Your Local Club: Salle Paul Fencing

Tucked away on an industrial estate in Hendon you’ll find the gold star of fencing centres. Brimming with history, the UK club has been designed by French-originating family members and those they consider family; namely Jon Willis. Jon is an ex-international fencer who might as well be one of the Pauls since they sponsored his whole career and brought him into coach and help make the club the fun and friendly place it is today. Here’s his take on the Salle Paul Fencing experience…

What is the history of your club?

Salle Paul Fencing club was founded in 1931 by Leon Paul. He was French and came over to London to manufacture and sell fencing kit in 1921, then formally started a fencing club ten years later. ‘Salle’ in French simply means room, which is how they refer to a space or club where people fence in France, followed by the head coach’s surname, which is where our club name Salle Paul Fencing comes from.

When Leon Paul started out he was initially selling fencing equipment out of the back of a van in central London; from those humble beginnings the company has evolved and expanded hugely. 

Our fencing centre is the biggest and only purpose-built fencing centre in the UK. It was in 2013 that this modern incarnation of Salle Paul came about, driven by Leon’s cousin Barry who is a retired Olympic fencer and Leon’s great-grandsons – Ben and Alex, who are the current directors and owners of the company. 

I had been a full-time fencer up until 2013. Leon Paul was my equipment sponsor throughout my career and, being the incredible family-minded business that they are, when I retired as a fencer they asked if I would like to help them design the new fencing centre which progressed into, “would you like to run it”! So I’ve been here almost ten years.

How risky is fencing?

The first question most people ask is, is it dangerous? And I reply with the same answer: no, you do have to be sensible, however, as you would be when holding any sharp implement.

Everything about the kit and equipment is designed to keep you safe. You do get bruised every now and again, with a few bumps and bashes but then we’re hitting each other with metal swords. From a medical point of view we’re considered one of the safest sports.

What do you say to those that feel a little intimidated by fencing?
People get embarrassed and shy because they haven’t done it before, or because they worry that they look weird. I just say to people, don’t be embarrassed about looking uncoordinated, we’re all dressed in two layers of skin tight, bulletproof clothing, poking people with sticks. We all look ridiculous! 

Some people get intimidated because it’s a combat sport. But you’re extremely safe in your plastic body armour so I encourage people to get out there and have fun.

What do people enjoy about fencing?
Most people who try it love it. There’s something very fundamental about a sport where it’s just one-on-one with an opponent – you’re trying to hit them with a weapon and they’re trying to defend themselves and hit you back. There’s no other sport like it, all other sports are: how fast can you run? Can you kick this round object into that goal? Can you catch this? Can you hit that? It’s a very raw sport that lets two people battle it out. I think that appeals to people.

At Salle Paul we aim to create a fencing club where anyone can come and have a go, whether you’re five years old, a boy or girl, whether you’re 70 years old or in a wheelchair. We cater for everyone because we want to share our love for the sport with as many people as we can.

What would you say are the values of your club?
We really just want to create a fun and friendly atmosphere. It’s key whether you’re a performance fencer or a beginner, because you won’t go and train somewhere if you’re not happy there.

We encourage kids to stick around and watch the tactical training sessions after their own sessions. We have wifi, so they could be sitting on their phones but they’re not, they’re cheering and whooping and engrossed in the sport in front of them.

We’ve got a three-time Olympic gold medalist who trains at our club. He’s Hungarian and has been drilled in fencing all of his life and for him it’s about the atmosphere we offer. We can’t offer him the same dedicated team of coaches that he has in Hungary but we can offer him fun in spades.

Can people of all ages, from the very young to the more mature, get involved with fencing?
Fencing is a mental and skill based sport and it can be done by people of any shape, age or size. You can be old and slow and, as long as you’re skillful and understand the tactics of fencing, you will beat someone half your age, twice as fast and twice as fit. The skill level in fencing is a real leveller.

We have veterans at this club, in their 60s, and they will beat the cadets who are under 17 or under 20 because, as we often say at our club, age and treachery beats youth and enthusiasm in our game. Unlike most other sports which would have those veterans playing one another, in fencing they can continue to compete against people much younger than them which is both mentally stimulating and physically challenging for them. It creates a unique community having all ages playing and respecting one another.

How do you ensure everyone feels welcome when they come to the club?
Fencing is loved and enjoyed on a worldwide scale. You can’t categorise our club at all; we have fencers who have recently joined us from Hong Kong, Ukraine, and Hungary. We have a lot of Jewish and Asian fencers. Everyone mixes in and everyone fences each other. All anyone cares about is who scored the point and how much fun they’re having while they do.

We do have a more engaged male membership than female. As I mentioned, it is our aim to keep a mix of abilities training alongside one another but in the case of say a skilled female who weighs 60 kgs versus a less skilled male at 90kg it’ won’t feel like a well-matched game. We run a few adult female-only sparring sessions for this reason which are popular. When it comes to younger fencers in the Titans and Spartans, boys and girls are able to play one another very equally and fairly until they start hitting puberty. We want to encourage as many women and girls as possible to come along and give it a go because it is very much a brain over a brawn sport.

How can someone get a flavour of the club?
Our website has all the information you would need about us, from our history to our training sessions, it can all be found there. 

We offer beginner courses, which involves a taster session for just £20 where we will lend you all of the kit, teach you some basic moves and let you experience what it’s like to duel with a friend. The beginner course is then £120 and included in that price you will get your own fencing mask and gloves.

We also have competitions on weekends so people are always welcome to come along and watch. That’s completely free and you can sit in the breakout area and watch some of the best fencers in the country. Details of all our competitions can be found on our equipment website. 

What sessions do you have?
We call fencers who are between the ages of five and eight years old our Spartans. They have a session at 5:30 – 7pm on weekdays, while our Titans, who are aged eight to 14 have a separate session but at the same time. Around the age of 12, when kids start to grow all of a sudden, often they can start mixing in with the adult sessions which we call our open sessions from 7 until 9pm. We are also open to all on Saturday mornings between 9am and lunchtime.

The open session is open in the truest sense; the rule of our club is if someone challenges you to a fight you can’t turn it down; you’re only playing for five hits but you have to join in. It creates an equal and inclusive ethos which everyone gets behind.

How much does it cost?
If you’re a visitor we charge £20 for a session, but we’d much rather encourage people to become a member where they can join unlimited sessions every month for £75. For kids that becomes £65 a month, and if you’d like to come just once a week as a social fencer that’s £55 a month.

What equipment does someone need to get involved?
In fencing, like any sport, there’s a range in equipment prices out there. However if you’re just looking to come along to try it out we can provide you with everything you’d need. You’d just need to come wearing a pair of indoor trainers, tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt, plus bring a water bottle because it’s thirsty work.

Do you have any aspirations or future hopes for the club?
We love to have kids come in who have never fenced before, with no family connection to the sport, and they find real love for it. That is so special to witness because not only does it bring them a lot of joy, it‘s a sport which teaches them discipline too. One day we would love to encourage one of those kids all the way to international level and the Olympics. 

Saying that, we have around 200 members in total and about 160 of them are simply social, fun fencers with no aspirations to be international, they just love fencing. They are equally important to the club, as they always have been and always will be.

https://www.sallepaul.co.uk