Maestro Josef Šolc is currently the oldest active member of the Czech fencing club Riegel (est. 1902), which he first joined in 1949. In 1961, together with his Riegel colleagues lieutenant colonel Eduard Wagner, Dr. Jan Černohorský and other Riegelians he took part in the formation of the first group of historical fencing in what was then Czechoslovakia, which began to perform in 1962 under the name Musketeers and Bandits, which kickstarted the phenomenon known as “historical fencing” here and later abroad. Alongside lieutenant colonel Eduard Wagner and Dr. Jan Černohorský, maestro Josef Šolc is thus one of the founding fathers of Czech historical fencing.
In June 2017, in Prague, the Ars Dimicatoria school of historical fencing had the honour of granting master Josef Šolc the title of honorary fencing master for his long-term merit in the field of historical fencing.
In October 2020, as part of his 85th birthday celebration during SabreSlash 2020 in Prague, Maestro Josef Šolc received the title of Honorary Fencing Master from the Barbasetti Military Sabre (since 1895) club as an award for his lifelong contribution to sports fencing as well as historical fencing. Together with his fencing colleagues Lt. Col. Eduard Wagner and Dr. Jan Černohorský, Maestro Šolc stands as one of the founding fathers of the Czech historical fencing, which began in the courtyard of the Schwarzenberg Palace in Prague on September 15, 1960 at five o’clock in the afternoon.
In June 2023, Maestro Šolc received from the Barbasetti Military Sabre (since 1895) club the title of Master of Arms as an award for his never-ending effort to pass on his invalueable fencing experience which started in 1949.