USA Fencing

NEW YORK—Walking down West 28th Street, one would hardly notice the old 1917 Caxton building. With a small lobby and slow elevators, it is just another small office tower tucked away in Chelsea, one may think. Yet every afternoon, taxis and SUVs pull up and drop off children who carry inscrutable long cases.

The children are part of a club, but it’s more than that. It’s a community. It’s a place where the sweat of determination wins students educational opportunities—possibly a spot on the Olympic team—but most importantly personal transformation. It’s a fencers club.

Continuing the tradition of 18th century European masters, the Fencers Club of New York has trained the arts of parries, lunges, feints, and counter-attacks for over 130 years.

Despite the three silver medals its members brought home from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, there is no signage on their doors suggesting it’s an athletic powerhouse ... more>