Brooklyn Fencing Center

I attended a Tournament on May 2, 2015 as a coach from Boston. I can say, the tournament was very well run, fencing was at a high level. As a former member of the Untied States World Championship Team, I can say i would not hesitate to send someone to this club.

I helped organize an event here with 18 people for an Intro to Fencing. We informed everyone to wear sweatpants and long sleeve shirts, but people don’t really listen and that’s too bad. When you’re doing active stuff like this you don’t wear jeans and the people that do, probably don’t really do much physical activity let alone have a gym membership. Anyhow the instructor, Mike was awesome. The movements were really interesting and not like any martial art (could you say fencing is a martial art?) I’ve ever taken. Your right leg is the leading leg (if you’re right handed) as opposed to a regular fighting stance leading with your left. Very different muscle groups are worked when holding a foil trying to poke people and I’m seriously considering a membership.

BFC was the first competitive fencing club to open in Brooklyn, in 2003. I came here once with the boyfriend (who’s practically a member) to fence a bit. There’s a big, well air-​conditioned room for open fencing and another one for private lessons, as well as showers, locker rooms, and random rooms into which fencers are naturally inclined to dump all their stuff.
I’ve never taken a private lesson, but this was accurate as of 2 years ago: each lesson is a half hour for $ 35– actually an intense bit of work for a moderate price. They also offer group classes for various ages/​skill levels/​weapons. For those not looking for lessons and just wanting to fence, the floor fee is $ 10. Since I’d left all my equipment in Illinois except for my sneakers and glove, it was another $ 10 to borrow the works: weapon, body cord, knickers that didn’t quite fit, jacket, lamé, mask. You can’t appear on the strip in anything other than your whites. If you’re an épée or sabre, be forewarned that BFC seems fairly foil-​centric, especially the younger you go down the age groups.
I think the entirety of Stuyvesant High School’s fencing team gathers here. Essentially, it’s a tight knit community, and for this reason it all felt a bit exclusive, where everyone knew everyone else and was otherwise somewhat standoffish. This could easily just be the spirit of fencing as a sport, though, coming from someone who is well outside the circle (i.e. me). Still, you’ll need to be assertive if you want to fence new people. Luckily, this is not a problem for seasoned fencers, as they are known to be arrogant assholes.
:O
Anyway, BFC is one of the top fencing clubs in the city, though not as well-​known (nor as reviled) as Fencers Club in Manhattan. Membership fee is unpleasant, but hey, it’s a fencing club.