COACHES
A fencing a club is defined by it’s coaching staff. Salle Paul has coaches for everyone from complete beginners to the seasoned international. All our coaches are on the British Fencing Coaching Register, DBS checked and First Aid trained.
FOIL
RICHARD KRUSE
With 9 World Cup Golds to his name, and another 17 medals at World Championships, European Championships and Grands Prix, former World No. 1 Richard Kruse is the most successful British fencer in history. Richard used to be a Salle Paul member himself, training under the tutelage of legendary coach Ziemowit Wojciechowski, who is still his coach to this day. Today, Richard coaches at Salle Paul three times a week, including running the foil footwork sessions and conditioning.
LEO SUAREZ
Former member of the Cuban National Foil Team, Cuban Junior Under 20 Champion and Central American Champion, Leo has had a great career in fencing. After moving to London in 2002, Leo started working at Salle Paul and has been a Senior Foil Coach at Salle Paul for many years.
Leo coaches the youth classes at Salle Paul, and is available for lessons at open sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings.
ANTHONY CONYARD
British Fencing’s Development Coach of the Year 2016, Anthony Conyard has had a hand in helping our young fencers to achieve top cadet rankings. Anthony competed for Great Britain Veterans in World Championships and for England at the Veterans Commonwealth Games and is a double gold medallist.
Tony is available for lessons on Tuesday evenings.
OLHA KALKUTINA
Olha has over a decade of fencing experience, starting at the age of 9. She has gone on to represent and win medals for her native Ukraine in international competition. Transitioning from athlete to coach, she brings with her an ability to connect with athletes of all ages and provide a fostering and nurturing learning environment.
Olha coaches the youth sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays and delivers lessons on request.
EPEE
Oana Puiu
Oana is a former medal-winning Romanian international epeeist and is now an international medal-winning coach. Her experiences as a fencer in one of the world’s highest performing teams have provided a foundation for her exacting coaching approach. Her attention to detail, technical and tactical knowledge, and understanding of psychology, have made her one of Europe’s standout young coaches.
Oana is the head coach of Salle Paul, and lead coach for the epee programme. She leads footwork and conditioning on Monday evenings for the senior club.
Roman Picot
Roman is a former International Cadet & Junior fencer having represented Russia before switching to coaching. His competitive career saw him win Bronze medals at the European Cadet Championships as part of the Russian team as well at an individual Junior World Cup. Roman knows what it takes to be at the business end of a competition.
Roman has a wealth of experience from both Italy & Russia family roots as well as fencing in Hungary for many years. He left the Tyshler Fencing School in Moscow to take up a position with the Salle Paul coaching team.
Roman delivers youth sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and leads the senior session on Wednesdays.
Sam Boyle
Having represented both Great Britain and Wales at several international tournaments, Sam knows what it means to be a competitor as well as a coach. He has been directly responsible for some of our young fencers’ best results, including many podiums. Sam has a degree in Sports Coaching Science from St. Mary’s University and has a Level 2 British Fencing coaching qualification.
Sam runs the junior sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. He also leads the senior session footwork and scenarios on Thursday evenings.