by Doug Nichols | Jun 1, 2017 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches A - E, Coaches F - J, Coaches K - O, Coaches P - T, Coaches U - Z, D'Asaro, Michael, Doug's Stories, Fencers, Fencers K - O, Halberstadt, Hans, Mayer, Helene, McDougall, John, Mitchell, Maxine, Mori, Torao, Okawa, Heziburo, Selberg, Charles, Vince, Joseph |
Fear. That’s the thing. It’s a motivator for me. Not the average, everyday kind of fear, nor an amorphous fear of zombies or clowns. Rather, the fear of loss. A very specific kind of loss. The loss of fencing history. I don’t know why it gets to me so much, but it...
by Doug Nichols | Mar 7, 2016 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches K - O, McDougall, John |
I know I’ve written about John McDougall in the past, but can you say too much about John? I’m thinking that you really can’t. Let’s run through the highlights. Started fencing at Stanford in the mid-1950’s. Trained with Aldo Nadi and George Piller. Hired Julius...
by adminGreg | Aug 10, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches K - O, McDougall, John |
The language in the following cautionary tale is NSFW. It is also not suitable for youngsters. But it is an exemplary tale of why you should not draw the ire of your coach or maestro. The effect of such misjudgment can reverberate for a long time to come. Sit back and...
by Doug Nichols | Mar 16, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches A - E, Coaches K - O, D'Asaro, Michael, McDougall, John |
There are a number of versions of the story behind Michael D’Asaro the Elder’s decision to follow the advice put forth at 1967’s Human Be-In by Timothy Leary. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_on,_tune_in,_drop_out) The short version, the one I like best, is that he...
by Doug Nichols | Jan 12, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, McDougall, John, Nottingham, Jack, San Francisco School of Fencing |
John McDougall and Jack Nottingham ran a fencing club in San Francisco in the early 1960’s called the San Francisco School of Fencing, or SFSF. It was the first club John had formed, although he had worked for Hans at Halberstadt’s. It was the second for Jack, as he...