Charles Selberg
Fencing Master at UC Santa Cruz, member of a team that won gold at the World Master’s Championships
Preserving Fencing History
The passion for fencing history you’ll find reflected here on the West Coast Fencing Archive can be traced to the legacy of Charles Selberg.
An exceptional teacher and storyteller, Charlie brought fencing history to life for his students through his vivid tales of great fencers and famous bouts.
His estate, filled with posters, photos, scrapbooks and other fencing memorabilia, became the initial collection for the Archive. Since then, we have incorporated sixty more collections and counting.
The Latest Story
Fencing and Wine, 1982
Ever wondered who has the “fencing.com” URL? Yup, it’s the Silicon Valley original, The Fencing Center. Proximity and foresight; a powerful combination. The past two weeks of “Shelterinplace Con – 2020” have been all about San Jose’s The Fencing Center.
Other Tales from the Archive
FWI: Fencing while Injured
We caught up with George Nonomura at the US Nationals this past summer. I’ll let George take it from here:
Delmar Calvert in Cuba
Dateline: February, 2014. My afternoon with Delmar Calvert, French-trained fencing master, winner of the French Croix de Guerre, former member of the Foreign Legion, and all around nice guy, was a wonderful experience and we’ve finally found a nice bit of the...
The John McDougall Collection
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...
Peter Burchard on Ion Drimba
We spoke with Peter Burchard, president of the USFCA, who spent his formative fencing years in the Bay area, taking lessons from a wide variety of coaches. One of those was Ion Drimba
More Cartoons!!
Ok, last week’s post of cartoons with a fencing theme was very popular and I’m not above giving the people what they want – at least, once in awhile.
Fencing Cartoons: Out of the past
How prevalent in the world of cartooning is the subject of fencing today? I’ve recently seen more television ads and print ads featuring my favorite sport, but the classic humor or editorial cartoon? Maybe I read the wrong magazines. That’s certainly a plausible...
The Last Captain
FEATURE LENGTH FENCING DOCUMENTARY
For fifty years, the Hungarian National Sabre team had two constants: they took home gold in every tournament they entered and they had George Piller.
This is the story of Jekelfalussy (Piller) Gyorgy, the 1932 Olympic Sabre champion who defected to the United States during the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
By Doug Nichols and Greg Lynch
Meet the Fencers
Meet the Fencing Masters
Relic Spotlight
First Place medal from the 1951 Pacific Coast Championships.
Film Library
Check out our video library
Vintage Posters
View our collection
Books
By the West Coast Fencing Archive
SHARE YOUR
STORY
Have something to share or add? Our goal is to capture the stories we know are out there. Plus photos, videos, home movies, posters—you name it. All this material helps preserve the stories of West Coast fencing.
Stay Informed
Want to know when we publish a story? Or release a new documentary? Sign up for our email list and we’ll keep you posted.
