A Family of Fencers

Born in Livorno, Italy in 1899 to a family of master fencers, he and his brother, Nedo, were taught as children by their father Giuseppe Nadi, a famous fencing master who coached Italian fencers for over fifty years. Aldo Nadi began fencing at the age of four and won his first title at twelve.

At the 1920 Olympics Nadi won three gold medals on the Italian Team in all three weapons and a silver in sabre in the individual events with his brother Nedo winning the gold. He always remained second to his brother until, at the age of 34, his brother Nedo retired as International Champion and Aldo succeeded to the title.

French vs. Italian

In 1922 a foil contest in Paris was arranged between the twenty-two year old Italian Aldo Nadi and the French fencing champion, Eucien Gaudin, to settle the dispute over the supremacy of the rival schools of fencing. At this time Gaudin was considered the greatest fencer in the world. This match drew over seven thousand spectators with three thousand being turned away. It. was a spectacular occasion with music, preliminary exhibition bouts by the leading European fencers, and a performance by the Comedie Francaise.

A Questionable Score

Aldo lost the match to Gaudin 20 to 11, but the score was not genuine. Judges called "Halt" to legitimate beat lunges by Nadi who was using the Italian foil which easily disarmed Gaudin who was using the French foil. There were questionable calls by judges who seemed blind to clean hits against Gaudin even when Nadi's foil had to be straightened after the hit.

There was also a temporary rule framed prior to the 1920 Olympics which allowed hits on the sword-arm above the elbow, even when there was no deliberate shielding of the body. This rule remained in effect for this match. Six of the ten hits scored by Gaudin were to the upper part of Nadi's extended arm in the second part of the match.

Turning Professional

It was at this time that Nadi turned professional doing exhibitions matches for large sums of money (which he quickly lost in the casinos of Europe). His fencing encounters throughout Europe were gala events accompanied by banquets, champagne and beautiful women. Fencing experts called him the "Virtuoso of the Sword." He was a marvel of speed, grace and precision. The speed and brilliance of Aldo's footwork enthralled all who saw him.

This elegant and boastful young swordsman became known as the "bad boy" of fencing. He casually took on all comers in his fencing exhibitions, be they professional, amateur, Olympic or European Champions and beat them soundly. While his opponents trained intensively for these matches, Nadi would take only a couple of weeks prior to the exhibition to prepare himself for the fencing exhibition.

Coming to America

In 1935 Nadi moved to the United States and made his American debut at the Plaza Hotel in New York under the auspices of the Amateur Fencers League of American on December 12, 1935. His foil exhibition with George Santelli of the New York Athletic Club was described as "classic in design and execution."

Nadi deplored the lack of interest in fencing in the United States. "No student can learn fencing without much hard work," he wrote, "but the rewards in health, well-being and pleasure are well worth the effort." He eventually retired from fencing exhibitions.

In 1943 he moved to Los Angeles where he opened a fencing school on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. His prowess with the sword brought him to the attention of the film industry and he began to supervise fencing scenes in motion pictures.

Making the Move to Film

In Europe he had been the star of the 1928 silent film The Tournament (Le tournoi dans la cite) directed by Jean Renoir. In the United States he created the fencing choreography for the Daphne du Maurier pirate story, Frenchman's Creek with Basil Rathbone and Captain from Castile with Tyrone Power. (He also had one line as the body guard in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have and Have Not.)

Nadi felt strongly about the differences between competitive fencing and stage or screen dueling. "Anyone with two legs and one arm - and no brains - can put on a decent stage duel in a couple of weeks while it takes years of very demanding work to become a mediocre competitive fencer."

In his autobiography, "The Living Sword", Nadi makes numerous comments on film duels. His scathing remarks are meant to set the record straight as to the value and validity of Hollywood swordsmanship.

Everyone's a Critic

Since fencing is an art that is many centuries old Nadi felt it was impossible for someone who was not a great fencer to pretend to be a great fencer. He found Jose Ferrer's duel in Cyrano to be utterly silly and a far cry from the legendary skill of Cyrano. After seeing Gene Kelly's fencing as D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, Nadi wondered how Dumas' bones could remain in his grave.

But for Nadi the duel to end all duels in Scaramouche was the greatest travesty of all on the art and science of fencing. He felt it was an utterly ridiculous spectacle that crudely offended one of the noblest arts and sciences in the world. No duelist in his right mind would ever consider fighting on such terrain as the top of orchestra seats, or being precariously balanced in air or leaning out of boxes or dangling from ropes while fencing.

His greatest outrage was directed toward the monotonous and repetitious cutting of the ropes on stage which held the scenery so that it would fall on one's adversary defiles the dignity of the sword by degrading it to an ax. Men armed with swords use these weapons to kill, not for dropping scenery on their opponent. For Nadi these people had obviously never heard of the traditions, glamour, glory and dignity of the sword.

Fencing Training for Actors

Nadi advocated that all actors make fencing as part of their permanent program of education. He encouraged producers to give enough time in advance to rehearse the duel with a competent teacher and that directors should not interfere with the fencing master's work. Nadi believed that the director's ideas concerning the duel should always be sifted through the fencing master.

A Masterwork on the Foil

In 1943 Nadi wrote his fencing treatise, "On Fencing", which is considered a masterwork on the art and science of the foil. Not only is "On Fencing" a model of fencing instruction, it is also an entertaining swordsman's-eye-view of mankind. Besides its wealth of technical and tactical advice, his insights into the psychology of combat are revealing and are helpful for the actor/combatant.

"Fencing is the sport of gentlemen. It is the Fencing Master's strict moral duty towards his artistic ancestors to see to it that centuries-old traditions are respected, honored, and enforced."

Aldo Nadi, the guardian of this great tradition, died in his sleep in his home in Los Angeles in 1965 at the age of 66.

People have paid up to one hundred dollars for a copy of Nadi's fencing manual. Out of print since World War II when its copper plates were diverted to the manufacture of munitions, "On Fencing" was reprinted in 1994 by Laureate Press. [See below to buy "On Fencing"]

Aldo Nadi's autobiography, "The Living Sword", completed in 1955 but lost for nearly 40 years has been edited by Lance C. Lobo and has also been published by Laureate Press. It is a captivating look at fencing in the 20's and 30's in Europe and the United States.

Just as we labor over understanding Marozzo or Silver today, some scholar four hundred years from now will probably study Nadi to better understand the fencing style prevalent in the early 20th century, before the introduction of electrical scoring. Here it is today for our own edification and enlightenment.

Linda McCollum is a past editor of the Fight Master, a frequent contributor, and serves as the on-site coordinator for the NSCW.

Reprinted with permission of the Fight Master.