Organizer
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Coach Ryleigh Sweet
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Email
rsweet@modernduelists.com -
Coach Ryleigh is one of Modern Duelists’ original members and has over a decade of experience under her belt. During that time, she’s been involved in nearly every area of the fencing world: high-level competition, refereeing, armoring, and of course, coaching. She has an incredible passion for the sport, and it’s easy to see her genuine level of excitement for everything she teaches. Unsurprisingly, her classes are known for being high-energy and often high-intensity. Her favorite thing to teach is strategy, and she’s a big believer in making sure her students understand why they’re doing something instead of just how to do it.
Location
- 505 Blue Ball Road, Elkton, MD
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Modern Duelists is located in the Triumph Industrial Park, just minutes off of I-95. Classes are held in our 3,600 sq.ft. fencing room, equipped with five regulation fencing strips, two practice strips, and over a dozen different wall, standing, and hanging targets. Students also have access to a fully-stocked armory for equipment repairs, a weight room for auxiliary training, and a break room/kitchenette.
Youth Intro to Fencing Class
Age Requirement: 8-12
Prerequisites: None
Equipment: None (equipment provided)
Difficulty: Easy
Duration: Varies (1 hour for beginner students, 1.5 hours for intermediate and novice students)
CLASS TIMES
Tuesdays @ 4:30PM | Thursdays @ 4:30PM | Saturdays @ 1:00PM
Students ages 8-12 can learn the foundations of fencing in our Youth Intro to Fencing Class. This program operates at a slower pace than the adult program, focusing first and foremost on teaching kids to move athletically. They work on coordination, making deliberate motions, and reacting quickly, all in the context of fencing. Classes are structured around games, meaning students learn through play instead of through rote technical drills.
Students will spend an average of six months in the Youth Intro to Fencing Class, where they’ll move through three levels.
Beginner (Months 1 & 2): Beginner students are introduced to the basics of fencing for the very first time. They’ll learn fencing footwork, attacks, hand positions, and basic tactics. Beginners practice for one hour.
Intermediate (Months 3 & 4): Intermediate students will continue fine tuning their basic skills alongside the beginners, but with real steel epees and with a greater focus on tactics. After the beginners wrap up their practice, intermediate students stay for an additional 30 minutes to learn bladework skills like parries.
Novice (Months 5 & 6): Like the intermediate students, novices will spend an hour practicing with the whole class. As the experts of the group, they’ll help mentor the beginners and show them the ropes. During their extra 30 minutes of class, novices get to put together everything they’ve learned so far into real bouting scenarios
By the time students graduate from the Youth Intro to Fencing Class, they’ll be fully prepared to move up to the advanced level, fence full length bouts, and begin competing.
Want to learn more about joining our Youth Intro to Fencing Class?