Fencing Club in Earls Court: £240 Adult Saturday Course

Knightsbridge Fencing Club teaches from St Luke's Church on Redcliffe Square, London SW10 9HF, in Earls Court, despite the name. Its adult beginner course is four consecutive Saturday sessions from 11 am to 12 pm for £240, with the club providing the kit. Founders Tamas Kovács and Julianna Revesz opened the club in 2009, and the home page lists a Sport Organisation of the Year award from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in 2019.

The club's contact page gives its location as St Luke's Church, Earls Court, Redcliffe Square, SW10 9HF, with classes there from Monday to Saturday. The coaches page says Tamas taught for years in schools and clubs across south-west London, including Sussex House School, Knightsbridge School, The Harrodian School and London Thames Fencing Club, before opening the club with Julianna in 2009.

Its home page promises small classes with two to three coaches each, a central location, equipment provided and the option to train from Monday to Saturday. Most of that timetable is aimed at children and teenagers, with groups for ages 6 to 7, 8 to 9 and 10 to 17, plus an advanced group, so the adult beginner course is the main way in for grown-ups.

The adult course spans four consecutive sessions, held every Saturday from 11 am to 12 pm during the club's term dates, and costs £240. You register through the sign-up form before attending, an invoice is issued on registration and it must be settled before the first session. The club provides the necessary fencing kit for the course, so no purchase is needed.

Week one covers the history, rules and the differences between fencing weapons, followed by a warm-up, footwork, distance keeping and bladework. Week two moves to target practice, hand positions and the different types of attack and defence. Week three teaches strategy, preparation of attacks and second intentional attacks, and puts you on the electric piste with scoring machines and electric swords. Week four is sparring.

That structure is worth reading closely, because it is unusually specific for an introductory course. You will be touching an electrically scored blade by the third Saturday, and bouting by the fourth. The dress code is long tracksuit trousers, a plain T-shirt without buttons and indoor sports shoes, such as leather-topped tennis shoes, with water to stay hydrated.

One administrative step catches people out. The club requires a temporary free British Fencing membership number for insurance, and the link to create one is on the sign-up form, so do it before you arrive. The club says the number is needed for insurance purposes, so skipping it means you cannot take part on the first Saturday. Create it when you fill in the sign-up form and keep the number to hand.

The club runs on school-style terms. The autumn term runs from 31 August to 12 December 2026 for 15 weeks, the spring term from 4 January to 27 March 2027 for 12 weeks, and the summer term from 12 April to 10 July 2027 for 13 weeks. Sessions run as normal during bank holidays and mid-term school breaks, which keeps the Saturday slot reliable.

Private lessons cost £95 per person for 30 minutes, with a training camp session at £90 per person for two hours. The children's trial class is £45 per person, and the same fee list says the necessary kit is provided for the children's trial, the private lesson and the adult beginner course. Anyone staying long-term must buy their own kit, and the club sells starter kit options.

Tamas Kovács represented the Hungarian team from the late 1990s and finished third at the Army World Championships in 1998, and the site credits him with developing a world silver medallist among others. Julianna Revesz started fencing at nine in Budapest, became junior world number one in 2002, and won senior world silver and European bronze with Hungary in 2005, according to the club's coaches page.

Day to day, the club names Judit as head coach and welfare officer, Ben for high performance and development, Graham as an instructor, and Jean as a welfare officer. The club also served as fencing technical adviser on the feature film Touché, with a cameo by its founder, according to its news page.

Skip this club if you want to turn up to regular adult club nights: the weekly class timetable lists children's groups and an advanced group, and the only adult entry point described is the Saturday course. Come if you want a tightly structured introduction from a club that employs competition coaches, and if £240 for four hours suits you better than a term-long commitment.

If the Saturday slot does not work, London Fencing Club in Finsbury sells a six-week beginners' course for £180 and runs adult evening sessions, and Blackheath Fencing Club in south-east London offers a Tuesday beginners' course at £108. Both are further from Earls Court but publish weekday evening options.

The Troubadour, at 263-267 Old Brompton Road, SW5 9JA, is a coffee house and live-music venue open since 1954, when Michael and Sheila van Bloemen started it as a bohemian café, and its hand-carved front door is still the one the founder made. It is a short walk from the church. Brompton Cemetery, on Fulham Road, SW10 9UG, is run by The Royal Parks and holds Emmeline Pankhurst's grave.

Venue: St Luke's Church, Redcliffe Square, Earls Court, London SW10 9HF. Adult beginner course: four Saturdays, 11 am to 12 pm, £240, kit provided; register on the club's sign-up form and obtain a free temporary British Fencing membership number. Dress: long tracksuit trousers, plain T-shirt without buttons, indoor sports shoes, and water.

Terms: autumn 31 August to 12 December 2026; spring 4 January to 27 March 2027; summer 12 April to 10 July 2027, with sessions on bank holidays. Private lesson £95 for 30 minutes. Booking runs through knightsbridgefencingclub.com. For help planning the Saturday around the neighbourhood, ask the Karpo APP.