The Gray Epee

"Meh"

2012-02-13T03:24:00.000-08:00

Fenced in what should have been an A2 tournament with 44 fencers. I was seeded 20th going in and 20th going out. Kind of a dip in my progress. Had a good thing happen in pools and a couple of bad ones. My first DE was against one of the "A" fencers who was seeded 12th out of pools. My goal was to make him work for it. If I had a couple of more points I would have considered that goal reached.

I had a fencer from Russia tell me I fenced well in a pool bout. I respect this man very much and that made me feel good. It was the high point in my day.

Some of my team mates did well. I was happy to see one of the young ones win his first DE and give a great account of himself against the man who took 2cnd place. He had a bad problem with leaning forward and not keeping his feet under him and choosing when to attack, but still he had a good day. He has worked hard and deserved his progress. ( Please note that even though I was proud of him, I just ratted him out if my coach reads this.)

One of my teammates won the event, Sadly as an "A" went out to early, he did not earn his"A".

I watched what I considered an act of brutality against my training partner. It is my fondest hope that I get to fence this guy in the near future.

All in all....just kind of a "meh" day.

PS.

Dear Coach:

Should you read this, reviewing this event should not take more than five minutes. I would really like a PL instead of a review.

Love,

Jim

Bridesmaid

2012-02-05T06:26:00.000-08:00

Fenced in a local tournament this weekend. 3rd out of pools. Ended up in 3rd place. One of the people needed to up the rating of the event did not make it to the top eight. I missed the rating goal (that I am not supposed to have) once again. It is starting to be funny in a sad sort of way. Always a bridesmaid....never a bride.

An On-line Journal is Kind of Like Talking to Yourself.

2012-01-30T07:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I fenced in a CHFA tournament. I finished 12th out of 35. The weekend before, I fenced in a Cape Fear tournament and finished in the middle of the pack. Weird results there for a lot of people. Several upsets. I have just reviewed my last eight results on Ask Fred. My results are not so bad, I want to cry and not so good that I want to stick my chest out in pride. I don't know what to think. I wish there was some sort of formula that would allow you to graph things out. There are just so many factors involved when you try to evaluate yourself. It makes my head want to explode.

I was dressing down after my second DE and I looked up to see Brian with a disapproving father face and his finger motioning for me to come see him. I evidently quit moving in my second DE. I will do my best to see it does not happen again.

I was disappointed to see that a young man I thought a lot of has turned into a self centered jerk. He was such a polite young guy and now all he can do is talk about his self and how great he is. He did end up getting the crud kicked out of him. I wish I or another vet fencer could have been the one to do it. Maybe he will grow out of it.

I was jostled in a bout. It was a legitimate jostle, but I added a groan to help get the call. Coach said it was a good acting job. I pay attention to Henri's lessons. Henri said she was glad Brian saw this, as I am prone to exaggeration. Now she has proof. Of course, this is not true at all.

Today I repaired 2 epees for the Greensboro Club. There are two more that need rewiring and new points. There are around 4 more blades that could be turned into epees if I had all the parts needed. However, fixing 2 today eased my conscience and I will get to the rest when I can.

Friday, Cam; Henri and I went to look at a space to move our club, It was unsuitable. Another dream shattered. The hunt continues.

There seems to be something happening in fencing (and within driving distance) every weekend for the foreseeable future. Mid-South and the Duke Home Meet are at odds. I am not sure what I will do there. There is an event in Raleigh this weekend. There is a ref clinic coming up. With event cost and travel it becomes a bit to much money and does not fit my needs. Though Deb said I could stay at her house. Very kind of her. I feel like if you are going to ref RoW weapons you need to fence them. I don't. I do feel like I desperately need a clinic on reffing epee. I know...I know....sounds like it would be simple enough. However, I sometimes question what I think I know. For example: I did not think you could call non-combativity (Pacifity still seems like a better word.) in a pool bout. However a young ref informed me other wise. If I get a chance today, I need to flip through the rule book. What happens there? How do you advance to the next round? If I am a couple of points ahead in a pool bout, I never attack. What the heck? There are several things like this I would like to have cleared up.

Bruises

People that fence other weapons seem to freak more over bruises. After Saturday's tournament, I kind of see it as art work.

I took off my shirt to take a much needed shower when I got home and .....HOLY CRAP! It was a bumper day for bruises. You might think that means you got hit more than usual, but this is not the case. I have fenced bigger tournaments and had far less.

Basically there are 4 main types of bruises.

1. The ones that become little purple dots.

2. The ones that become big purple and greenish yellow blobs.

3. The ones that break the skin and sometimes bleed.

4. The long ones that are more like burns and take the longest to go away.

There are hybrids of the above that take on unique characteristics.

Next time I am going to try and do some sort of study in relation to pools and DE. TR vs BM. Bruises made

USFCA Assistant Moniteur or That "Ain't Gonna" Work.

2012-01-16T03:24:00.000-08:00

That "ain't gonna" work. Or at least I cannot complete this program in any way that makes sense or is economically feasible.I guess I should have given this a bit more thought and research.

In the NC Division, there are around 6 active members in the USFCA. Two of them I have never heard of; one does not have a club and another is four hours away. The closest one is in a club I am not a member of, which is an hour and twenty minutes away. She teaches sabre. I need epee. The person at my club in Charlotte, which I must drive an hour and a half to get to (once a week) is only certified in foil. I could train with her and be certified in foil,but that wasn't the game plan. Nor does it fit my needs. There are a few people who have USFCA certificates and I know their memberships have expired. I could pay for them to rejoin, but I don't have the money. There really isn't much of an incentive to be a USFCA member unless you are trying to be certified. I didn't say there wasn't any incentive, just not much.

