Director Alexandre Ryjik
Founder and Director of Athletic Development, Alexandre Ryjik began fencing at age eight in St. Petersburg, Russia. At age 17, he earned a Master of Sport in Fencing of the USSR, one of the most prestigious certifications in this sport. He holds many championship titles: All Republic Champion, Army Champion, Leningrad Champion, and National Youth Champion of the Soviet Union. In the U.S., the Fencing Master coached at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, he is Professor of Fencing at American and George Mason Universities. Internationally, he has represented the U.S. in numerous World Cup competitions and as a U.S. coach at the 2009 Junior & Cadet World Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He developed a curriculum and trained coaches at the 2009 High Level Technical Courses at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His students include national and international medalists and champions.
Meet the VAF Coaches
Coach Bill Grandy is the Director of Historical Programs at VAF. An authority on Historical Swordsmanship, he combines the athletic approach of sport fencing with extensive historical research. He is regularly invited to teach across the U.S. for sword and martial arts events such as the Western Martial Arts Workshop, Chivalric Weekend, Longpoint and SwordFest. He has written articles in martial arts publications on the German longsword, Italian rapier, training methodology and pedagogy. His new book Italian Renaissance Swordsmanship is due to be published soon. Coach Bill teaches intermediate and advanced rapier and two handed sword classes at VAF, as well as introductory and intermediate sport fencing classes.
Coach Russ Wilson has over thirty years of experience in fencing. He was an All-American and All Ivy-League fencer at Columbia University. Russ was trained by legendary fencing master and U.S. Olympic coach Csaba Elthes. A member of three U.S. national under-20 teams, he was 1983 National Under 20 Sabre champion. He was also a member of the 1985 USA Maccabiah Team and won a bronze individual and a team gold medal in the World Maccabiah Games. As a "AAA" rated international referee, Coach Russ was selected to referee at the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Olympic Games. Coach Russ holds the rank of "Referee Emeritus" in the United States Fencing Association - this is the highest honor granted a referee. He has served as chair of numerous panels for USA Fencing, and is USA Fencing's Director of Security since 2001. Professionally, Russ is an expert in national security affairs and holds five advanced degrees. In 2010, Russell Wilson was inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He coaches all three weapons and at all levels at VAF.
Coach Young Lee is a former Korean Olympic pentathlon team coach and has produced 13 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze Olympic medalists. He has coached the Korean National Team since 2001. As an expert in epee fencing, Coach Young was named Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2004 by the Korean Olympic Committee. As a fourteen year veteran of the South Korean National Team, he has won 31 gold, 13 silver, and 15 bronze medals in numerous international competitions including the gold medal in individual and team competition at the Modern Pentathlon World Games in Tokyo, Japan in 1995. He is certified as an Olympic judge by the Union International De Pentathlon Moderne. His training includes Bachelor and Master degrees in sports education from the Korean National Sports University.
Coach George King was trained by the Fencing Master. He has been with VAF since 1999 and has over 10 years of fencing and coaching experience. He is in charge of developing the youth, intermediate and electric sabre program. He has an extensive athletic background and brings dedication and enthusiasm to the sport of fencing. In his former life he was an NFL professional football player and a police officer with over 23 years in law enforcement. His students include numerous state champions and medalists and nationally ranked fencers. He coaches sabre students.
Coach Alex Wood has been involved in fencing for over 20 years, having trained under several Olympic coaches. He attended Stanford University where he became a three-time NCAA All-American in foil. Coach Wood was a U.S. national champion, a 5-time World Championships national team member and a 4-time Junior Olympics champion. He has been an athlete representative on the United States Fencing Association (USFA) Board of Directors since 2002. He is currently serving on the Executive Committee and Legal Resource Group of the USFA. Coach Wood is also currently the Chair of the USFA Athlete Council, a group serving the interests of elite athletes. He teaches foil students at the competitive level.
Coach David Rowe has been with Virginia Academy of Fencing since 1999. He underwent training from the Fencing Master and the Director of Historical Programs. His longtime commitment to fencing has allowed him to develop an athletic yet personable teaching style. Coach David has assisted the Director of Historical Programs in various longsword and rapier workshops throughout the country, and is a highly regarded longsword and rapier fencer. Coach David assists with research and interpretation for Historical Swordsmanship, and is currently undergoing his graduate studies at Catholic University with a focus on Medieval fencing manuscripts. He has taught beginning sport and historical fencing classes to hundreds of students in the area at schools and recreation centers. He teaches intermediate foil classes as well as introductory sport and historical swordsmanship.
Coach Kelly Wynn was trained in sport fencing at James Madison University where she graduated in 1999. She continued her training under the Fencing Master and the Director of Historical Programs at Virginia Academy of Fencing and began teaching in 2002. Coach Kelly received specialized training in rapier and smallsword from the Director of Historical Programs. She teaches introductory historical swordsmanship and sport fencing classes. She also often performs demonstrations of sport and historical fencing at local and regional exhibitions in the area.
Coach Tom Leoni was born in Switzerland and raised in Northern Italy. His meticulous research of Italian swordsmanship treatises helped him become an internationally-known teacher specializing in the Italian styles of the 1500s and 1600s. He has published several books and contributes regularly to several Western martial arts magazines and serves as a consultant for historical swordsmanship projects and translations. He also has an extensive educational background in Latin, ancient Greek, history, philosophy, literature and music. He teaches advanced historical swordsmanship classes.
Coach Tim Hall has been with VAF since 2009. He has attended numerous events such as Chivalric Weekend 2010 and Longpoint 2011. He is also President of the George Mason Medieval Swordsmanship Club. Coach Tim has vast experience in working with under-privileged youth as a mentor and coach under Public Partnership and Grinding Away Gangs. He teaches beginning fencing in Olympic Sport and Historical Swordsmanship.
Coach Mark Miller brings 10 years of coaching experience to VAF. In addition to this, he is licensed to teach grades 6-12 in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Coach Mark is a very competitive fencer at the Veteran category level. He is also actively involved in fencing as treasurer and coach for the National Fencing Foundation of Washington D.C., a non-profit organization that promotes the sport of fencing for at-risk middle and high schools students. He teaches both beginning and intermediate Olympic Sport fencing classes.
Coach Dorothea Schurr has seven years of coaching experience. She was a decorated NCAA competitor at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. As a Viking team captain for one year, she led her team to a number of victories in the Midwest Conference. Dorothea is fluent in Chinese. She teaches at the beginning and intermediate levels.