Fencing Club Near Me in Miami: Masters Fencing Club

On the north side of Miami-Dade County, just blocks south of the Snake Creek Canal and minutes west of Aventura and Sunny Isles Beach, the dedicated training hall at 17051 Northeast 19th Avenue is home to one of Florida's most respected foil institutions. Founded and directed by Olympian and international team veteran Maestro Rafael Suárez, Masters Fencing Club has spent years turning North Miami Beach into a proving ground for regional, national, and Pan American foil medalists. When families and athletes in Aventura, North Miami Beach, Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour, or Hollywood search for a fencing club near me with true Olympic coaching lineage, 17051 Northeast 19th Avenue is the premier address.

Masters Fencing Club is unabashedly a foil-specialist academy. In the three-weapon hierarchy of Olympic fencing, foil is prized for its speed, technical blade work, and tactical right-of-way conventions: valid touches register only with the point of the weapon on the conductive metallic lamé vest covering the torso. Under Suárez's system, students learn that raw speed means nothing without timing and distance—mastering how to step into the critical four-meter zone, draw a premature parry with a compound feint, and finish with a relaxed, whip-fast flick or straight extension.

Step inside 17051 Northeast 19th Avenue and the environment is focused, disciplined, and tight-knit. Grounded electric pistes and overhead scoring boxes run the length of the room, bordered by championship banners from USA Fencing North American Cups, Junior Olympics, and Gold Coast Division qualifiers. Because the club focuses intensely on technical quality, youths as young as seven or eight train alongside cadet and junior national contenders who model proper warmup habits and strip composure.

Newcomers begin with an introductory evaluation and foundational foil track where club-loaned masks, protective jackets, gloves, and practice foils are provided for opening lessons. Coaches spend the first several weeks building clean lower-body mechanics—making sure a student's knees track safely over their toes during a lunge, their back foot stays planted on the strip, and their weapon hand guides the point with finger-tip finesse rather than tense shoulder muscles.

As fencers advance into the intermediate and competitive squads, training combines group footwork and tactical bouting drills with individual twenty-minute private lessons with Maestro Suárez and his staff. Monthly tuition and private lesson packages are tailored by weekly training frequency and competitive travel goals (with typical South Florida foil academy monthly rates ranging from $180 to $350+ depending on class and private lesson volume; prospective families contact Maestro Suárez directly for current seasonal package sheets). Every athlete on the strips must maintain a current USA Fencing membership for national insurance and tournament eligibility.

The weekly training schedule at 17051 Northeast 19th Avenue is concentrated into high-intensity evening and weekend blocks: Tuesdays from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Thursdays from 7:20 PM to 9:00 PM, Fridays from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and Saturdays from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Those three-hour Tuesday and Friday evening windows and four-hour Saturday blocks allow fencers to complete thorough footwork conditioning, take private lessons, and fence full fifteen-touch electric direct-elimination bouts without feeling rushed.

Etiquette on Maestro Suárez's strips reflects traditional international salle standards. Arrive fifteen minutes early to change into full-length athletic sweatpants or regulation white fencing knickers with long socks (shorts are never allowed on the floor) and clean, non-marking indoor court shoes. Salute your opponent, referee, and coach before and after every bout, keep your mask on until halt is called, and carry at least two working body cords and two electric foils once you enter the competitive bouting rotation.

The neighborhood around NE 19th Avenue and NE 163rd Street / Miami Gardens Drive sits right next to some of North Miami Beach's best parks and multicultural dining corridors. Before a Saturday 11:00 AM session or an evening practice, drive five minutes east to Greynolds Park along the Oleta River for a quiet walk under historic mangrove and limestone trails, or grab an iced espresso and fresh bakery pastry along NE 163rd Street.

When Tuesday or Friday bouting wraps up at 9:00 PM, NE 163rd Street and nearby Aventura offer fantastic recovery meals within ten minutes. Head five minutes south to Laurenzo's Italian Market & Cafe on NE 163rd Street (during daytime/early evening hours) for classic Italian subs and fresh pasta, grab authentic Peking duck, dim sum, and Cantonese roast meats at Sang's Chinese Restaurant & Dim Sum on NE 163rd Street, or drive ten minutes east toward Biscayne Boulevard and Aventura for kosher steakhouses, Peruvian ceviche at CVLTVRA, and late-night Mediterranean grills.

Getting to 17051 Northeast 19th Avenue is fast from anywhere in northern Miami-Dade or southern Broward County. Drivers taking I-95 can exit at Miami Gardens Drive (NW/NE 183rd Street, Exit 14) or NE 163rd Street (SR-826 East, Exit 12) and reach NE 19th Avenue in five minutes, with convenient on-site parking outside the building. Brightline riders at the Aventura station sit just ten minutes east, and Miami-Dade Metrobus lines along NE 163rd Street and NE 19th Avenue drop off steps from the block.

Whether you are raising a competitive youth foilist in Aventura or Sunny Isles or looking for an Olympian-led salle where footwork and blade control are taught at an international standard, Masters Fencing Club is North Miami Beach's premier foil room.

Practical Notes: Masters Fencing Club is located at 17051 Northeast 19th Avenue, North Miami Beach, FL 33162. Regular training hours are Tuesday 6:00 PM–9:00 PM, Thursday 7:20 PM–9:00 PM, Friday 6:00 PM–9:00 PM, and Saturday 11:00 AM–3:00 PM. Call Maestro Rafael Suárez in advance to schedule a beginner evaluation or verify current monthly tuition tiers, register for USA Fencing membership online, and bring long sweatpants, indoor court sneakers, and a water bottle.

Open the Karpo APP to plan your drive from Aventura or Sunny Isles and pair your foil practice at Masters Fencing Club with dinner along NE 163rd Street or Biscayne Boulevard.