Fencing Club in Toa Payoh: Z Fencing's 4-Week Adult Course

Z Fencing's flagship, Z Elite Fencers Academy, sits on the fourth floor of SAFRA Toa Payoh at 293 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, #04-01, Singapore 319387. Its adult beginner course is four weekly sessions, held monthly on a Tuesday or Thursday from 8 pm to 9.30 pm, and the club says all equipment is provided. The academy was founded in 1993 and describes itself as Singapore's first private fencing academy, so this is the city's oldest commercial route into the sport.

Z Fencing's own story page names its founding maestros as James "Viking" Wong, TK "Ace" Wong, "Autumn Leaf" Heok and "Ice" Mak, and credits the club with a major role in growing fencing in Singapore. It now runs more than four centres in Singapore, with international locations in Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Los Angeles. The site also calls the academy Singapore's School of Character, with 32 years of experience, and says TK Wong received the World Economic Forum Global Leaders for Tomorrow award in 2001 and a Singapore Youth Award for Entrepreneurship in the same year.

The flagship is the Z Elite Fencers Academy at SAFRA Toa Payoh, which the club describes as over 6,000 square feet with 10 electrical fencing pistes and the largest dedicated fencing facility in Singapore and the region. SAFRA Toa Payoh itself was the first permanent SAFRA clubhouse when it opened in 1975, and it also holds a gym, swimming pools and a bowling alley.

The adult programme page describes the course in one line: introducing the basics of fencing in four weekly sessions, it is the ideal taster of the sport. Classes are held monthly on a Tuesday or Thursday between 8 pm and 9.30 pm. The club's home page says the programme takes participants from novice to a recreational social fencer.

Because a new cohort starts each month, you do not need to wait for a school-style term. Pick the Tuesday or Thursday group that suits your week and commit to four consecutive sessions. Z Fencing does not publish a price for the adult course on its site, so the way to find the current fee and the next start date is to message the academy by WhatsApp on 6354 0102 or email fence@zfencing.com.

The centre's published hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 1 pm to 7 pm, and the club says it is closed on public holidays and on selected centre closure days. The adult evening course runs later than those centre hours, from 8 pm to 9.30 pm, because it is a separate monthly class. The phone number on the centre page is +65 6354 0102.

Children's classes are the academy's core: regular classes for ages 4 to 17, with free trial classes and a booking system, and schedules published as a PDF that was dated February 2026 at the last update. If you are bringing children, the weekday afternoon hours matter. For adults, the monthly evening course is the entry point, and individual lessons are exclusive to Z members and overseas-based fencers.

The academy teaches in grades. Its Core programme introduces fencing from grades Z1 to Z3 at an easy pace for recreational and school-level fencers. The Development programme runs grades Z1 to Z4 for budding fencers who want intensified training. The Elite programme asks for at least two to three group sessions a week plus individual lessons.

For an adult beginner, the practical point is that a grade system gives you a visible path after the four sessions: you can carry on in group classes rather than restarting each month. The club does not state the adult progression in detail on its site, so ask on WhatsApp what follows the introductory course.

The four-session format suits people who want to test fencing without signing a long membership: office workers who can reach Toa Payoh by 8 pm, returners who fenced at school, and friends who want a shared project for a month. The late start also means the hall is quieter than during the afternoon children's classes, so an adult beginner is not competing for space with school groups.

The club frames the course as the ideal taster of the sport and as a route from novice to recreational social fencer, so the realistic goal is to learn the basics of fencing in four weeks and decide whether to continue into the graded programmes. Bring a water bottle and sports shoes, and ask when you book whether there is anything else to wear.

Skip Z Fencing if you want a published price before you commit: nothing on the site's adult page, programmes page or schedules page states a fee. Come if you want the largest dedicated fencing hall in the country and a fixed four-week format. Message first, because the monthly cohorts mean the next Tuesday or Thursday group may already be underway.

If the dates do not fit, Blade Club on Bukit Timah Road has a S$30 trial class according to a third-party guide, and its own site marks its 20th anniversary; contact it through its WhatsApp number 8113 1730.

Toa Payoh Public Library, at 6 Toa Payoh Central, Singapore 319191, is in the town centre and is open from 10 am to 9 pm daily, according to the National Library Board. HDB Hub, at 480 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, is a landmark complex on the same road, and the nearest MRT stop for this area is Toa Payoh on the North-South line.

Venue: Z Elite Fencers Academy, SAFRA Toa Payoh, 293 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, #04-01, Singapore 319387. Phone: +65 6354 0102; WhatsApp 6354 0102; email fence@zfencing.com. Centre hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 1 pm to 7 pm; closed on public holidays and selected closure days. Adult course: four weekly sessions, Tuesday or Thursday, 8 pm to 9.30 pm, monthly.

Equipment is provided for the adult beginner course, so bring sports shoes, comfortable training clothes and water. Booking and enquiries go through the academy's WhatsApp and email, or the Calendly link on zfencing.com. For help planning the evening around your commute, ask the Karpo APP.