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Marin Fencing Academy
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Fencers bouting across several strips at Marin Fencing Academy

San Rafael · USA Fencing

Who We Are.

The club

827 4th Street, San Rafael

Two masked fencers mid-exchange on the piste at Marin Fencing Academy, beneath the club banner

Marin Fencing Academy is a member club of USA Fencing, teaching all three Olympic weapons — foil, epee and saber — to fencers of every age and experience level, from young children taking their first steps on the strip to adults picking up a blade for the first time.

Since 2010, our home in the heart of Marin County has been one shared fencing room. Beginners learn beside experienced competitors. Children watch national-level fencers train. Coaches, recreational fencers and serious athletes all share the same floor. That closeness is part of what makes the club special.

Some people fence once a week simply because they love it. Others compete locally, regionally and nationally, and continue on to university teams and beyond. There is a place here for both.

Where
827 4th Street
San Rafael, CA 94901
At this address since
2010
Weapons
FoilÉpéeSabre
Affiliation
USA Fencing member club

Our coaches

Regional, national, international, Olympic, collegiate

The six coaches of Marin Fencing Academy, in a montage of six photographs

  • Tom Tully

    Owner · All three weapons

    Tom owns Marin Fencing Academy and coaches all three weapons — foil, epee and saber. Outside the salle he is a former technology executive, now running his own startup building AI-based life counseling.

    FoilÉpéeSabre

  • Mark Ongsitco

    Prévôt, foil · Moniteur, epee and saber

    A Prévôt in foil and a Moniteur in epee and saber, Mark has coached at MFA for over twenty years and has taken numerous fencers to national medals and collegiate success.

    FoilÉpéeSabre

  • Richard Vidor

    Coach · Over forty years at MFA

    Richard competed for many years at both the national and international levels, and has been a cornerstone of Marin Fencing Academy for more than forty years, mentoring generations of fencers.

    FoilÉpéeSabre

  • Alberto “Carmelo” Felix

    Teaches epee · Olympic pentathlete

    Carmelo competed for Mexico in modern pentathlon at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. He has taught epee at MFA for twenty years, and has trained world-class pentathletes in the United States.

    Épée

  • Erik Sandell

    USA Fencing certified · Over 25 years at MFA

    Erik is a USA Fencing certified coach with decades of competitive and coaching experience. He has been with MFA for over twenty-five years and has led many community foil events across Marin County.

    FoilÉpée

  • Hugo DeBernardo

    Epee · Lifetime member

    An A-rated epee fencer who grew up training at Marin Fencing Academy and is a lifetime member of the club, Hugo now returns to help coach the next generation of athletes.

    ÉpéeFoil

All MFA coaches are credentialed coaches within USA Fencing, our sport’s national governing body, and are SafeSport trained and background screened.

SafeSport training helps protect athletes from abuse, harassment, bullying, hazing, and inappropriate conduct — helping ensure a safe, respectful environment for every fencer.

Our philosophy

Why we teach it

At Marin Fencing Academy, we believe our greatest accomplishment isn’t creating great fencers—it’s helping create great people.

Fencing is simply the vehicle.

Every time a student steps onto the piste, they face a challenge alone. They must think, adapt, solve problems, and take responsibility for their own decisions in a matter of seconds. Those lessons extend far beyond sport. They build confidence, resilience, independence, humility, and respect—qualities that shape successful students, professionals, parents, and leaders.

But fencing is only half of our story.

A fencer’s feet on the piste, on the lines

Marin Fencing Academy is a community brought together by a shared love of the sport. Our members come from different countries, cultures, professions, ages, and backgrounds, yet once the masks go on, those differences fade. We learn from one another, celebrate each other’s successes, support one another through setbacks, and build friendships that often last a lifetime.

Courtesy is woven into everything we do. You salute your opponent before a bout. You shake hands afterward. The person who just defeated you may be the first to congratulate you or help pack your equipment. Competition and kindness are not opposites here—they exist together.

Winning matters. Learning matters more.

Whether a student fences for a season, earns a national medal, competes in college, or simply discovers confidence they never knew they had, our mission is the same: to help every person leave Marin Fencing Academy stronger in character than when they arrived.

Because medals eventually gather dust.

Character stays with you for life.