Aldo Nadi
Aldo Nadi, the son of a fencing master from Livorno, Italy and brother of Olympic record setting fencer Nedo, was a six foot tall rail-thin explosive dynamo of fencing. After winning three Gold and one Silver Olympic medal in 1920 (Nedo won 5 medals in 1920, all gold, a record unequalled for a single Olympics until Mark Spitz in 1972),
Aldo turned professional during a brief between-war period when fencers traveled Europe like prizefighters, competing in well attended matches for cash purses. In this world of travel, glamour, drinking, womanizing, gambling and fencing, Aldo Nadi reigned supreme, going nearly 8 years without a defeat.
READ MORE...When the time came that no one would any longer choose to meet him in a match, Nadi turned to teaching, first in Paris, then New York and eventually Los Angeles. He taught at various locations in the LA area from 1940 until his passing in 1965. An egoist on a grand scale, Nadi was nonetheless an excellent instructor. However, in his years of teaching in LA and Hollywood, his students never achieved anything like his own level of success.
He worked with some excellent talents, including Jan York Romary, but never developed on his own students who excelled on the national, much less the international, level. His book, “On Fencing”, is still widely read and includes a dramatic description of a somewhat bloody duel Nadi fought as a rash young man.
Articles
Nadi’s Instructional Film
There’s a mystery that needs to be solved and I haven’t had any luck on my own. The subject of Aldo Nadi has come up on the WCFA several times already in our short life so far.
Aldo Nadi Record, Part Four
This post will finally wrap up Aldo Nadi’s recollections regarding his efforts as a Professional Fencing Champion. The letter, taken as a whole, is an astounding document. Both because Nadi is so clear in his remembrances (and again, I’m giving him the benefit of...
Aldo Nadi’s Record, Part Three
Somewhere along the line, Andy Shaw, Headmaster, Dean and El Jefe of the Museum of American Fencing, acquired a digital file with headshots of all the Olympic fencers. Since Andy was kind enough to grant me access to the file (I’m on his Board of Directors), I...
Aldo Nadi’s Record, Part Two
It’s entertaining, reading through Nadi’s ruminations on his life and career as a competitive fencer. That he possessed a finely honed ego – to which he admits in one section – is obvious. In addition, he clearly has an excellent memory to remember so vividly events...
Aldo Nadi’s Record, Part One
Aldo Nadi was a great fencer. He… well, let’s let the back of his business card explain: High praise, and not misplaced. Nadi was an Olympian for Italy in the 1920 games, winning gold in all three fencing team events and an individual sabre silver medal,...
The Fencer, part 1
I’ve seldom run across a document that is so thick with interesting historical tidbits, but the low-tech mimeographed California-based fanzine called “The Fencer” is a highlight of its kind. I was fortunate to borrow a bound, complete edition of the entire run from Harold Hayes
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