Jim Liebich

Head Coach

Moniteur Jim Liebich has been fencing for over twenty years in the Bay Area. He developed a love for fencing by starting out in a local community center class, like many of his students, and has enjoyed it ever since. Jim strongly believes that fencing is a fun and wonderful sport that can be enjoyed at any age.

Jim began coaching in 2000 and eventually earned his Moniteur teaching degree from the United States Fencing Coach's Association (USFCA) in both foil and épée. He founded En Garde Fencing in January of 2008 with the goal of providing high-quality fencing instruction in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, and of creating a vibrant community of fencers in the North Bay. He enjoys sharing its myriad benefits with kids and fencers of any age and he is always working to improve his skills as a coach.

Jim teaches classes six days a week at En Garde Fencing, and has run after-school fencing classes at many schools in the area. He teaches beginning fencing at Sonoma State University, and is often seen conducting demonstrations around the county to promote the sport of fencing.

As a former Vice-Chair of the Northern California Division of the United States Fencing Association, and a current member of the Executive Committee, he is committed to growing the sport in the Bay Area. Jim is a full-time fencing instructor, and strives to provide the finest coaching available in Sonoma County.

Dimitri Elias Nicholson

Coach

Coach Dimitri has been active in the world of martial arts for over 15 years, having trained and offered instruction in styles ranging from Okinawan Karate to Russian Systema. Caught up in the thrill of fencing since 2009, he currently fences competitively to hone his own skills and constantly gather knowledge for EGF students’ improvement and health. Dimitri teaches beginning to intermediate level Foil and Epee.

John Sullins

Coach

I am a Professor of philosophy at Sonoma State University in California as well as the director of the Fencing Masters Certificate Program at the same university. I help coach the university club and teach theatrical fencing in the theater arts department. I have worked in all aspects of fencing from classical to sport, historical to theatrical.

At En Garde Fencing I teach adults and teens in classical and historical fencing. We train mostly in heavy sabre but we also work with, foil, epee, smara, rapier, dagger, and longsword/montonte. My specialty within the tradition has always been traditional Italian sabre, though I am also very familiar with the Hungarian style as well. What I teach would have been recognizable to Giuseppe Radaelli, (La Scherma di Sciabola e di Spada – 1876) very close to Masiello, Ferdinando, (Trato teorico-pratico della scherma di spada e sciabola – 1884), and almost identical to Luigi Barbasetti (The Art of the Sabre and the Epee, (E.P. Dutton and Co., Inc., 1936)). During a fencing trip to Italy in 1990, I encountered heavy antique fencing sabres in an arms and armor shop; since then I have been interested in returning to this style of fencing. In the mid 1990’s I started the Broadsword and Heavy Sabre yahoo group, and that group has been successful in getting some manufacturers to build heavy sabre blades and weapons. The time is now ripe for a traditional sabre renaissance. At the En Garde Fencing Club Provost William Byrne and I work with all manner of sabres, classical fencing weapons, and WMA styles and we hold a number of heavy sabre tournaments each year.

I have studied under many great fencing teachers over the years but most of my training was done with Maestro William Gaugler and Military Master at Arms Ralph Sahm at the San Jose State Military Fencing Masters Program (1986 to 1997) where I earned three Military Instructors at Arms (1988), a Military Provost at Arms (1989) and MilitaryMaster at Arms (1994). This program was built on the pedagogy and traditions of the SCUOLA MAGISTRALE MILITARE DI SCHERMA. This curriculum has a very long and storied pedigree. Maestro Sherman, another graduate of this program, traced the lineage of our school and has posted it to his website. My fencing roots stretch through the Roman-Neapolitan School and the School of Leghorn which both have much deeper roots to earlier styles of fencing back at least 500 years or more. I am deeply honored to be carrying on such a rich living tradition and I am doing my best to help others attain their fencing master certificate to extend this tradition to future generations.

John Earle

Coach

John Earle has been engaged in Martial arts/science since he was 8 years old. He earned a black belt rank in Shaolin Kempo Karate at the age of 19. Shaolin arts emphasize a sense of balance and a lifestyle of health and fitness. The development of this system consisted mainly of mastering several existing martial arts, removing movements deemed inefficient, and then integrating the remaining movements into a cohesive system, Shaolin Kempo, Karate, Kempo, Chin Na, Jujutsu, Mongolian Wrestling, and Greco Roman Wrestling.

At En Garde Fencing, John has continued his studies in classical and historical fencing by participating in the Coaches/Masters training class. He trained in heavy sabre, rapier, dagger, and longsword. John instructs our Foam Weapon Combat course where he blends his martial arts education with historical and modern fencing techniques into a fun and safe format that allows for more contact and increased precision, while keeping all the fun and safety. 

Bill Bailey

Assistant Coach

Bill started fencing at En Garde in 2010 at the age of 46. He quickly fell in love with the sport and believes it is one of the best things he can do to stay in shape, keep the mind active, have fun, meet great people and most importantly be with his three sons. “As a family we have tried all the conventional sports. Fencing is really the only sport where I can actually participate with my sons on a weekly basis. This has been absolutely priceless to me and my boys.” Bill loves teaching beginning fencers the fundamentals of fencing. He started coaching in 2013 and his goal is to earn a USFCA Moniteur teaching degree specializing in foil and to become a certified referee.

Levi Bailey

Assistant Coach

Levi started fencing at En Garde in the fall of 2009 at age 11. He began to excel in the sport and loves the friendly competition, private lessons, In-Club Tournaments and the strategy of each bout. He has numerous medals from in Club Tournaments both at En Garde and from Napa Fencing Academy. He has a passion for the sport and strives to help young fencers increase in their knowledge and understanding of fencing. He began coaching in 2013 and his goal is to earn a USFCA Moniteur teaching degree specializing in foil and to become a certified referee.

Jared Bailey

Assistant Coach

Jared started fencing at En Garde in the fall of 2009 at the age of 9. He too began to excel in the sport and like his older brother loves the competition, private lessons, In-Club Tournaments and friendly people. He enjoys the fast-paced excitement each bout brings. He also has numerous medals from In-Club Tournaments both at En Garde and from Napa Fencing Academy. He enjoys working with the youth class at En Garde and challenging himself in multiple weapons (foil & épée). Jared started assistant coaching in 2014 and desires to become a full coach with the goal of earning a USFCA Moniteur teaching degree in both foil & épée.