Coach Chris Ford is the Head Foil Coach at Metro Tacoma Fencing Club, he is a Certified Prévôt in Foil & Épée from The U.S. His students have qualified for the World Cup events, earned national medals, achieved national rankings, and represented the United States internationally. Many of his students have received scholarships and have been captains and team members of university fencing teams. He
started fencing in 1983 in Seattle and was trained by Ray Coats, Steve Colton, and Jim Denton. He later trained and worked for the former South Korean Olympic coach, Maestro Kim Man S*k, who was the coach and director of the Korean National Fencing Team. Chris stared coaching in 2012 at Rain City Fencing Center in Bellevue, one of the largest and most technologically advanced sport fencing facilities in the country. He trained beginner to Elite fencers in both Foil and Épée, along with Greg Jones the owner of RCFC and Maestro Garik Balayan whom was awarded the USSR Medal of Merit. Coach Chris started working with Metro Tacoma Fencing Club as Head Foil Coach in January 2020, where he teaches both Foil and Épée Classes, Camps, and Private Lessons. Coach Chris enjoys collaborating with the community and positively impact local kids and youth, giving them the opportunity to develop physical and emotional skills, improve self-esteem, have fun, make friends, and learn good sportsmanship.