Life Magazine: May 4, 1942

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Life Magazine: May 4, 1942

Please Note: Fencers who studied under Coach Tauber, and photographs throughout this website will bare this out, faced him in lessons with him holding his weapon in his right hand. Here, it is clear that he fenced in competition as a left handed fencer. He did, what for most of us, perhaps for all of us would be all but impossible to do. He taught himself how to fence and to teach as a righty. He did so in order that his students, left handed or right handed, would learn in a mode that they would more often than not have to face on the fencing strip; with a right handed fencer opposing them. It was a completely self-effacing and student focused thing to do; to make himself think on the other side of his brain to insure that we, his team, would get what they needed to succeed.

Seymour Gross (right) feints at Arthur Tauber's leg with epee, then attempts fleche (running attack). Tauber pivots, turns point aside with simple parry. (Life Magazine, May 4, 1942, Pages 98 to 99.

This is a maneuver that certainly crushes the opponent's attack. But, how does Tauber turn it into the offensive move we know must follow as the night the day? Does he know that Gross must now be exposed with his back to Tauber who will riposte (return the attack) as Gross is almost certainly unable to properly defend himself and may actually have exited the strip (the field of play) and not be permitted to score even if he were able to land a touch of his own. Could that be it? More to the point: When did Coach Tauber ever teach that side stepping pivot move? Hmmm?