MFC News Flash!

May 11th, 2010
Well it has been a loooong time since I posted the club news. Many amazing things have been happening and Ill try and sum it all up. Our class at Chico Sports Club was growing quite nicely and now those fencers have joined us at our normal club location on North Ave. Andrew Klassen one of the first ones to join has really progressed quite nicely especially considering the sporadic attendance(not of his own doing) Alain Millon who I fenced with at the first club I trained in, also became a My Fencing Center fencer and is a dear friend. The classes at My Fencing Center continue to grow especially in the kids ages. My biggest growth is 8-13 year old. I very much miss the old crew who traveled with me to tournaments but life and college happens and it is great that the yall keep in touch.Over the last several months we have again had some guests drop by and help us out.Doug Coronado from Gridley who also does reenactment fencing, gave us some good lessons and Ali from Saudi Arabia came back for an intensive two week training. Yes I have to say the two times I beat him will be forever in my memory and hopefully erase the multiple times he beat me :). We are getting ready for our 5th Dare Mighty Things Open. I scored some great prizes and look forward to everyone having a great time.Hard to imagine we have already done five of these.Thank you to everyone who has supported MFC either by fencing or the parents that help out in other capacities. I always appreciate it.

March 23rd, 2009
Monday Nite Fencing. We were hounoured to have a couple of guest fencers drop by for the evening. Ali was on the National team in Saudi Arabia and though he hasnt fenced in a while was giving us all a run for our money. We got to do Saber and Epee with Ali and his brother. It is always nice to learn new things from our guests and have such an amazing time fencing with them.

March 14th, 2009
Bay Cup Senior Womens Epee. My Fencing Center's own Kim Corfman traveled to First Place Fencing Club to give it her all after coming back from surgery and rehab. In a field of 19 Kim came out of her pools in 7th place. After winning two D.E.'s she finally succumbed to the vivacious Suzanne Bloomer. Kim still got to wear a nice bronze medal home but to have icing on the cake won her first ever rating....an E09!! Way to go star student!

February 23rd, 2009
Monday Nite Fencing. We were honoured to have a huge group of fencers drive all the way up from the University of Davis to fence with us. To see the club filled with so many that we had four strips going and all three weapons in use made me see possibilities that I didn't know existed. I really appreciated the effort it took to organize so many people and then carpool up to our location. A shout out to my friend Mr Cate for putting it into motion!

February 15th, 2009
Sierra Series Epee #3. Braving the bad weather we had a nice group of fencers that made it threw the snow from Oregon and Nevada. My Fencing Center was well represented, finishing in the gold and silver placings of the unrated epee. Blaine Pace won the unrated gaining his first E rating and taking home a nice ceremonial Samurai sword. Tim Lockard picked up the silver with Trevor Mifahittin of Oregon and Daniel Yee of Davis,Ca taking the bronze. In the Y14 Rory Dwyer won the gold for Oregon with his teammate Sam Bauermeister winning silver.Brennan Oort and James Cooper both from Davis taking the bronze.In the open epee it was Phil Colbert of Chico Creek Fencing taking the gold with James Galamba of Davis taking silver. Kevin Murakoshi and Patrick Barraza also from Davis took bronze.

January 18th, 2009
Bay Cup D and Under Epee Tournament. The Lockards, Cheryl Wakefield and myself made the trek to the Marin Fencing Academy Club.It was my first time being at that club and it was roomy,clean and had plenty of bathrooms. Our biggest goal for this event was to fence hard, take charge, and have fun. Though Tim Lockard ,fencing for only three months, placed the highest out of all of us (11th out of 38)probably the best highlite was Cheryl fencing the number 2 seeded fencer. Cheryl was within two points at the first break and was causing their National level coach such great concern that he and other teammates were giving their fencer all sorts of advice as to how to fence Cheryl. Cheryl who was using great footwork and thinking about her attacks was just enjoying the hell out of the game. She even used the secret "fencing unicorn" attack reserved for special occasions. She exceeded her goal in this match even if she didnt get to fence on. We then all got to enjoy a great dinner before heading home.

December 15th, 2008
We are pleased to announce that with the support of Chico Sports Club we were able to fill over five boxes with new toys for the kids of Butte County. Thank you for your participation.

November 15th, 2008
My Fencing Center is proud to announce their participation in the Toys For Tots program. We will be collecting unwrapped new toys thru Dec 15th. The toys will go to underprivileged children here in Butte county. If you wish to drop off toys please contact me at 530 828 1718. Thank you!

