SELBERG VETERAN FOIL INVITATIONAL

In 1966, Charles taught fencing at Halberstadt Fencer’s Club in San Francisco. He also began his 16-year career teaching fencing at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he was a tenured member of the eminent faculty of Cowell College. Surrounded by many world-class professors, including his dear friend and mentor, Mary Holmes, Charles’ innate ability as a teacher became obvious.

He was revered for his keen psychological and strategic insights into the game and became affectionately known as ‘Mr. Natural’ amongst the fencers at UC Santa Cruz due to his unique style and engaging approach. His classes epitomized the early Santa Cruz environment of creativity and expression, and his ability to teach quality fencing to large groups of students was a tribute to his deep knowledge of the sport, creative ability, and tremendous sense of humor.

Selberg received his Maitre D’Armes in 1967 from the Federation International D’Escrime. The Fencing Masters that taught Charles created the most impressive fencing lineage: German born Eric Funke, followed by American born Jack Nottingham (taught by Aldo Nadi), and Hungarian born Olympic champion George Pillar (taught by Lazlo Brosody). His years working with Hans Halberstadt inspired endless stories and left a profound impression on his teaching.