Michael Marx Competition DVD and Foil Camp ?

[striker]

I am looking for a DVD of competitions covering Michael Marx .
I know that these are a bit dated foil competitions but I would like
to know if anything is available out there. I did take a look at
the fencingfootage and performed a google search and I did
not notice anything.

By the way, has anyone attended Michael Marx's Foil camp at the
Northwest Fencing Center ? I am interested to know how this training
camp trains fencers for competition and how different their training
approach is compared to other camps.

[risingsunjapan]

His camps are a waste of time. The video analysis does nothing. And why look for videos of Michael Marx, a fencer who never achieved any level of success on an international level. I suggest you watch today's fencers, who are actually achieving success around the world.

[striker]

...................................

I really did not want to respond to a post like this but I felt obligated
to provide some information for those who are interested and set the record
straight.

Michael Marx is one the most gifted fencers that US has ever produced.
Here is a short biography about him from the relevant link.
http://www.oregonsportshall.org/cere.../ceremony2.htm

"A five-time Olympic team member in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992
and 1996, Michael Marx has had a long and successful career in
fencing. Michael has a record holding eight national championships
in foil. Marx is also a five-time USOC Athlete of the Year
and a silver medal winner at the World University Games
in 1985, the highest finish ever for a U.S. team member. He
served as vice president of the U.S. Fencing Association from
1992 to 1996. In 1993, Marx earned his Master of Arms degree
in Poland. He is a staff member of the USFA Coaches
College, coaching upper level classes, writing manuals and
teaching. Currently, Michael coaches at the RFC and
is the national women's epee coach. His students won 12 of the 24
national championships for women's epee. His athletes have
competed for the last 3 Olympic teams in both epee and foil. Michael
is the only fencer in the last 50 years to make the U.S. team in
two weapons: the epee and the foil; and has been enshrined in the
U.S. Fencing Hall of Fame. He is the Fencing Master at the Northwest
Fencing Center in Beaverton."

Here are some old posts and comments by two of the fencing.net's fencing
experts about Michael Marx.
http://www.olympicfencing.net/vb/showthread.php?t=7602

I find it quite amazing that some of these "A-rated fencers" spend
their time on this forum, either making disparaging comments about
other people (including the resident fencing experts) who post a comment
or ask a question, or make comments like this about our former champions.

Gentlemen, why waste your time and energy like this? You should spend your
time to win the nationals, qualify for the Olympic team, and bring us
Olympic gold medals. Is this all that you can contribute to this forum ?

[k9fav]

Striker, rising sun's ignorance and lack of respect for Michaels numerous record holding wins and tremendous achievements just show what kind of shallow person may be lurking within. I suggest you call the NW fencing center directly and ask Michael himself for what you are looking for. I happen to know that he will not only take your call but do all in his power to help you out - because that is the kind of guy he is. THe true mark of a champion.

[sabreman]

I agree Michael Marx is one a hell of fencer and also a nice guy. His WUG silver medal is one of the best US results ever. This is what sets me off about some people on this board that think that US Fencing started a few years ago. I will not mention names. LOL!

[The0ne]

I figure that Michael Marx must be a good coach based on the recent results of his men's foil fencers, especially Ariel DeSmet and Alex Salsman. . . They've both come from low level results last year to going 1 and 2 in Div. IA. . . I know a bunch of NWFC people, they're tons of fun, and if I didn't live a coast away I would probably be going to the camp. . .

[darius]

I live a coast away, and but for a dearth of vacation time, I'd be at his foil camp in a heartbeat.