November 8th, 2008
Sierra Series Epee #2. With much joy My Fencing Center had the privileged of hosting one of the Reno series tournaments. We had two wonderful young men that traveled all the way from San Luis Obispo to attend. We also had a great group from Reno and Davis that made the trek as well. The weather cooperated and the venue was great. All the volunteers made the tournament run smoothly. A big shout out to Jennifer Janssen who was our bout committee. Things were so organized and running like clock work and was a big reason for the success of the tournament. Our fencers did very well, some having this be their first tournament. We got to give Pieter Oort of Davis CA, his first E rating and Tim Lockard took silver while Blaine Pace took bronze in the unrated event. In the mixed open event, Bob Chang took silver to Ian Kenison from Reno NV,with Pieter Oort and Dave Leveque, both from Davis CA, taking the bronze medals.

October 26th, 2008
Arcata D and Under. With an early morning start My Fencing Center trekked up to the coastal club. Happy and Cheryl and Kristi Wakefield car pooled with me while Tim Lockard and his daughter Kaylynn went up the night before. We experienced good weather to travel and all went well even with a few "bumps" in the road. Arcata had a good turn out and it was fun seeing all of them. They now have a metal strip to grace their club which was nice. We all fenced well with Cheryl winning a DE round and Happy winning her first ever DE round. Kaylynn and I lost our DE and Captain Tim, only fencing two months won his first DE and was quite close on winning his second.He got to sport home his bronze medal while I took 6th, Happy 7th, Cheryl 8th, and Kaylynn 9th. We then had a great lunch with some of the Arcata members and then headed to the beach. It was abnormally warm for Arcata so it was nice to sit in the sun and watch the water while Cheryl and Kaylynn attempted to bring home as much sand as possible in their clothes. For sure the most important part of our trip was letting everyone know that "bird was the word"!!!

October 4th, 2008
DFA October Open. Finally I have personally achieved a measure of success. In the last several tournaments I started seeing strategies and openings that were unclear to me in the past. In Womens Epee I was able to win my second gold medal ever, my first in epee. It wasnt deep competition however the gold medal round could have gone either way and I had to be on top of every point I got. Kaylynn Lockard and Cheryl Wakefield picked up another bronze medal and Hannah Janssen is continuing to show effort and hard work at the tournaments. Her skill will only increase the more dedication she makes to the sport. In the mixed epee I was riding high on euphoria from winning the gold and started fencing very tough competitors with much joie de vivre. I did well in pools though breaking a blade and in D.E.'s got taken out by the A rated fencer. I ended up in 7th place. Cheryl Wakefield, Kaylynn Lockard, and Hannah Janssen placed 15th -17th.

September 27th and 28th, 2008
Sierra Nevada Open Results. Mixed Epee: Bob Chang 46th, Sam Geddie 49th, Margaret Brunelle 50th, Cheryl Wakefield 52nd, Lindsay Duke 55th, Kaylynn Lockard 56th. Mixed Foil: Lindsay Duke 33rd. Womens Epee: Cheryl Wakefield 24th, Margaret Brunelle 25th, Kaylynn Lockard 28th, Happy Wakefield 32nd. Womens Foil: Kaylynn Lockard 12th. This was a very tough competition and all preformed well. It is a bitter sweet pleasure to see my students out placing me in these tournaments.

September 13, 2008
Sierra Series Epee #1 Reno, NV. The first in this new tournament series. We are waiting for final results of the open epee event (we left before gold medal round)Sam Geddie attended his first tournament. Kaylynn and Hannah also made the trek up to Reno Silverblades. The unrated event was great to watch.Hannah fenced better than Ive ever seen, Kaylynn was tough and gritty as always and Sam just came alive on the strip.It was an E1 event. Sam fought bravely in the gold medal round but was happy to display his silver medal. Kaylynn only fencing two months has a bronze medal to display as well.Our after tourney celebration was fun even with Sam reminding us of what was around his neck.I was very proud of you all!

August 24, 2008
The girls were out again!Our newest fencer Kaylynn Lockard attended her first tournament at Davis Fencing Academy.She did amazing and went to 4-4 with me in our pool bout. She displayed very good skill at the game and fantastic composure at being able to be down by six and come back to within one point of winning in her D.E. round.Cheryl,Lindsay, and I also had fun. I came with in one point of winning the gold against a woman who is on the World Cup team.

July 2008
US National Results: My Fencing Centers Womens Epee Team placed 23rd in the country. All fenced well but Cheryl Wakefield really led the team to their placement. Vet 40 Epee: Kim Corfman placed 32nd and Margaret Brunelle placed 18th. Womens Vet 40 Foil: Margaret Brunelle placed 26th. Womens Vet 40 Saber: Margaret Brunelle placed 16th.

May 17 2008
3rd Annual Jackalope,Reno Nevada. Ahhhh, Reno in the spring. I never knew it looked so pretty.Lindsay and I made the trek up thru the sierras to this wonderful event.Eric Momberg is such a gracious host as is his club members.Saber didn't go well for me and proves that experience is one thing but practice is key to make anything happen and I need more practice to bring it all back again. Lindsay and I then both competed in the epee and foil.Lindsay did well considering having six hours of sleep.I came in 8th out of 15 and renewed my rating.Yeah! In epee I had the greatest outcome of pools I ever had with almost all victories except one that I lost by one point.Our eventual placements were Lindsay came in 12th and I received 9th.What a great day of fencing.

