Order from the Chaos

All the posts

Aldo Nadi’s Record, Part One

by Doug Nichols | Mar 19, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches K - O, Nadi, Aldo

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,...

Fencing and the Summer of Love

by Doug Nichols | Mar 16, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches A - E, Coaches K - O, D'Asaro, Michael, McDougall, John

The short version, the one I like best, is that he was qualified to be a member of the 1968 Olympic sabre team, with one condition. The condition, as allegedly put forward by the AFLA’s selection committee, was that he cut his hair.

1970 Fencing Masters World Championship, London

by Doug Nichols | Mar 5, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches P - T, Richards, Ed, Tournaments, Tournaments 1961 - 1970

The mastermind behind the ultimately triumphant performance of the US Masters team at the 1970 World Fencing Masters Championships was, without doubt, Raoul Sudre, head coach at Cornell University.

Hans Halberstadt and the Thomson Twins

by Doug Nichols | Mar 2, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches F - J, Halberstadt, Hans

In digging through a number of sources, including the Halberstadt scrapbooks and our West Coast Fencing Archives, I have found quite a number of photos of Hans with one – or the other – of the Thomson duo. With careful examination, I’ve begun to develop a feel for seeing one over the other.

UC Berkeley, 1917

by Doug Nichols | Feb 23, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches U - Z, Northern California, Schools/Clubs, UC Berkeley, Uyttenhove, Henri

It’s fun to come across something that looks straightforward but winds up proving to be mysterious. At least in this case, I think it’s mysterious. I just hope it’s not mysterious for very long.

Daniel Magay, Part 1

by adminGreg | Feb 19, 2015 | Blog Post, Coaches, Coaches K - O, Coaches P - T, Domolky, George, Fencers, Fencers A - E, Fencers K - O, Magay, Daniel, Marki, Ferenc, Orley, Piller, George

Daniel Magay was a member of the Olympic Gold medal winning Hungarian sabre team at the 1956 Melbourne games. Along with many other Hungarian athletes who wished to escape re-occupation of Hungary by the Soviet Union, which happened while the Olympics were underway, he chose to come to the United States on a plane chartered by Sports Illustrated magazine.