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Mon -Thu- Fri 3-8pm Saturday 1-6pm
77 Kensico Drive, Mount Kisco, NY 10549
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Introduce your athlete to the exciting sport of fencing in an enjoyable, easy, and safe haven under the guidance of three-time Olympian Mika’il Sankofa.
Our program is based on an important idea: children will learn more when they’re having fun.
Our students have gone on to some of the best schools in the country including NYU, Boston College, Brown, Stevens Institute of Technology, Ohio State, Sacred Heart and Penn State University. As such we encourage athletes to put school first and advise parents regarding collegiate options.
Mika'il Sankofa
Three-time Olympian in fencing ('84, '88, '92)
Pan American Games Silver & Bronze Medalist
First Four-Time NCAA Sabre Champion
We’re beginner and parent friendly, and you’ll be taught by an Olympian who has over 30 years of coaching and competitive experience. We promise you’ll receive World Class Fencing Training Techniques at Thrust that are fun, mentally stimulating that will improve athleticism and competitiveness.
Demanding and Fast-Paced, fencing is one of the easiest sports for boys and girls to learn. Hit without being hit and you’ll come to realize its’ physical and mental benefits.
Demanding at the highest level, fencing is one of the easiest sports to learn conceptually.
“Hit without being hit,” and you’ll come to realize its physical and mental training benefits.
The target area in Sabre is above the waist, and when two fencers' fence its called a "bout." The field of play is a fencing strip (think bowling lane) - with athletes fencing to 5, 10 or 15 points for a victory.
Competition can be both exhilarating and challenging, as it requires individuals to push themselves. We encourage it during training as we believe it fosters teamwork, creativity and promotes a healthy sense of achievement in students.
Respecting ones opponents and those that support you - coaches, parents, officials - is part of TFA's philosophy and is reinforced during training in preparation for competitions.
As a parent, your primary purpose is to support and encourage your child. Parents can greatly contribute to the success experienced by their children by giving them ownership of the experience when training and competing.
It is important to let your child establish individual goals. Help your child establish and achieve those goals with the coach, but avoid imposing your own goals vs. those of the coach and athlete.
Whether you attend a practice, watch a youtube fencing video or take a lesson from coach yourself, the more you know about the sport the more you can relate to your child's experience
Mika’il Sankofa is a three-time US Olympian in the sport of fencing. A US Fencing Hall of Fame Inductee in 2005, Sankofa’s other accomplishments include two individual national championships, ten-time national team champion and the first four-time NCAA champion in the sport of fencing. Sankofa started his fencing career at the age of nine under the tutelage of ’72 Olympian Tanya Adamovich. A rising national talent by age fifteen, he received a full scholarship to the New York Fencers Club where he continued his training with renowned US Olympic coach Maestro Csaba Elthes.
A graduate of NYU with a BA in Economics, in 2006 he received his Honors Maestro’s degree from Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. From 1990-2009, Sankofa served as Co-founder, director of athletics and fencing coach for the Peter Westbrook Foundation. He ran a year-round class for over 200 hundred participants, including a number of elite-level athletes. Sankofa’s students include three NCAA champions, five national champions, six junior world team members, a Junior World Cup champion and Cadet World bronze medalist. Sankofa was the lead NBC fencing analyst for fencing at the 2008 Olympic Games and the Masters of Ceremony for the 2015 Absolute Sabre World Cup Final. Sankofa also conducts fencing clinics and camps throughout the region, and hosts the annual Winter Thrust RYC/RJCC – a regional youth and junior tournament attended by over 1800 athletes in the Tri-state area. In addition to owning and operating Thrust Fencing Academy since 2012 he also runs Thrust Athletic Foundation – who goal is to support Rockland and Westchester youth through the sport of fencing.
Fencing has grown dramatically over the years with the United States enjoying world-class results at Junior World and Senior World-Class levels. Thrust encourages participation in competitions at the club, local, regional and national level.
Get your child to the club to train regularly and ten minutes before their class starts so they are relaxed, prepared and ready.
School obligations come first, so utilize school holidays for maximizing training opportunities with extra lessons and classes.
A consistent weekly training weekly is strongly encouraged. Establishing a regular schedule is best for enhanced learning and consistent results.
We have inspired and influenced hundreds of student’s lives – boosting their confidence, athleticism and overall excellence in every field of life. Below is feedback from parents and students.
Please feel free to contact the Academy with any questions you might have by calling 917-371-5603.
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