Career
She is author of the foilist"s classic textbook Foil Fencing, now in its 8th edition 3 national rating. She is one of the small but bright cluster of California women who dominated the national fencing scene in those years". She holds the distinction of having been accredited the first woman fencing master in the United States, by her fencing master, the Hungarian Istvan Danosi (b 1912, d 2005), USFA Hall of Fame recipient.
Her first fencing master was Henry Uyttenhove, who was Douglas Fairbank Senior"s fencing trainer.
Uyttenhove was fencing master at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, to which Fairbanks belonged. Uyttenhove was replaced by Jon Hermann, also from Belgium.
Muriel was obviously Hermann"s star pupil, but a serious car accident prevented her going to the 1948 Olympics (she had made the team), and she started working with Hermann as his assistant. She was going to college during this period, earning a bachelors in PE at University of California, Los Angeles and a Masters at University of Southern California. In the 1970s Muriel coached the California State University Northridge and has subsequently been inducted into that University"s Hall of Fame.
Women"s foil coach to the American team at the 1964 Olympic Games fencing events in Tokyo, she managed the American women"s fencing team at the World University Games, Russia, 1973, and served in protocol to fencing at the Los Angeles Olympic Games, 1984.
She has subsequently served as West Coast Vice-President of the USFA Coaches Association for two terms, and also as Commissioner of Western Regional Intercollegiate Fencing Championships, USFA.