April 20 2008
Divisional Qualifiers for Summer Nationals. The North Coast Fencing Academy hosted the Div II Epee qualifier. We had a great trip up despite the sudden snow shower in the mountains. In attendance to fence were Kim Corfman, Becky Springer, Cheryl Wakefield and Happy Wakefield. All ladies fenced exceptionally well. Kim narrowly lost to Abbie Ricketts of Chico Creek Fencing Center, the eventual winner of the tournament.Becky Springer and Kim then had to fence off for the third and fourth place.It was a close score thru out the match but Becky was the eventual winner earning her spot to compete at US Nationals.Now Becky has the opportunity to receive a scholarship to any college with a fencing club because of all her accomplishments.Way to go!

March 10 2008
NAC E, Rosemont IL. My Fencing Centers own Kim Corfman made the trek to the ice and snow to beat up on Veteran ladies! Kim placed 25 out of 51 which is amazing. A hearty congrats to Kim!!

March 09 2008
NFC March Open. The regular once a month tourney at Davis Fencing Academy has become our favorite tournament to go cross blades at. The hard work and effort of the MFC fencers is showing. In the Womens only Epee event, Happy Wakefield pulled off 5th just narrowly missing her attempt at another medal, and yours truly sported home the silver medal. Our celebratory food and drink and Sudwerks made the day end on a great note even if we couldn’t take the tempting club sandwich with or without the jalapeños!!

March 1 2008
Divisional Qualifiers for Summer Nationals. My Fencing Center of Chico hosted the US National Divisional Qualifiers at Schuermer Gym on March 1, 2008. There was a great turn out of fencers that arrived from as far away as Arcata. We wish to congratulate Becky Springer of My Fencing Center on her bronze medal in the Womens Divisional III Epee. This qualifies her for the US Nationals to be held in July. Also qualified are Margaret Brunelle, Sigrid “Happy” Wakefield and Kim Corfman in Veteran Epee. Bob Chang and Happy both received bronze medals in Div III Epee and were within two points of being qualified. A big shout out to all that helped at the event, including the folks from Chico Creek Fencing Center.

February 10 2008
The ladies were out in force at the NFC February Open. Becky Springer, Happy and Cheryl Wakefield, Kim Corfman, and Lindsay Duke joined me to spend the day in our favorite activity. We all accomplished the goals we set out to meet. The biggest highlights were Happy and Cheryl winning their first pool bouts and Becky Springer coming in 11th out of 18. GO TEAM!

January 20 2008
Here we are in another new year and what better way to start it out then by going to a fencing tournament! Kim Corfman after taking time off to rehab an injury returned to fencing by going to a Bay Cup event held in Davis, California. She competed in the Women’s Veteran Epee Open event. After narrowly missing out on the silver by one point she joyfully accepted taking home the bronze Bay Cup medal. Way to go Kim!

December 16 2007
The Junior Olympic Qualifiers gave My Fencing Centers fencers another opportunity to strut their stuff here in Chico. We had six fencers competing for the coveted spots that would allow them to go all the way to North Carolina in Feb 08 and compete at the Jr. Olympics. Keenan Jones and Taylor Gordon qualified in both the Cadet and Jr Mens Epee. Becky Springer, Cheryl Wakefield, and Lindsay Duke qualified for Cadet Womens Epee. Hannah Janssen in her first USFA tournament qualified for Jr Womens Epee. Congratulation and Good Luck to all!

November 04 2007
Strong finishes at the 2nd Annual Dick Berry Open in Davis, CA. It is always a joyous experience to fence at our sister club, Davis Fencing Academy. This was the first time that so many fencers from My Fencing Center went to a tournament together. The mixed epee event was a C2 rated and our fencers lived up to the challenge. The mother and daughter duo Happy and Cheryl Wakefield exceeded expectations at their first tournament. Lindsay Duke showed great effort and heart, continuing her improvement in her game. Becky well on her way to earn a rating this season had a great day. She won her first D.E. and placed 15th. Bob Chang in his continuing success placed 6th with some awesome fencing. It was a great fencing day at Davis!

September 17 2007
Sierra Nevada Open brings bronze to our club. The Sierra Nevada Open, our divisional event, brings fencers from near and far for this two day tournament. Our fencers enjoyed fencing right here in Chico and having their families watch was a big bonus. My Fencing Center’s Becky Springer brought home the bronze medal in fine style after just eight months of fencing. We are wondering if she has taken the medal off her neck yet! It is a great start for the new fencing season.

