Martin Werdnik

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Martin Werdnik (born November 5, 1865 in Sankt Johann bei Windischgratz , † January 13, 1930 in Vienna ) was an Austrian fencer and fencing master. Until his death he worked as a fencing master in Vienna. In 1899 he was runner-up in saber fencing at the championships of the German and Austrian Fencing Federation , and from 1919 to 1923 or 1924 he was President of the Academy of Fencing Art in Austria.

Life

Werdik was the son of a small farmer and was originally supposed to be a priest. After attending the grammar school in Marburg and the collegiate grammar school in St. Paul , however, he signed up for the artillery in 1885. In 1887 he was promoted to platoon leader and one year later enrolled in the Wiener Neustädter military fencing and gymnastics instructor course, in which he completed the course for NCOs. Then in 1889 he became a fencing teacher at the military secondary school in Eisenstadt and six months later he was an assistant teacher at the military riding instructor institute in Vienna.

In Vienna, Wernik also came into contact with fencers outside the military and in 1894 became a fencing master at the Haudegen fencing club in Vienna . Until the dissolution of the club or its successor club in 1924, he remained associated with it. Here he got to know the modern Italian fencing school from the Italian fencing master Luigi Barbasetti , which essentially corresponds to modern sport fencing. Werdnik soon became a university fencing master and taught fencing at secondary schools and in the military. In 1907 he founded a private fencing school, the Werdnik fencing hall. Most prominent student of Werdnik was Archduke Maximilian Eugen of Austria , who was taught by him in saber fencing . Werdnik also organized numerous fencing academies in Vienna (public demonstrations that can be seen as the precursors of modern tournaments), including the French world-class fencer Alphonse Kirchhoffer in 1904 against Milan Neralić , Luigi Barbasetti and Camillo Müller . In 1899 he took part in the German Championships in Dresden , which were held by the German and Austrian Fencing Federation and became vice champion in saber fencing of the fencing masters.

Werdnik was a founding member of the Wiener Fechtmeisterverein and the Academy of Fechtkunst of Austria, the forerunner of today's Austrian Fencing Association , of which he was president from 1919 to 1924.

At the age of almost fifty, Werdnik enlisted in the military when the First World War broke out . First deployed in Italy, in 1916 he was in charge of physical education in Serbian schools and in 1917 took part in military operations in Serbia. In June 1917 he was transferred back to Italy. A shrapnel injured his right arm in December 1917. Despite the danger to his life, he refused an amputation because it would have made his profession as a fencing master impossible. He survived the injury but was unable to fully use his right arm. After the war, he therefore sometimes taught his students with his left arm. November 1918 Werdnik, meanwhile first lieutenant, was awarded the Military Merit Cross III. Awarded class with war decorations and swords.

After the war, Werdnik was again fencing master at the Residenz-Fechtklub Vienna, the successor club of the Haudegen Vienna, as well as at several other fencing clubs. In 1922 he married Wilhelmine Neralić , the widow of the fencing master Milan Neralić , who was also a fencing teacher and mainly devoted herself to women's fencing. After Werdnik's death in 1930 she continued to run the Werdnik fencing hall on her own.

Achievements and Awards

  • 1899 Vice champion in saber fencing for fencing masters at the championships of the German and Austrian fencing federations.
  • 1900 Two prizes of honor and two silver medals at the tournament of the fencing teachers' club in Vienna.
  • 1913 honorary member of the Association of Hungarian Fencing Masters.
  • 1923/24 Honorary President of the Academy of Fencing Art in Austria.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Michael Wenusch:  Werdnik, Martin. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 16, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957–2013, p. 129 f. (Direct links on p. 129 , p. 130 ).
  2. ↑ Michael Wenusch, History of the Viennese fencing sport in the 19th and 20th centuries (= dissertations from the University of Vienna 3 ), WUV - Universitätsverlag, Vienna 1996. P. 44ff.
  3. ↑ Michael Wenusch, History of the Viennese fencing sport in the 19th and 20th centuries (= dissertations from the University of Vienna 3 ), WUV - Universitätsverlag, Vienna 1996. p. 46.
  4. ↑ Michael Wenusch, History of the Viennese fencing sport in the 19th and 20th centuries (= dissertations from the University of Vienna 3 ), WUV - Universitätsverlag, Vienna 1996. p. 45.
personal data
SURNAME Werdnik, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian fencer
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Sankt Johann near Windischgratz
DATE OF DEATH January 13, 1930
Place of death Vienna , Austria