Things to Do in Alhambra

With 30 years' experience choreographing fight sequences for television and film, competitive-fencing instructor Tim Weske leads Swordplay Fencing Studio's intrepid teachers in demystifying the art of the sword for students. His combat choreography sequences have touched films and TV shows as diverse as I Love You, Man and Angel, and he has safely instructed celebrities such as Natalie Portman and Brad Pitt to convincingly parry with their onscreen opponents and dual for red-carpet supremacy.

At Swordplay Fencing Studio, once-a-week group sessions or private lessons in foil, épée, and saber provide pupils with fun workouts by engaging minds with subtle strategy while burning calories, increasing agility, and building muscle tone. Afternoon and evening sessions are held Monday through Saturday to fit hectic jobs and busy mornings repainting the neighbors' lawn flamingos.

Experienced instructors at Billy Camarillo Cutting Horses tailor classes to horses’ dispositions and riders’ goals. Although they offer beginners lessons in basic Western-riding techniques, the staff specializes in training more advanced horsepeople in cutting, a fast-paced equestrian sport in which the rider attempts to separate a single cow from the rest of its herd. To facilitate cutting practice, live cattle graze on the premises 95% of the time, and students practice on a mechanical cow famed for its iron-flavored milk during the remaining 5%. The full-service facility also provides room and board for many patrons' steeds, and Billy himself takes in young colts in need of starting.

Former Olympic bronze medalist Lloyd Eisler oversees the LA Kings Valley Ice Center's day-to-day operations, which include public skating sessions, private lessons, and hockey leagues designed for youth, adult, and special-needs players. Thanks to extensive renovations in the fall of 2011, the facility now sports a sleek lobby with energy-efficient lighting. The two-rink facility hosts birthday parties and runs a well-stocked pro shop where you can get hockey sticks and helmets or sharpen your blades after skating across the parking lot.

The gleaming blades of ice skates glide across the smooth, subzero surface of Iceland Ice Skating Center’s rink as guests swish in circles or try out their fancy footwork. Skaters of all abilities can enroll in skating classes to master pinpoint turns, develop graceful pirouettes, or learn how to shave with a tightly fastened skate. Public-skate sessions give skaters freestyle time on the ice, and thumping beats and a phosphorescent ambiance spice up skate sessions during Disco Light Night. Kids aged 4 and older can climb into unique, safe bumper cars and glide on the ice at up to 5 miles per hour during bumper-car sessions, and shoe-wearing players can assemble for a game of broomball, a hockey-like game played with a broom instead of a stick and legions of frozen-solid dust bunnies instead of a puck.

Featured on Dr. Phil and The Biggest Loser and with clients that include numerous Fortune 500 companies, Fulcrum Adventures designs team-building and leadership programs that aim to help organizations and individuals reach their full potential. Teams work together to complete high and low ropes courses, scale up climbing walls, and complete custom workshops, each highlighting the spectrum of valuable ways people can work and learn together. The outfit takes care to ensure that the client's physical and emotional safety is never in jeopardy, meaning no judgmental environments or trust falls over snake pits.

Whether navigating Pebble Beach’s oceanside links or exploring the birthplace of golf at St. Andrews in Scotland, golfers know that a little rain can turn a trip of a lifetime into a water-logged disappointment. Players Club Golf removes sogginess from the equation; the center’s three full-screen golf simulators unlock instant access to more than 60 global courses without the hassles of commuting, fickle weather, and long round times. The facility smoothes the oft-difficult road toward better scores with practice configurations that allow players to immediately see a wealth of shot parameters on each swing, including launch angle, ball speed, and carry. The virtual driving range facilitates improvement through repetition and target practice, which also helps when trying to ring the doorbell of a neighbor across the street without getting off the couch.

When improvement reaches a plateau, players can enlist the expert instruction of teaching professional Brent Mann. Members also enjoy access to a facility gym stocked with $40,000 worth of equipment. Here, golfers improve their endurance on elliptical machines and strengthen postround handshake grips on a full complement of weight machines.