About Fencing Masters
Founded in 1995 by Jeffrey Lopez, Fencing Masters is one of Singapore's earliest private fencing clubs, teaching the Olympic sport of fencing. We've trained over 1,000 fencers, built a legacy of champions, and created a community where discipline, strategy, and swordsmanship come to life.
Meet Jeffrey and Shaun-Paul
Head Coach Shaun-Paul Lopez and founder Jeffrey Lopez introduce the club. Filmed by LocalLista.
Watch the original on Instagram
Transcript
Shaun: Hi, I'm Shaun, and I'm the Head Coach at Fencing Masters.
Jeffrey: Hi, I'm Jeffrey, the Master Coach at Fencing Masters.
Shaun: We are a fencing club which does all three weapons in the Olympic sport of fencing.
Jeffrey: I started fencing in 1974. I've had experience in the Singapore American Club for 10 years. I even coached the Mexican ambassador to Singapore.
Shaun: We teach all age groups, from 4 to 74. We welcome you, whatever age you are, to come and enjoy the Olympic sport of fencing.
Jeffrey: Fencing develops your persona in so many different ways. It makes you realise that the timing, distance and opportunity is everything in fencing.
Shaun: We've been here for 32 years, and in that time I've had many kids coming, and parents have highlighted that after a long time they never realised that kids have changed so much.
Jeffrey: I would encourage you to try fencing if you haven't, because people liken it to physical chess.
Shaun: So it's an ancient art and a modern sport. And you can find us at locallista.com.
31 Years · Three Weapons · One Club
Where Singapore's next generation of champions train.
For 31 years, Fencing Masters has helped Singaporeans find their footing on the piste. Our foundation is Jeffrey Lopez's coaching experience, which began in 1975, and a belief that the three Olympic weapons can teach discipline, judgement and confidence for life.
What began as one of Singapore's earliest private fencing clubs continues as a home for first lessons, serious training and the shared work of becoming a better fencer. Former students of Coach Jeffrey have gone on to coach, lead programmes and establish salles across Singapore.
Explore the club milestones ↓Timeline
Every entry below is drawn from our Champions hall of fame, the same results our fencers and their families helped us verify. Fencing Masters athletes have competed since the 1970s, and these are some of the milestones along the way.
Where it started
Jeffrey Lopez moves into coaching in 1975, carrying his competitive experience to the next generation.
First recorded honour
Choy Fong Leng wins épée gold at the 15th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, the earliest result logged in our hall of fame.
Fencing Masters is founded
Jeffrey opens Fencing Masters at 177 Ubi Avenue 4 #02-00, one of Singapore's earliest private fencing clubs, starting with a small group of dedicated students.
Ryan Ong's rise through the ranks
From a YMCA Under-10 foil gold in 2009 to Commonwealth Cadet Champion in 2015 and 7th at the World Cadet Championships in Bourges, France in 2016, with World Cup and European Circuit starts along the way.
Sito Jian Tong on the SEA Games podium
Épée gold at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi and the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh, plus gold at the World Junior Championships in Tashkent.
The next junior wave
SEAFF Under-14 medals in Kuala Lumpur and a clean sweep of the C Division épée podium at the 2024 National School Games, with National Minime medals still rolling in.
Help us complete the record
Were you part of a Fencing Masters milestone, or can you help correct one? Send us the details and we will verify them before changing the public timeline.
Share a club milestoneOur Coaching Philosophy
Ancient Art. Modern Sport.
We coach fencing as a martial art with the bearing of a uniformed discipline. From the very first lesson, that dual heritage shapes everything we teach: respect for the weapon, control of the body, and command of the mind.
A fencer learns discipline and perseverance the way a martial artist does, through repetition, correction, and patience. They learn how to win with grace and how to lose without breaking, because both are part of every competitor's life. These lessons follow a young person into the classroom, the workplace, and every challenge after.
On the piste, there is nowhere to hide.
Fencing is not a team sport. Every point you score, you earned. Every point you concede, you allowed. A fencer learns to make a decision in a fraction of a second and to live by it, in real time and under pressure. That accountability is the rarest lesson a sport can teach, and it is one your child carries for life.Fencing is also a place to fail safely. A lost touch costs nothing but teaches everything. We want our fencers to fail fast, learn faster, and turn every defeat into the next step toward success. That mindset, more than any medal, is what we are most proud to pass on.
Discipline
The focus, respect, and self-control of a martial art, built one lesson at a time.
Accountability
Every decision is yours alone. Fencers learn to own the outcome and act on it.
Resilience
Fail safely, recover quickly, and treat every setback as the start of the next success.
You might be 7 or 70, picking up a blade for the first time or training for the podium, and either way you will find coaches who believe in your potential and a community that celebrates every milestone.
Jeffrey Lopez
Jeffrey Lopez founded Fencing Masters. He moved into coaching in 1975, and in 1995 he opened one of Singapore's earliest private fencing clubs. Most clubs begin as a group of fencers clubbing together to rent a hall. This one had one coach who opened it and owned it, and 31 years later the same family still runs it. That is why there has never been a committee to answer to, and why the coaching has not drifted with whoever happened to be on the board.
Jeffrey has coached over 1,000 fencers, many of whom went on to compete at national and international level. He coaches for technical skill and character in equal measure.
Read the full profiles of Jeffrey Lopez and Shaun-Paul Lopez, or meet the whole coaching team.
Two generations on the piste, and that continuity is what keeps our coaching standards the same today as they were at the very first lesson.
Our Heritage
Fencing Masters is an affiliate of Fencing Singapore, the national governing body for the sport, and every coach on the floor is NROC-registered and certified in first aid and CPR. You can read about each of them on our coaches page, or see where our fencers have finished in the hall of fame.
The Crest
At its heart, concentric rings of gold and white draw the eye inward to a single point: focus, precision, and the target every fencer trains to find. Red carries the energy and fighting spirit of the attack, our action colour on and off the piste. Blue anchors it in heritage and discipline, the tradition the sport is built on. And the lunging fencer at the centre captures the decisive moment: balance, timing, and the courage to commit. Three colours, three weapons (Foil, Sabre, Épée), one club.
The Wordmark
A calligraphic "fm" (a red f, a blue m) set inside an arched ring that reads "FENCING MASTERS · estd. 1995." Drawn like a handwritten signature, its sweeping crossed strokes echo two blades meeting on the piste: elegant yet athletic, steeped in tradition yet alive with movement. One mark carries our two primary colours and our founding year.
Ready to Join the Legacy?
Seven or seventy, looking for fitness, competition, or a new skill, there's a place for you at Fencing Masters. Request a trial and find your weapon.
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