August 25 2007
Dare Mighty Things tournament featured in the media. We love seeing mention of sport fencing in the media, even more so when it is our own Dare Mighty Things tournament. It was featured on our CW10 TV Evening News, in the local newspaper, in Blue Shield's (our dear sponsor) September Community Connection, and even in the Grass Valley's The Union!

August 04 2007
My Fencing Center brings awareness to the sport of fencing to Chico Mall. During the annual event "The Scene", a back to school event held every year at the Chico Mall, My Fencing Center had the opportunity to educate the public on the sport of fencing. We had a lovely booth that had information on the sport and flyers for those interested in the classes we offer. We had good response from the passersby shopping in the mall. We then put on a demo showing how the class is run. Kim, Becky, Lindsay, and Linda - thank you for taking part in giving Chico public the preview of sport fencing. The public really enjoyed the live fencing action.

July 29 2007
The 2nd Annual Dare Mighty Things Open Epee Tournament was great!!! Our turnout was three times higher than last year. Yes, it was hot, but the fencing was great, which videos (to be posted soon) also show. The tournament had all nationally rated refs. Prizes included medals to eighth place, posters, event T-shirts, pirate prizes, gift certificates to American fencers Supply, and winners got beautiful ceremonial swords. The tournament raised over $3,500 for Make A Wish Foundation of Butte County, where seven children are waiting for wishes to be granted. The tournament was featured on the evening news. Thank you all and we look forward to next year’s tournament, July 26, 2008!!

June 2007
This was a busy month for us here at My Fencing Center. Our club was featured on the morning news show "Wake Up!" with Charity Bailey. We all had to get up very earlier and the dedication of our fencers was appreciated. We had six different spots where we had Charity doing footwork with the class, she explained the weapon and equipment and then she got to fence Bob Chang. Charity had only one lesson and did really well scoring a touch on Bob! Charity as well as the other hosts in the studio were quite enthused with the fencing and privately said they were going to drop by to do some more fencing. We also got to put in a plug for the Dare Mighty Things tournament that is benefiting Make A Wish foundation.

June 2007
Hurray for My Fencing Center members! Bob Chang is elected 2007-2008 Division Vice Chair and Margaret Brunelle is new Division Secretary. There is a lot of work to be done but it will be a good learning experience and an opportunity to make our division an even stronger one.

June 2007
Club Owner Margaret Brunelle becomes nationally rated referee. The opportunity arose at the RYC event in San Jose to be observed directing the gold medal bout of boys Y14 epee tournament. This increased her rating up to an 8! Thank you Tomek!

June 2, 2007
Bob Chang Earns E-D07! Bob Chang started fencing at My Fencing Center only six months ago. He has attended Olympic level camps and seminars and his efforts have paid off. In short time Bob went from complete beginner to receiving his D rating in epee at the High Noon Open Epee tournament that was held at Davis Fencing Academy in Davis California. Good job Bob!

May 2007
Epee Camp with Mr. Dick Berry. We had a great turnout with fencers who wanted to expand their knowledge and expertise with the epee weapon. The clinic lasted four hours with an expertly prepared lunch (Thanks Vanessa DeFord and Margaret Springer!) Mr. Berry not only went over how to improve footwork but also had a number of blade work drills suited to each individual. The event was videoed so that each fencer could go over this information at their leisure while at home to gain even more knowledge. This event was so successful we are going to plan another one for the fall. Stay tuned for the details.

April 2007
Ryan Gordon qualified for Summer National Championships in Miami, Fl, 2007 in Div III category. Good Luck Ryan!

March 28 2007
Taylor Gordon qualified for Summer National Championships in Miami, FL, 2007 in Cadets category. Good luck Taylor!

February 24 2007
Open Epee medal for MFC. The practice pays off - Ryan Gordon posed in the winners photo along with much more experienced Eric Ricketts, Juliette Flores and Phil Colbert, showing off his bronze medal! Six more MFC fencers took part in the tournament. Gordon Taylor won the unclassified tournament and a brand new E07 classification, winning the final bout against our own Bob Chang. Shana Vegvary and Lindsay Duke tied for the third place. Four medals for MFC in two events, it does not get much better than that!

February 11 2007
Ryan Gordon medals in The Bay Cup. Four MFC fencers took part in D-and-lower mixed epee competition for The Bay Cup in Stanford University's Cardinal fencing club. Ryan Gordon tied for third, confirmed his E07 classification, and brought home nice, custom Bay Cup bronze medal. Congratulations, Ryan!

January 28 2007
Great fencing at CCFC tournament. Six MFC fencers competed in Open and Unclassified Epee tournament in Chico Creek Fencing Center. Ryan Gordon won the unclassified tournament, and his E07 classification! Taylor Gordon was placed second, and Bob Chang tied for third. Congratulations!