sporting swordsmanship in Yorkville

A grocery store, dry cleaners and pizza restaurant line the west side of First Avenue between 93rd and 94th Streets. It’s the fourth business on that block that invites a double-take.

Jason Sheridan opened Sheridan Fencing Academy about nine years ago elsewhere on the Upper East Side. The business even had an early stint at an Upper West Wide shul. It’s been at its current location for about five years now.

“I thought the Upper East Side was a good fit,” Sheridan, 40, said. “There are so many families and kids and we were something new.”

Sheridan was introduced to the sport while attending Vassar College in the mid-1990s. “I saw a flyer for the fencing team. ‘No experience necessary’. That was perfect for me,” he said.

Sheridan became “immersed” in the sport. He joined the Peace Corps after graduation and spent four years in Poland teaching English, while also becoming the only American to complete the Fencing Master’s Program at the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Poland.

Sheridan takes pride in his school. “To have some kids come in and not believe they can do anything, develop into some of the top athletes in the country, the world,” he said, “is a great feeling.”

Sheridan started coaching future NCAA fencing champion Adrienne Jarocki when she was 13 years old. While at Harvard, Jarocki twice was champion in individual saber. More recently, Sheridan coached Galen Cadley, who won bronze at the Junior Olympics Championships in Kansas City earlier this year, and Kristen Wong, 16, who took home a silver medal at the Junior and Cadet Pan American Championships in March.

On a recent Saturday morning, a few champion hopefuls were perfecting their technique. Cora Riely, 7, rested on a side bench with her mother, Kari Riely, after just finishing her private lesson and awaiting a group class.

Cora, who has taken lessons for a year and half, takes pride in her sport calling it “kinda my thing.”

Fencing, Kari Riely said, “teaches grace, commitment and assertiveness. We love it, it’s a wonderful place.”

Brad Blumenfeld was sitting on the sidelines watching his son, Chase, participate in that same group class. “We live locally and he’s always been interested in medieval knights and all medieval things, so it was a natural fit for him to try fencing,” Blumenfeld said.

Chase, 8, who took lessons a couple years ago, and started back up a few months ago, recommends fencing at Sheridan, saying that its improved his reflexes “tremendously” and helps you strategize.

Matthew Power might no longer aspire to Olympic glory but he nevertheless takes the sport seriously. Power, 43, has been attending the adult group classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings. “I wanted to find a sport that was competitive and a good workout,” he said. “It forces you to be more coordinated and I’m having a ball.”

Adele Bubnys, 24, picked up fencing in college and has been a regular at Sheridan for about two years. “The thing I like is it’s not only an athletic endeavor but also an intellectual challenge,” she said. Bubnys also notes that the “people are fantastic” and there’s a social aspect as well, often leading to drinks after the evening sparring.

Sheridan has since expanded to Forest Hills, Queens, and White Plains. He wants to continue to build the program to get more kids engaged.

Sheridan, who lives with his wife and mixed-breed dog just a few “lunges” away from his club, said the neighborhood has “got a great relaxed energy to it.”

Which he hopes is reflected in his academy and his charges: “One of the great satisfactions I have is transforming their perspective in terms of what they are capable of.”