensive club by a factor of 2 or 3. But does boast of having two national coaches on the Staff whereas EBFG has just one coach.

It is definitely possible to fence more than one club if you can juggle the times. I myself have fenced three nights a week at EBFG, two at GGFC, and one or two at Cardinal or Cal. So this can be done if you can make the times work.

Hope this helps with any confusion. Private Message me if you have any unanswered questions.

Just a reminder to everyone that tomorrow is the first Wednesday of the month, which means bouting at GGFC is free (i.e. no floor fees).

It would be really nice if Jonathan could get some of those "young ladies" he boasts of to come out and fence.... or at least Sharon!

Anna

[jjefferies]

Just a reminder to everyone that tomorrow is the first Wednesday of the month, which means bouting at GGFC is free (i.e. no floor fees).

It would be really nice if Jonathan could get some of those "young ladies" he boasts of to come out and fence.... or at least Sharon!

Anna

I'll make sure Ms. Bear knows about it. Sharon I believe is very tied up with school duties and getting Cameron out the door and safely off to Chico

[Simcoe]

Sorry to bring that thread up but I've come accross this website and it seems the GGFC/HFC neighborhood isn't really the safest one around.
As I said I won't have any car and the nearest bus stop is two blocks away, plus the clubs are closing quite late and I'll have all my fencing equipement with me.

Do you know of anyone going to GGFC/HFC by bus and who had any trouble ?

[edew]

I think GGFC is slightly better than HFC. But HFC is closer to BART if you wish to get out of town quickly. I never recall seeing a bus drive by GGFC on Harrison, but I there are busses going by HFC.

But really, I don't think you're going to get mugged in those two neighborhoods. Maybe propositioned by some toothless tranny in a dirty bridal gown. (In which case, you'd take the mugging as an alternative.)

[wahrman]

There are certain blocks in those neighbourhoods that you'll not want to walk around at night. You'll notice which ones pretty quickly. Some are more populated than others. Some are better lit than others.

I lived in the area for a while and went to GGFC 3 times a week and had no problems. It is a bit of a sketchy area but I'd not be too worried.

If I were a young woman, I might be nervous. As for myself, they may have been more afraid of me than the other way round. I don't know.

I think GGFC is slightly better than HFC. But HFC is closer to BART if you wish to get out of town quickly. I never recall seeing a bus drive by GGFC on Harrison, but I there are busses going by HFC.

But really, I don't think you're going to get mugged in those two neighborhoods. Maybe propositioned by some toothless tranny in a dirty bridal gown. (In which case, you'd take the mugging as an alternative.)