Fencing Club Near Me in Los Angeles: Swords Fencing Studio

Look toward the San Gabriel Mountains along East Washington Boulevard in Pasadena, and the bright athletic studio at number 2515 stands out as one of Southern California's most focused competitive swordplay halls. Founded in 1997 by four-time Russian national champion and 1981 European Team Champion Tigran Shaginian, Swords Fencing Studio has spent nearly three decades proving what happens when a club dedicates 100 percent of its energy to a single weapon. When families across Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, and Northeast Los Angeles search for a fencing club near me with an elite NCAA and international track record, this East Washington Boulevard flagship—paired with its Burbank branch—is the definitive épée address.

Why does an all-épée room feel so different when you walk through the door at 2515 East Washington Boulevard? Because every athlete on the floor—from six-year-old beginners to Junior World Cup medalists—is solving the same geometric puzzle. In épée, there is no right-of-way and the entire body is valid target; the scoring machine awards a touch purely on timing, registering a double touch if both tips depress within forty milliseconds. That means a nimble twelve-year-old can legitimately pick off the wrist of a six-foot-two adult if their distance and point angulation are cleaner.

Over the years, that single-minded épée environment has turned Swords Fencing Studio into a national collegiate pipeline. Studio athletes regularly top USA Fencing Youth-14, Cadet, Junior, and Division I point standings, bring home Junior Olympic gold, and earn recruitment to Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Notre Dame, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. The studio also periodically hosts Olympic medalists—including 2012 London Olympic bronze medalist Jung Jin-Sun—for intensive pre-national training camps.

Swords organizes its instruction into clear monthly membership tiers that scale with a student's weekly commitment, and every tier includes open floor bouting access. The Bronze Membership runs $310 per month and includes one group class per week plus open floor; the Silver Membership is $450 per month for two group classes per week; the Gold Membership is $550 per month for three group classes per week; and the Diamond Membership is $770 per month for four high-intensity competitive classes per week. Individual private lessons with the coaching staff are $60 for active members and $80 for non-members.

Beginners are welcomed year-round across elementary, teen, and adult tracks. During your opening weeks, the studio provides loaner masks, protective jackets, gloves, and practice épées while coaches drill the foundational footwork bounce, balanced lunges, and straight-arm point extensions that keep your hand protected behind the bell guard. Every student participating on the strips must hold an active USA Fencing membership for sport insurance.

Training hours at 2515 East Washington Boulevard run Monday through Saturday, with afternoon youth cohorts kicking off after school around 4:00 PM, followed by evening intermediate and elite competitive classes and open electric bouting that stretches past 8:00 PM, plus Saturday morning and midday sessions. Because private lesson slots and competitive bouting blocks adjust around North American Cup and regional tournament weekends, newcomers should book their introductory visit through the studio's SimplyBook portal or by emailing the office ahead of time.

Etiquette on Shaginian's floor blends warmth with old-world discipline. Fencers arrive early to stretch hamstrings and shoulders before class, wear full-length sweatpants or regulation white knickers with long socks (never shorts), and step onto the pistes only in clean non-marking indoor court sneakers. During evening open bouting, athletes keep their masks on until the director calls halt, test their 750-gram tip weights before pool bouts, and shake hands with every opponent regardless of the score.

The neighborhood around Washington Boulevard and Altadena Drive gives families and adult fencers plenty of great stops before and after practice. If you arrive thirty minutes before an afternoon lesson, walk or drive two minutes west on Washington Boulevard to Lavender & Honey Espresso Bar for a honey-cinnamon latte and avocado toast, or pick up fresh French pastries at Cristaux Bakery.

When a two-hour evening session of fifteen-touch épée bouts wraps up, East Washington Boulevard has immediate recovery food waiting. Grab a counter stool at side-by-side neighborhood favorites like Roma Market down on Lake Avenue for its famous pink-paper Italian deli sandwich, head to Plate 38 Kitchen & Bar right at 2361 East Washington Boulevard for grilled flat-iron steak and crispy Brussels sprouts, or stop by local taco and Mediterranean grills along the Washington and Allen Avenue corridor.

Getting to 2515 East Washington Boulevard is straightforward from anywhere in the San Gabriel Valley, Glendale, or Northeast LA. Drivers taking the I-210 Foothill Freeway can exit at Allen Avenue or Lake Avenue and head north for two miles straight to Washington Boulevard, where neighborhood street parking and lot spaces are far easier than in Old Pasadena. Metro A Line riders can disembark at the Allen station and take a five-minute bus or rideshare straight up Allen Avenue to Washington.

Whether you are looking for a disciplined after-school sport near Caltech and San Marino or want to test your own reflexes in Southern California's most dedicated épée community, Swords Fencing Studio delivers world-class blade work against the backdrop of the San Gabriel foothills.

Practical Notes: Swords Fencing Studio's flagship is located at 2515 East Washington Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91104 (with a valley branch in Burbank; contact via Swordsinc@yahoo.com or swordsfencingstudio.com). Sessions run Monday through Saturday afternoon/evenings and Saturday mornings. Reserve your beginner trial or private lesson online before arriving, register for USA Fencing membership, and pack long athletic pants, indoor court shoes, and a water bottle.

Open the Karpo APP to coordinate your Pasadena training schedule with East Washington Boulevard coffee stops and post-practice dinner spots.