Fencing London: Fencing Club in Central London Salle Gadaski

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Coaches
Oxana Babaeva	Fencing is one of the few sports open to the women of Uzbekistan as the fencing mask protects the face from the harsh beams of the sun and strangers' eyes. Born in this traditional country famous for its pilaf and melons Oxana did not choose fencing - her mother and grandmother were practising it well before she came into the world. They insisted on the continuation of the family custom. The young blue eyed girl soon became the champion of Uzbek Socialist Republic, the champion of Kara-Kum desert and the finalist of All Middle Asian Games. After one of the hottest fencing careers in history Oxana turned to coaching and currently is the head coach of the junior Uzbek fencing team. She is a visiting coach here and upon return to her country will be required to deliver a detailed report on the state of the British defence systems to President Karimov. 2005

Phil Carson	Artist, musician, philanthropist and secret agent, Phil is the 21st century embodiment of the Renaissance Man - Homo Universalis. With years of coaching experience behind his back, he can answer all reasonable psychological and physical needs of his students. Personal approach, understanding and never failing 'do it with me, do it like me, do it better then me' style of coaching make Phil one of the most sought after mentors in the Square Mile. He is now doing an important job of preparing the new generation of female sabreurs. They could not only cut things off your body but also glue them back into place after the fight. 2004 - till present

Debbie Catchpole	The captain of the British women's epee team is currently working on her stormy autobiography. We'll publish some censored extracts as soon as they're available. Watch this space. 2003 - 2004

Vasile Ciofu aka Dumi	Manifold champion of Romania and the Balkans, Dumi came to the UK trying to escape the celebrity spotlight. He keeps a low profile and his public appearances here are very scarce. He instructed the club to decline - politely but firmly - any media enquiries about his private life. 2003 - till present

Tim Gadaski	Tim Gadaski was born in 1967 in Siberia. Already at the age of 3 he was seen poking the huskies and the local snowman with a big sword-like icicle. Absence of a traditional fencing school within 10,000 miles proximity forced him to learn from Nature itself. The interlacing branches of the trees bending in the wind and deer crossing their antlers during the mating season became his first tutors. Upon joining the Navy in 1989 Tim won the championship of class-A nuclear submarine "Omsk" which was followed by sea-shaking victories on "Minsk", "Pinsk" and finally on "Tomsk". His bouts include the victory over the evil Colonel Bolshakov which took place in conditions of polar night darkness. Only the twinkling stars on his opponent's shoulders and the forehead helped Major Gadaski to direct his thrusts and escape the unpleasant blows. Upon his retirement Tim became fencing and dancing instructor to the Russian president bodyguards. Unfortunately his main aspiration as a sportsman - to marry an Olympic fencer - has not been fulfilled. He is not losing hope! 2003 - till present

Jean-Christophe Guibert	It was while watching his Grandma knitting that Jean-Christophe was inspired to practise fencing! Admiring the Grandma without limits and completely captivated by her knitting needles crossing and crossing, faster and faster, he started training young: knitting socks, scarfs and then a pullover. Trying to improve his abilities he decided to join a fencing club. After spending years in the world famous fencing school in Dinard he mastered the three main weapons: knitting, sewing and embroidery. He became a fencing guru and soon opened a clothes boutique in Paris where he sold his own label. Always striving for perfection and innovation he attempted to revolutionize fencing and knitting by using specially reinforced spaghetti which could be eaten (with some blood red ketchup) immediately after a bout. The idea however was condemned by the Italo phobic elements in the French Fencing Academy. Jean Christophe was ostracized, victimized and eventually had to flee wearing a white knitted dress to Britain. Here he says the traditions of tolerance and wool making are perfect for his well being. 2005 - till present

Pierre Harper	6 times British Champion and 3 times Commonwealth Champion, Pierre was also participant of Olympic Games in 1980, 1984 and 1988. He was born in 1957 and started to fence at the tender age of 7. He stopped competing to become a full time fencing coach when he turned 30. Hobbies include listening to music and having a laugh. 2004

Laurent Harper	2 times British Champion, Commonwealth Silver medalist. Laurent was born in 1968 and started fencing at the tender age of 7. He ceased to compete 20 years later to became a full time fencing coach. Hobbies include listening to music and having a laugh. 2003 - till present

Priscille Lapoutge	At 14 Priscille was the youngest female pilot ever to penetrate the pink French skies. At 17 she entered the Ecole Nationale des Maitres d'Armes in Dinard. Despite being one of the only 2 female students in that male dominated establishement she never thought about anything funny but fencing and received excellent marks on completion. She then entered the Venezuelan forest and travelled there for about two years. She returned there again and again at regular intervals for many years afterwards. Priscille currently runs her own fencing club in Fontainebleau, France. Her hobbies include drinking wine and mushroom picking in the Royal forest. 2005

Lance Larsen	Here is the life of a fencing coach in his own words: I was born in nineteen sixty-seven in Spokane Washington, USA. At the age of six my father took out a home improvement loan and instead purchased a motorcycle for me, which he taught me to ride. At sixteen I soloed my first aircraft, a piper tomahawk. At the same age I started fencing at West Central Community Center under Jack Warner. I learned sabre under the tutelage of David Lewis (an air force captain) and got regular instruction from my eventual coach Leon Auriol. At nineteen I started teaching fencing classes at Eastern Washington University under Jerry Krause. At twenty I enrolled at a school for fencing coaches in Dinard, France with a club mate of mine, Randall Griffiths. We were the first two Americans enrolled there. I moved to Los Angeles after coming back to the United States and started teaching at the now defunct Westside Fencing Center. I gave individual lessons to Angelina Jolie, Holly Hunter and Sinead O'Connor. I became a member of Screen Actors Guild and appeared in movies as a "specialty extra"; my total on-screen time is roughly ten minutes worth. The majority of my scenes are deaths; many times the production company killed me off more than once in the same film. I met my ex-wife in Los Angeles and we were married in Wales. We divorced a few years back and now I live in Twickenham. I enjoy computer games, heavy metal music and dancing. When I'm not teaching I play drums with a fifties style band called the Heartbreakers. 2004 - till present

Christophe Guttier	2003 - 2004

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Images on this website (with rare and insignificant exceptions) were posed or taken by the members of the club.
© London Fencing Club, 2004-2007.

Coaches