Red Sun Classical Fencing

Registration is open for this year’s Sonoma State University Fencing Masters Certificate Program. This is the program through which Maestro Mank and Instructor Schonfeld received their certifications.

Special Sessions Classes Special Sessions Classes Spring 2026There are no special sessions classes scheduled for Spring 2026 at this time.Summer 2026KIN 311 Fencing Pedagogy Certificate Program—Pedagoy ( #1145)June 1-26, 2026, asynchronous onlineInstructor: John Sullins, PhDFee: $770 REGISTER FOR THIS CLASS—registration....

SAVE THE DATE - Saturday June 20th

Radaellian Sabre Seminar 2026

Red Sun Classical Fencing will once again be hosting Mr Sean Newton, Instructor at Arms, to lead a workshop on the Radaellian method of Italian Sabre. Registration for this event will be opening within the next week or two, but we wanted to get this on your calendars! Given the weapon in use and the space we'll be in, attendance will be limited to 24 participants!

Mr Newton has spent a significant portion of his 25 year fencing career on the study of various styles of Italian Sabre, and during this workshop will be leading 6 hours of instruction on the Radaellian method of Italian Sabre, as presented by Settimo del Frate and Giordano Rossi. This event is geared towards Classical Fencers, HEMA Practitioners, SCA fencers, and indeed, anyone who wants to learn more about this system of sabre fencing.

Once more details for this event are finalized (specific content, cost to participate, etc) an Event for this workshop will be created with a link to register for the event. Here are the known details:

When: Saturday June 20th 2026, 10am-5pm (which includes an hour for lunch)
Where: Red Sun Classical Fencing
(Located within the former Duke City Fencing facility)
2840 Girard Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87107

Stay tuned for a link to register!

Send a message to learn more

Results from this year's Palm Beach Classical Fencing Open, held this past weekend (3/21/26):

FOIL:
1st Place: Don Uy (Tampa Bay Fencers)
2nd Place: Matt Richardson (Tampa Bay Fencers)
3rd Place: Ryan Mank (Red Sun Classical Fencing)

EPEE:
1st Place: Joseph Lai (Salle Saint-Georges)
2nd Place: Matt Richardson (Tampa Bay Fencers)
3rd Place: Grayson North (Palm Beach Classical Fencing)

SABRE:
1st Place: Don Uy (Tampa Bay Fencers)
2nd Place: Ryan Mank (Red Sun Classical Fencing)
3rd Place: Khiem Le (Red Sun Classical Fencing)

Thanks to all competitors for the challenging fencing, to the judges and Directors (Maitre Cecil Longino of Salle Saint-Georges, Instructor Russell Hogg of Cote du Golfe School of Fencing, and the Maestri Ramon Martinez and Jeannette Acosta-Martinez of Martinez Academy of Arms) for officiating the event, and last but not least, Instructor Kim Moser of Palm Beach Classical Fencing and his wife Ellen for organizing the event itself as well as all the associated social activities, all of which makes the event worth coming to year after year. Until the next one!

Send a message to learn more

2026 Classical Foil medalists. A win for the Italian school this time! Congratulations! 🎉 The house will be training hard for a rematch... 🇨🇵

Gold: Matthew Lawrence, Socal Swords
Silver: Ryan Mank, Red Sun Classical Fencing
Bronze: Yichen Liu, Italian Renaissance Swordsmanship

Holzman’s translation of Del Frate’s Radaellian Sabre method is back in print.

Back in Print - New Title - Revised with More Content.

Three formats: Hardback, Paperback, and Coil Bound.

Due to limitations of Lulu Press, the folding plates were not able to be reproduced, so they've been clipped apart and placed at the end of the chapter that references them.

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisholzman?srsltid=AfmBOopgEuHtHK-4DagiYF2OSh6n7x0roYUAEJUSy9PcA857KnCABUpN

Registration is open for Rose & Thorns Historical Fencing Symposium!

Fencers, the moment is at hand! Registration is live. Link in the comments.

This has been in the works for a while; I was invited to this event in 2024 but had a conflict.

I have to acknowledge the flexibility and communication of the organizers of the Rose & Thorns Historical Fencing Symposium for keeping me in mind this year. I’m glad I could make good on it this year, and I’m excited to attend!

Class Taught :
In-Between the Rapier and the Foil - Techniques using the Smarra

This class will explore the evolution of various techniques using the Smarra, as shown through the lens of Rosaroll-Scorza & Grisetti's La Scienza della Scherma (1803). This kind of weapon, known by myriad names (Spada di Marra, Transitional Rapier, Late Italian Rapier, Spada dalla Napolitana, Neapolitan Foil, and more recently "Italian Smallsword"), occupies an interesting place in Italian fencing history and theory, as the Rapier starts to become what we now know today as the Italian Foil. Students will see how familiar techniques with rapier and foil vary with this weapon, how they changed, and how they can transfer back or forward for use with the Rapier and/or Foil.

About the Instructor:

Maestro Ryan Mank has been fencing since 2000, and teaching fencing since 2006, serving as Assistant Instructor of Trovare di Spada in St. Louis MO from 2006-2012, and Head Instructor of Red Sun Classical Fencing in Albuquerque NM since 2012. He has training in classical French and Italian styles of swordplay utilizing the Foil, Epee, and Sabre, as well as the Rapier, and has been a proponent of the use of the Smarra for 15 years. He received his Fencing Master's diploma from the Sonoma State University Fencing Masters Certificate Program in July 2022.

He has previously taught at workshops and seminars nationwide, including the Rapier and Sabre Pedagogy retreat in Atlanta GA, an Italian Sabre Workshop at the Phoenix Society of Historical Swordsmanship in Phoenix AZ, and a Smarra/Transitional Rapier Workshop in Boston MA, to name a few.

He has also competed (and continues to compete where allowed) in classical fencing tournaments across the US, winning multiple weapon divisions (Foil, Epee, Sabre, Historical) in events such as the Palm Beach Open in Palm Beach FL, The Grand Assault of Arms in New York NY, The Redwood Coast Assault of Arms in Arcata CA, and Fencing on the Frozen Tundra in Milwaukee WI.

Protective Gear :
Equipment: Mask, lightweight jacket, gloves are required. Chest and groin protection recommended.

Weapon - the following are examples of weapons that could be used for this class:
-Castille Armory Smarra
-HF Armory Italian Smallsword, or Smallsword Olympic (main difference is the blade width/heft, both blades are 35" long)
-Classical Italian Foil (such as those available from Negrini, Fencing Post, and now HF Armory)
-Castille Armory Light Dueling Rapier can work, but the long quillions might present difficulties with certain techniques in this class.
-French-style smallswords can work, but a standard length epee blade (35"), or similar, is recommended.
-Having a knucklebow on the weapon is helpful, but not required.

Typical full-size rapiers are NOT recommended for this class; they are too long and too heavy.

Many thanks to Phoenix Society of Historical Swordsmanship for a pleasant visit (my first since teaching a sabre workshop there in January 2024), I had a good time fencing all comers in rapier and sabre, and helping out with pointers when asked. Until next time!

~Maestro Mank