Finding a Fencing Club in China

Rollsavager

in

I'm almost certain I've seen people post here about teaching English in China--for better or worse, that's my plan starting in August. I train in Beijing for a month and then teach in Shenzhen from September until the end of the school year. Here are a few relevant details:

1) My Mandarin is pretty good, but my Cantonese needs some work. My guess is that this won't be a serious issue unless I wind up commuting to Hong Kong for fencing, but ideally I'd like to find someplace closer. One problem here is that I won't know which school I'll be teaching at until late August/early September.

2) I've been fencing foil and saber since college and plan to bring my own equipment. While most clubs (at least in the States) have their own armories, I've heard that some of the equipment sold in China can be of questionable quality. My blades, lames, and body cords are all in pretty good condition--if I bring anything "spare," I figure some foil wires and screws will be sufficient.

3) Fencing at a club is all well and good, but I'd also really like to compete on a semi-regular basis. I'd appreciate any insights into the competition scene in Shenzhen/Hong Kong (or, heck, I probably wouldn't mind occasionally shipping out to Guangzhou or Macau).

I won't be heartbroken if I can't find a club for the one month I'm in Beijing; Shenzhen is the real target here. Googling around has turned up a couple Chinese-language discussion threads that mention a club or two, but what I'd really hoped for (and haven't been able to find) was a Chinese equivalent to the USFA website, which lists all registered clubs by division.

Lastly, and this is mostly just a point of curiosity, is there enough interest in fencing here to justify a thread in D&D or SE? It'd be neat to talk drills and tactics, and I wouldn't mind throwing together an OP. Just food for thought, I guess.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Nibble

The Chinese fencing association's site seems to be down, but here's one for Shenzhen specifically: http://www.shenzhenjijian.cn/

mightyjongyo

If you have the spare parts and it doesn't take up too much room, no reason not to bring it. With regards to quality, I would say it's the same as buying anything else - read the reviews before you buy. I'm guessing you're not likely to find a local equipment store, so you'd have to get it online anyways.

Maybe there is a chinese equivalent to askfred.net that can help you find competitions?

I haven't fenced for a while, but it's always fun to talk about drills and tactics. There's always fencing.net for that though.

Tavataar

mightyjongyo wrote: »

There's always fencing.net for that though.

I would go post on their forums. They are the largest fencing community on the Internet, and I would be surprised if there weren't some people who have/do fence in China on there.

An-D

I've been doing that living in China thing for the past year, and I've had horrible luck finding any fencing. I live in Changchun (Northeast part, 7-8 hour train ride from Beijing). Most of the fencing things I've found have turned out to be dead-ends. Gyms love using fencing images on their advertising but they never actually offer classes or a club.

I was planning on starting a fencing school in my city (I had a ton of free time last semester). I had found a place to buy cheap equipment, and it was going to be awesome. But suddenly my school decided to double my hours and now I'm lucky to find time to eat lunch anymore.

But good luck, man. I really miss fencing. It'll probably be the first time I do when I get home this summer.

Nibble

This place is apparently dedicated to fencing, and it's in Changchun: http://changchun.baixing.com/tu/78885975/0

They've got the contact information at the bottom, but I can't make out the URL in the corner.

An-D

Nibble wrote: »

This place is apparently dedicated to fencing, and it's in Changchun: http://changchun.baixing.com/tu/78885975/0

They've got the contact information at the bottom, but I can't make out the URL in the corner.

I've found places like this that have looked legit in the past, but turned out to be dead or doing something completely different. I'll check it out though.

finral

I lived in Shenzhen for a year, and don't remember hearing about any fencing in the area, but who knows. Are you part of the CTLC program out of curiosity? You won't need Cantonese at all in Shenzhen, and in Hong Kong, most people will speak English. Could come in handy if you head up to Guangzhou though. If you want any advice about Shenzhen, send me a PM. It isn't somewhere I would recommend people to visit, but I had a blast living there.

Rollsavager

finral wrote: »

I lived in Shenzhen for a year, and don't remember hearing about any fencing in the area, but who knows. Are you part of the CTLC program out of curiosity? You won't need Cantonese at all in Shenzhen, and in Hong Kong, most people will speak English. Could come in handy if you head up to Guangzhou though. If you want any advice about Shenzhen, send me a PM. It isn't somewhere I would recommend people to visit, but I had a blast living there.

Actually, I am--hitting you with a PM.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! It looks like the 喧和国际（深圳）击剑运动协会 still updates its blog. Some of their photos show pretty cramped quarters, but I'm guessing they could at least point me toward other active clubs in the area.