- Originally published on the Bartitsu.org site on Tuesday, 2nd May 2017
Founded in Paris in 1900, the Cercle Hoche was an exclusive fencing and athletic club whose amenities included a luxurious bathroom, a billiard room, a courtyard garden and a restaurant. On the 27th of May, 1908, the club hosted an all-women fencing tournament. Among the competitors was Marguerite Vigny, who went by the professional name of “Miss Sanderson”.
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An expert fencer who had frequently and successfully competed in England, she was also the wife of former Bartitsu Club instructor Pierre Vigny and the proponent of a unique system of women’s self-defence employing umbrellas and parasols.
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Marguerite Vigny narrowly lost her bout in this tournament, as her opponent – Mme. Rouviere, seen standing centre, above – gained six “touches” to Vigny’s five.