When Ryan Mank moved to Albuquerque in 2012 he noticed that there was no resource for the martial art of classical fencing. There was a sport/modern fencing club. "But sport/modern is vastly different from traditional/classical," he says. "Nor is a club a school," he adds.

Ryan is an experienced, board certified instructor in the traditional Italian Sala di Arma school of fencing, grounded in the traditional Italian fencing theory that dates back centuries. He founded Red Sun Classical Fencing, the only organization of its kind in the state, dedicated to teaching and preserving the science of classical Italian fencing. Unlike sport/modern fencing where the objectives are competition and scoring points, traditional/classical is fencing as it was originally intended – a martial art, training for a duel, a system of defense.

"Red Sun's focus is on the Italian dueling weapons of the 18th and 19th centuries, the spada and the sciabola, though all students begin with the classical Italian foil, the instrument with which the techniques of the science are taught and learned," Ryan explains on his website.

He invites all who are interested in learning more about the science and discipline of classical Italian fencing to visit his website at www.redsunfencing.wordpress.com and to make an appointment to observe a class at Red Sun's new location in the Tang Soo Do Martial Arts space at 1437 Wyoming, NE.

Source: Italy in New Mexico