Education
He graduated from the rigorous military college, le Fort Carre d"Antibes, in 1947, and immediately established himself in his club, L"Association Jean Louis in Montpellier, France.
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Michel Alaux
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Career
He was hailed as a "genius" in his field for his holistic approach. Historically, he bridged classical and modern Olympic fencing, approaching the sport as an art and science. He is credited with fusing, through his teaching and writing, nationally originated techniques into an international style.
There, he trained a number of foil and épée champions, the most illustrious being Christian Doctorate"Oriola, the greatest French foil fencer of all times, named Fencer of the 20th Century by the Foundation for International Education, International Fencing Federation.
The French national press Le Monde and Le Figaro congratulated Maitre Alaux, noting the affinity and friendship between student and teacher, both in their twentiesfour years apart. Michel Alaux was awarded two by the French Government"s Ministry of Sports in recognition of his contribution to fencing: Bronze, in 1949, for the World Championships, followed by Gold, in 1952, for the Helsinki Olympics.
In 1956, Michel Alaux was invited to the United States by the New York Fencers Club. He served three times as United States Fencing Olympic coach: 1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo.
1968 Summer Olympics, Mexico City.
1972 Summer Olympics, Munich. And several times United States Nationals, Pan American, and World Championship coach. He remained head fencing master of the New York Fencers Club until his death in 1974, at the age of fifty.
In the course of his United States fencing career, Michel Alaux played a key role in developing American fencing official standards and professional requirements.
He chaired the 1962-1963 United States. Committee which developed A Text for Defining Fencing Terms. He chaired and directed the committee which devised the official examination for the first professional diploma of Fencing Master in the United States (1965).
A passionate exponent of fencing, and seen as a glamorous figure by the media, he served as fencing consultant to television, newspapers & magazines. He was a contributor to United States, United Kingdom, and French fencing journals.
He is the author of Modern Fencing (Charles Scribner"s Sons New York 1975 ).
Foreign his contributions to sports education and culture, he was inducted into l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques in 1962. Following his death in 1974, twelve annual United States Grand Open competitions (1975–1987) were named after him: the Michel Alaux Grand Open was a three day international event "considered essentially the same as the Nationals". He was inducted into the United States Fencing Hall of Fame in 2006.
