One hundred and fifty years ago, on January 26 László Gerentsér, one of the most famous and influential Hungarian fencing masters of the 20th century was born in Szeged (Hungary). Among his peers were Italo Santelli (1866–1945) and László Borsody (1878–1939).
His teaching carrier spanned a little bit more than four decades, from 1900 till 1941. He started as an assistant fencing master in Kolozsvár, and from 1907 till his death taught fencing – mainly sabre and foil – in Budapest.
In 1910
In his book [1] Richard Cohen wrote about Gerentsér: „Santelli transformed Hungarian sabre, producing a stream of world and Olympic champions and first-class masters. Yet he was not alone. Two home-bred masters formed with him a famous triptych of Hungarian coaches: „The Officer”, László Borsody (who looked down on Santelli, only a sergeant), and „The Professor”, László Gerencsér.” (pp. 397–399)
His portrait in the salle,
where he taught between 1930 and 1941
Salle & Fencing Museum [2]
This salle is the oldest salle d'armes in Hungary, founded in 1930 and has remained largely intact since its creation. [3] One small room of the club is dedicated to the history of fencing and contains many artifacts from Árpád Németh's fencing collection.
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- By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic champions (2002)
- A mock duel in the Fencing Museum.
- OSC Vívóterem és Vívómúzeum, 1052 Bp. Semmelweis u. 2. I. emelet
