Blog Archive

After experimenting with a variety of sports such as basketball, ice skating, and swimming, Caroline began fencing at the age of 12. Quickly, she fell in love with the strategic game and positive environment at Northwest Fencing Center.

In 2008, I watched Mariel Zagunis win a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics and told my parents that I wanted to be a fencer.

Will started fencing at six because he wanted to “poke” people without getting in trouble. His 13 years with NWFC has been a great journey, led by many talented coaches.

At age 12, Andy started practicing foil at a small club operating out of Las Positas community college in California. He switched to epee after finding success in the Y14 circuit due to his early 5’9″ stature and foil ill-suited style.

At age nine, Timmy took a reluctant detour from his NBA path and followed his big brother to fencing lessons in Salem. After multiple retirements (usually after a brutal beat-down by Megan Eno) Timmy landed at NWFC.

I was 11 when I started fencing at MTFC and it quickly became my passion.  My coach, Chris Winslow was a huge inspiration in my early fencing years.

When Henry was 14, he wandered into a small club in Albuquerque, Duke City Fencing, where a visiting coach named Cody Mattern offered him a free lesson. Henry jumped at the chance, and was instantly hooked on the sport.

After watching my older brother fence for a year, I could not resist trying the same sport at age seven. I was immediately in love with the excitement, strategy, and empowerment of fencing, and this passion immensely grew when I began competing nationally at age ten.

Joe Choo started fencing at the age of 11 at a recreation center that had a fencing class. Seven years later, he joined to fence for Northwest Fencing Center.

Aryana Abtin has been fencing foil since she was six years old and says, “I have been fencing foil since I was six years old and could not imagine myself doing anything else! I began fencing because Sebastien Dos Santos offered a pentathlon camp at French American International School, my elementary and middle school.”

Julia began fencing at age 8 when a class was offered by NWFC at her elementary school. She came home after her first “Be a Musketeer” class excited and energized and ready to go back and do it again.