Rob Handelman, D.C.,  Maitre d'Armes

 Maitre Rob Handelman came to Halberstadt in 1974 and was the head coach until 1982.  He had been in private practice as a Doctor of Chiropractic specializing in sports injuries since 1983, and semi-retired in 2005.  He is now able to devote more time to fencing.
Rob began fencing in 1968 in New York and competed in sabre.  After college, Rob spent nearly three years in Paris at the Institut National des Sports (INS) earning his Fencing Master credential in all three weapons (sabre, foil, epee).  He is one of only three Americans to ever graduate from the INS.
He was an A-rated competitor and fenced in many European "A" World Cup competitions.  His students have been national finalists, national team members, and national champions in all three weapons.  He taught the varsity team at UC Berkeley, and in the summers, he taught coaches' clinics for the US Fencing Association at the Olympic training center at Squaw Valley, and training camps for our top junior fencers.  He has coached US teams at the National Sports Festivals, World Cup Events and Junior World Championships. Maitre Handelman is currently the chair of the board that certifies fencing instructors for the US Fencing Coaches Association.

Connie Louie, Ph.D.


Dr. Connie Louie was a competitive fencer in foil for 16 years.  She has trained with the French national team and has competed internationally.  Dr. Louie was also a member of the US Olympic Training Squad for three years and fenced with the US Women's Foil Team in Europe.  She placed 4th individually in the 1981 Nationals and captain of the 2nd place team.  In 2006, Dr. Louie received her Moniteur certificates in both foil and sabre, and in June 2009 her Prevot certificate in sabre from the US Fencing Coaches Association.

Dr. Louie earned a doctorate degree in clinical psychology in 1994 and is a licensed psychologist specializing in sports psychology.

Dr. Louie was also the CEO and Founder of Xtreme Focus, which offered teleclasses for fencers who want to have better and consistent results in competitions.  Certified as a Master practitioner, Dr. Louie has been using hypnosis and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) with elite athletes so that they can perform their best under pressure.