Mike's a genuinely nice guy, an excellent athlete, and a coach most fencers would be envious to train with. I can't speak to what he's doing in his camps -- but Alex and Ariel are doing extremely well in MF. Obviously, Cody Mattern and Keri Byerts should be all the names you need when it comes to credibility in epee.

darius

[risingsunjapan]

In the mid-1990s when US Men's Foil was beginning its upward spiral on the international level (Cliff Bayer, Sean McClain, Zaddick Longenbach, etc.), Michael Marx was nowhere to be seen. Don't get me wrong, Michael Marx is a very nice guy, but his competence as a fencer is a tad bit overrated. His numerous national championship titles occurred at a time when US men's foil was the laughingstock of the international fencing world. As for Michael's University Games silver medal, the Soviet and Chinese teams were absent completely, and nations such as Spain and Hungary (neither boasting very strong men's foil fencers) sent their "B" teams to fence.

Michael's coaching abilities are also overrated. His best student to date, Cody Mattern, went to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens only to lose in the first round. Although on a national level, Cody is quite proficient on the strip, on an international level, his skills are viewed as mediocre at best (he lost to Brendan Baby, an average American epeeist at the 2005 World Cup in Vancouver). The same can be said for Keri Byerts.

As for Michael's foil coaching, DeSmet and Salsman cannot be called great fencers. They have no international results. Although they succeeded in taking medals in Division I-A, this competition allows fencers of all levels to fence in a competition that yields no real benefits to an accomplished fencer. Neither Salsman nor DeSmet, if the results I observed are in fact correct, received points in the Division I Men's Foil event. DeSmet did not make it out of the first round, and Salsman failed to make the round of 16.

Michael Marx can coach decently on a national level, but his skills are limited to this national level.

If you are looking for a coach who can bring you success on the North American continent, Michael is fine choice. Anything beyond this, and you may be in the wrong hands.

I am very fond of Mr. Marx on a personal level and I have great respect for him. I am simply stating my opinions, which most of you (actually, all of you), seem to disagree with.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

In the mid-1990s when US Men's Foil was beginning its upward spiral on the international level (Cliff Bayer, Sean McClain, Zaddick Longenbach, etc.), Michael Marx was nowhere to be seen. Don't get me wrong, Michael Marx is a very nice guy, but his competence as a fencer is a tad bit overrated. His numerous national championship titles occurred at a time when US men's foil was the laughingstock of the international fencing world. As for Michael's University Games silver medal, the Soviet and Chinese teams were absent completely, and nations such as Spain and Hungary (neither boasting very strong men's foil fencers) sent their "B" teams to fence.

Michael's coaching abilities are also overrated. His best student to date, Cody Mattern, went to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens only to lose in the first round. Although on a national level, Cody is quite proficient on the strip, on an international level, his skills are viewed as mediocre at best (he lost to Brendan Baby, an average American epeeist at the 2005 World Cup in Vancouver). The same can be said for Keri Byerts.

As for Michael's foil coaching, DeSmet and Salsman cannot be called great fencers. They have no international results. Although they succeeded in taking medals in Division I-A, this competition allows fencers of all levels to fence in a competition that yields no real benefits to an accomplished fencer. Neither Salsman nor DeSmet, if the results I observed are in fact correct, received points in the Division I Men's Foil event. DeSmet did not make it out of the first round, and Salsman failed to make the round of 16.

Michael Marx can coach decently on a national level, but his skills are limited to this national level.

If you are looking for a coach who can bring you success on the North American continent, Michael is fine choice. Anything beyond this, and you may be in the wrong hands.

I am very fond of Mr. Marx on a personal level and I have great respect for him. I am simply stating my opinions, which most of you (actually, all of you), seem to disagree with.

You stuck your head out of the wrong ****ing fox hole.

Saying that Brendan is an "average" epeeist is pretty retarded. He's in the 99th percentile of all the epeeists in the nation. Saying that cody is mediocre is a really arrogant thing to say, considering that he was ranked 34th in the world at the end of the season, and the difference between him and the number #1 epeeist is not huge. At that level, the difference is small, but it makes all the difference, as they say. Never mind the fact that he made it to the olympics. You've got to respect that about marx, he brought someone to the elite international level. If going to the olympics isnt "elite" what is?