Young athletes show off fencing moves as local academy eyes Tokyo Olympics

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – I recently visited Fioretto Fencing Academy, which has locations in Jacksonville and Nocatee, to learn more about the Olympic sport of fencing.

The academy offers lessons and competes in state and national events.

Its coach, Alan Chernomashentsev, has been fencing since the age of 9.

He took his love for the movie “The Three Musketeers” and ran with it! He has been coaching in Northeast Florida since 2005 and is an “A” ranked fencer who is among the top senior competitors in the country.

He first showed me the uniform worn by athletes and introduced me to some of his students, who taught me some of the techniques used by Olympic competitors.

If you are interested in learning to fence, you can contact Coach Alan through the academy’s website.