My club has done nothing but footwork for weeks, is this normal?

Normal, and honestly a good sign, though clubs vary a lot in how they pace it. Footwork is fencing's foundation the way dribbling is basketball's: distance and timing win bouts, and both live entirely in the legs. A club that spends the first weeks on advance-retreat, lunges and balance is building the thing every future skill sits on.

That said, the range of 'normal' is wide. Some excellent programs put a weapon in your hand day one and mix footwork in forever; others run classical progressions where weeks of legs come first. Both produce good fencers. The classical approach fell out of favor with kids' programs mostly because eight-year-olds vote with their feet, modern youth classes usually blend games, footwork and blades from the start.

When it stops being normal: if MONTHS pass with no bladework and no stated plan, or footwork-only continues while other students who started with you are bouting, ask the coach directly, 'what's the progression, and what do I need to show before blades?' A good coach answers with specifics and a timeline. Vague answers or 'that's just how it's done' from a program that also pushes long paid commitments is a flag worth heeding.

Meanwhile: lean in. Fencers who love footwork improve faster than fencers who tolerate it, and the students who stand out in every club are the ones whose legs never stop.