Emil Beck (20 July 1935,

Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim () is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber (district), Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due t ...

– 12 March 2006) was a German

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

coach.

Biography

Emil Beck was born in

, in the Main-Tauber-District of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on 12 July 1935. The former hairdresser Emil Beck began in the mid-1950s with

. Fencing scenes from the movie ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' had impressed the young man. In 1954 Emil Beck was the "founding father" of the

Fencing-Club Tauberbischofsheim The Tauberbischofsheim Fencing Club (in German ''Fecht-Club Tauberbischofsheim eingetragener Verein''; commonly known as ''FC Tauberbischofsheim e. V.'') is a fencing club based in Tauberbischofsheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Tauberbischo ...

. He created a school of fencing sometimes referred to as the "German school" since Beck's influence on German fencing was profound. As a fencing coach, Beck was largely self-taught. Considering Becks medal success, he is one of the most successful coaches in the world (with 163 medals at Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships). Beck coined the reputation of the Fencing-Club Tauberbischofsheim in the 1970s as "Tauberbischofsheimer goldsmith" and "Mecca of fencing". Beck trained fencers such as

Matthias Behr Matthias Behr (born 1 April 1955 in Tauberbischofsheim, Baden-Württemberg) is a former German foil fencer. He won a gold medal and three silvers at three Olympic Games. Biography Matthias Behr attended the Kaufmännische Schule Tauberbischofs ...

Alexander Pusch Alexander Pusch (born 15 May 1955 in Tauberbischofsheim, Baden-Württemberg) is a German fencer and Olympic champion in épée competition. Biography Alexander Pusch fought for the Fencing-Club Tauberbischofsheim. He won a gold medal in the in ...

and Anja Fichtel. At the height of his career, the German fencers Anja Fichtel, Sabine Bau and Zita Funkenhauser – all from the FC Tauberbischofsheim – won gold, silver and bronze in

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

at the

1988 Olympics in Seoul 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. Beck was succeeded as German fencing team leader by Matthias Behr. 12 March 2006 Emil Beck died of heart failure.FAZ
''Ehemaliger Bundestrainer Beck gestorben.''
Online auf www.faz.net. 13 March 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2015.

Honours

* "Honorary medal" of the

Fédération Internationale d'Escrime The International Fencing Federation (''Fédération Internationale d'Escrime'') commonly known by the acronym FIE, is the international Sport governing body, governing body of Olympic Games, Olympic fencing. Today, its head office is at th ...

(International Fencing Federation). *

honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

, 23 June 1989.

Beck as a name giver

* "Emil Beck Memorial Award"; with this award the Fencing-Club Tauberbischofsheim honors personalities who have done something extraordinary and outstanding for fencing. – Nur Auszug frei verfügbar * "Emil-Beck-Hall" in TauberbischofsheimFränkische Nachrichten
''Aus Pestalozzi-Halle wird Emil-Beck-Halle''
Online auf www.fnweb.de. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.

Quotes about Beck

Some quotes of famous personalities about Beck illustrate his life's work at the Fencing-Club Tauberbischofsheim: The honorary president of the German Fencing Association (DFeB), Gordon Rapp, paid tribute to Becks commitment as:

Works

* Emil Beck: ''Tauberbischofsheimer Fechtlektionen für Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene''. Philippka-Verlag, Münster 1987, . * Emil Beck: ''Richtig Fechten''.

BLV Verlag The BLV Verlag is a wikt:how-to, howto book publisher in Germany. The program includes over 600 titles, to which about 120 new books published annually. Main topic areas are the garden and nature, sports, fitness, cooking and Do it yourself, DIY ...

, München 1990, . * Emil Beck: ''Fechten. Florett, Degen, Säbel''. Falken-Verlag, Niedernhausen im Taunus 1995, . * Emil Beck, Berndt Barth: ''Fechttraining''. Meyer-Verlag, Aachen 2004, . * Emil Beck (editor), Berndt Barth (editor): ''The Complete Guide to Fencing'', 366 pages, Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 2006, .

References

External links

* * * Emil Beck
The Complete Guide to Fencing
Meyer & Meyer Verlag, 1 Sep 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Emil 1935 births 2006 deaths People from Tauberbischofsheim Sportspeople from Stuttgart (region) German male fencers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German people 21st-century German people 20th-century German sportsmen