Welcome to Bristol Blades

Bristol Blades is a Foil and Sabre fencing club based in the energetic city of Bristol. We offer quality coaching and create a fun and enthusiastic training environment for all our members, from beginners new to the sport, to competitive international athletes.

Our aim is to to help develop and support new and existing fencers so that they can successfully achieve their potential. We actively encourage inclusivity and welcome all peoples of all ages. We promote fair play and want as many people as possible to experience our sport.

If you are new to the sport or an experienced fencer, we would love to welcome you to the club.

Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic the club has had to put in place strict guidelines.

We are now OPEN, running in line with British Fencing and Government guidelines. Safety information can be found at the bottom of the Club and Policies page in ‘Return to Fencing’ document.  Please contact us for membership information.

For more information about what the club is doing to protect its members in line with Government and British Fencing Guidelines please click here.

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Club Centres

We run multiple beginners courses throughout the year. Experienced fencers are also welcome. Please click on a centre below to find out more about our club near you.

“Throughout 2020 and 2021 the coaches worked so hard to keep online and in-person coaching running which was a fantastic opportunity for so many kids when everything else seemed to have stopped. 10/10. Ben and I think the coaching has been brilliant, despite the Corona’s best efforts to ruin everything.” – Club Parent

Whether you have fenced before or looking to start a new sport. If you would like to join our club get in contact with us. We look forward to meeting you.

Bristol Blades has strong links with Bristol University, with Coach Glen Golding being the university’s lead fencing coach. University students join the club to gain extra sparring opportunities with the local members. We also have fencers from UWE join us on a weekly basis.

Fencing was one of the first sports to be played at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Based on the traditional skills of swordsmanship, the modern sport arose at the end of the 19th century, with the Italian school having modified classical fencing, and the French school later refining the Italian system. There are three forms of modern fencing, each of which uses a different kind of weapon and has different rules; thus the sport itself is divided into three competitive scenes: FOIL, ÉPÉE, and SABRE. Most competitive fencers choose to specialise in one weapon.

Partners

Bristol Blades works with multiple partners to help promote the sport of fencing in Bristol and its surrounding areas, and make the sport accessible to as many people as possible no matter the age, ability or background.