Emil Beck

Who was Emil Beck?

Emil Beck was a German fencing coach who 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.

Beck trained fencers such as Matthias Behr, Alexander Pusch and Anja Fichtel. At the height of his career, the German fencers Anja Fichtel, Sabine Bau and Zita Funkhauser won gold, silver and bronze in foil at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Beck was succeeded as German fencing team leader by Matthias Behr.