Fencing instructors in the United States who teach in the schools typically have been gym or physical education teachers, most of whom have had little, if any, fencing experience. Many fencing clubs have experienced members who teach what they know, but who have had no training specifically directed toward the teaching of fencing. In Europe the figure who for centuries has been acknowledged as the expert in fencing instruction has been the fencing master. Genuine fencing masters go through years of difficult training to become fencing teachers, possess a complete understanding of fencing theory and technique, and possess specialized pedagogical skills. To receive their masters diplomas, candidates must pass a series of rigorous examinations governed by a commission of certified fencing masters who determine whether candidates are qualified.
This school's instructor, Maestro Frank Lurz, began fencing in 1964 under Maestro Hans Halberstadt, former captain of the German Olympic fencing team, and Maitre William O’Brien. He is a professionally trained fencing master of the Italian school instituted in 1884 by the Scuola Magistrale Militare di Roma (school for military masters, in Rome). Maestro Lurz has been teaching in Marin County, California since 1990. From 1996 through 2004 he was assistant director of the Fencing Masters Training Program at San Jose State University; the only institution in North America offering a formal course of study for those who aspire to become fencing masters. During that eight-year period he also served as a member of the program's examining commission, which has included two presidents of the Italian Fencing Master's Association (AIMS), Maestri Giovanni Toran and Niccolo Perno, AIMS Vice President Maestro Saverio Crisci, and Maestro Enzo Musumeci Greco, member of the examining board of the National Academy of Fencing at Naples, Italy. Maestro Lurz is a colleague of Maestro William Gaugler, graduate of the Accademia Nazionale di Scherma di Napoli and author of "The Science of Fencing" and "The History of Fencing."
