School Lineage

Primary Fencing Lineage of Red Sun Classical Fencing and its Head Instructor, Maestro Ryan Mank, from the 18th Century:
Roman-Neapolitan School		Livornese School
Tommaso Bosco e Fucile, 18th century Neapolitan master and teacher of
Raffaele Parise (1773 – 1851), master at the Reale Accademia Militare della Nunziatella in Naples and father and teacher of
Achille Parise, master in Naples and Turin, international champion in Paris and London (1854) and father and teacher of		Giuseppe Pini, master at the Reale Accademia Navale in Livorno, father and teacher of
Masaniello Parise (1850-1910), Neapolitan master, member of the Accademia Nazionale di Napoli, author of the Trattato Teorico-Pratico della Scherma di Spada e Sciabola (Rome: 1884), and first director of the Scuola Magistrale Militare in Rome. Maestro Parise held this position for 26 years. Teacher of both:		Eugenio Pini (1859 – 1939), master at the Reale Accademia Navale in Livorno, professional foil champion in Paris and London (1892), first director of the military school of fencing in Argentina, author of the Trattato Pratico e Teorico sulla Scherma di Spada (Livorno: 1903), and teacher of
Carlo Pessina, successor to Parise, professional sabre champion, co-author with Salvatore Pecoraro of La Scherma di Sciabola (Rome: 1910), father and teacher of	Antonio Pomponio, master at the Scuola Magistrale Militare, professional epee champion (1914) and teacher of	Beppe Nadi, master in Livorno and father and teacher of Nedo Nadi (1894 – 1940), amateur and professional champion in foil, sabre, and epee (six Olympic gold medals), master in Rome, and president of the Italian Federation of Fencing, father and teacher of
Giorgio Pessina, member of the Italian Olympic teams (1924, 1928, and 1932), Roman master, director of the fencing masters course, Instituto Superiore di Educazione Fisica, co-author with Ugo Pignotti of Il Fioretto (Rome: 1970), and La Sciabola (Rome: 1972), and past president of the Associazione Italiana Maestri di Scherma, teacher of	Umberto Di Paola, Roman master, master of the Scuola Magistrale Militare, and director of the fencing masters course, Instituto Superiore di Educazione Fisica, teacher of	Aldo Nadi (1899 – 1965), amateur and professional champion in foil, sabre, and epee (three Olympic gold and one silver medal), master in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles, and author of On Fencing (New York: 1943), teacher of
William M. Gaugler (1931-2011), Founder and Director Emeritus of the Fencing Masters Program at San Jose State University, awarded fencing master’s diploma from Accademia Nazionale di Scherma di Napoli (1976), honorary member of the Associazione Italiana Maestri di Scherma, author of A Dictionary of Universally Used Fencing Terminology (Bangor: 1997), The Science of Fencing (Bangor: 1997), The History of Fencing (Bangor: 1998) and teacher of
John P. Sullins III, Founder and Director of the Sonoma State University Fencing Masters Certificate Program (founded 2005), Co-Founder of Tri-Cities Academy of the Sword in Binghamton New York (1998), awarded master’s diploma by the San José State University Fencing Master’s Program (1994), member of the Associazione Italiana Maestri d’Arme, teacher of
Ryan D. Mank, Founder and Head Instructor of Red Sun Classical Fencing in Albuquerque New Mexico (2012), awarded master’s diploma by the Sonoma State University Fencing Masters Certificate Program (2022), certified as a Maitre d’Armes by the United States Fencing Coaches Association (2024), member of the Associazione Italiana Maestri d’Arme.

Notes about the lineage:

A) This chart (up to Gaugler) was published in its original form on http://www.fencingacademy.net by one of Gaugler’s graduates, Maestro Sean Hayes. It is used with his permission.

B) Though Carlo Pessina (along with Salvatore Pecoraro) were graduates of the Scuola Magistrale under Parise, they were both originally students of prominent Milanese master Giuseppe Radaelli, whose sabre method became the basis of that which was taught at the Scuola Magistrale after Pecoraro and Pessina became its Directors. Therefore, a secondary branch to the Milanese school is present in the lineage at that point.

C) The first 6 years of Maestro Mank’s fencing training (2000-2006) was in the classical French style of fencing taught by Maitre Nick Evangelista, who was the Classical Fencing Society St. Louis’ patron master from 1999-2003. Upon becoming an assistant instructor at the CFSSTL, Mank was teaching this French method before the school aligned with the Southern Italian method outlined by Dr. Gaugler in The Science of Fencing later in 2006. Maestro Mank still occasionally teaches and uses this French style when necessary.

D) The masters on Maestro Mank’s examination board (and year they were awarded their master’s diplomas) were: Prof. John Sullins (1994), Puck Curtis (2008), David Coblentz (2010), Kevin Murakoshi (2013), and Dr. Dori Coblentz (2019).