What should we wear and bring to a first class?

Comfortable athletic clothes: a t-shirt, long athletic pants or sweatpants (not shorts, lunging in shorts against even padded blades is a lesson you only need once), clean court or athletic shoes, and a water bottle. That's the whole list.

The club provides the fencing gear, mask, jacket, glove and weapon, for first classes, so there's nothing to buy beforehand. Tie long hair back (it goes under the mask), skip dangly jewelry, and arrive a few minutes early so the coach can size a mask.

One quietly useful extra: a small snack for after. First classes are more tiring than they look, and post-class hunger is universal.