In my hometown,where I teach,there are no USFCA members. There are barely any competitive fencers.

You must have 20 hours of training (I have eight years, but that doesn't count.)with a USFCA certified instructor and work under them (teaching)for another 20.I think the clinic I went to may cut the hours of training down to twelve, I must read more concerning that.

Perhaps I just need to wait on the Moniteur part of the program to roll around and hope I have the time and money for it. The time and training requirements are much different.

Me...The USFCA...and Side Effects

2012-01-15T05:51:00.000-08:00

Clinic

This weekend I took my first journey into the world of the US Fencing Coaches Association. It was a clinic for the lowest level of the program,Assistant Moniteur.

The instructor was Walter Green. Walter Green is a Maitre d'Armes (Fencing Master, the highest rank of professional coach) of the Academie d'Armes Internationale and a Fellow of the Institute of Martial Arts and Sciences. Walter is also one of only 12 Maitre d'Arms that can do testing for those wishing to advance in rank within the USFCA.

Walter teaches not only modern fencing, but classical...historical.....various Asian weapons and martial arts. Interesting guy. I wish there was a clinic called. "Just Go Play With Walter Day." I would love to learn a bit about historical fencing and Asian weapons. It is however a fairly costly trip and I must save my time and money for tasks at hand.

I did not learn as much as my fellow students did at the clinic. I had studied much of this before at Coaches College and various coaching clinics. However, I did learn some things and the clinic was very much worth while. I am very weak on group lessons and I feel by reviewing this I can be better at it. There were dozens of things that Walter brought up that I am going to have to think about and do research on. One of the big ones was vocabulary concerning re-doublement. My mind reels when I think about this.

There is a lot to do and more time and money to be spent to achieve the rank of Assistant Moniteur. I think I can do it, if I get the help of a couple of coaches. I am really not after the Assistant Moniteur thing. I want to be a Moniteur. I looked at what is required for this. I think I already know it. However, I remember Jen Oldham saying at a Divisional meeting (The only Divisional meeting I ever attended.)that most people fail the test for the different ranks in the USFCA because they fail to prepare. So, by doing the Assistant Moniteur, I am preparing myself for Moniteur. Mr. Green stated words to that effect as well. (Note: It sounds sort of snooty to say I think I could pass the Moniteur exam now....but I feel like I could. Of course I might be wrong.)

But first....the job at hand. Then see if you can scrape up the time and money for the other goal.

A Positive Side Effect

This is kind of weird and it may be that only another heavy vet fencer can truly understand it.

Like every other fencer, I spend a lot of time working on my foot work. I first worked on each separate piece of foot work and then hooking them together to steal distance....make your opponent fall short....all that sort of thing that every other fencer has done sense the dawn of time. Recently though (say in the last couple of years)I came to some conclusions. They were correct and they were wrong. I came to realize that I cannot catch or hang with most younger fencers that have good foot work. My legs have been abused and they are getting older. They are carrying a lot of weight. (I am starting to work on the weight thing again.) My legs are very strong and my fleche is not bad. But light on my feet and speedy.....I am not.I kind of gave up on foot work. I was static way to often. A couple of weeks ago, Brian worked with me on three variations of footwork to steal distance and draw attacks. They aren't complex and mostly just mean a tempo change.I start trying to use them in my bouting. Even though they are simple, I am not doing them well. But I keep trying. I am fencing better and getting more touches. Is it because of the three new patterns of footwork I am working on? Once in while....yes. But what is really making my game better is the fact that I am moving more and with less of a predictable pattern. I am rarely static. So I had an improvement, not because I mastered something I am working on, but because I am attempting to master something. How cool is that?

1st 2012 Post

2012-01-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Coaching

I skipped the "Hangover" so I could spend money to go to a USFCA Assistant Moniteur Clinic. It is very basic, but I need to review a great many things.I have forgotten a great deal on things like group lessons and such. Okay...I was never very good at group lessons to begin with. Walter Green is the instructor. He explained via e-mail, that this helps prepare you for the way the USFCA does things...proceedures..demands....that sort of thing. So if you want to pursue advancement through their ranks, then this is a good start. Made sense to me. People I talked to liked Mr. Green, so I am looking forward to meeting him. I have also heard (rightly or wrongly)that he is very much into the history of fencing. That is an area that is of interest to me, but most likely will not come up often in the coaching clinic.

Why are you doing this Jim? I don't know exactly. I would rather spend time trying to make myself a better fencer. I may not have a lot of time left to do that. I don't want to Coach...but someday I may. I am coaching, so even if it it is not a big personal desire to do so....I need to do the best job I can at it. I want to pursue as many elements of fencing as my time and resources will allow. Sadly, that is not as much as I would like.

An On-line Journal

Having an on-line journal is sort of like being on Facebook. I am sure it is not like this for everyone.....some people don't give a rip what they say. (My dad use to say ...."don't give a rip". I am not sure I ever heard anyone else say it. I also do not know what a rip is. But it cannot be much.) Anyway...often times you try to make yourself seem nicer....wiser.....not as weird....better....than you really are by what you say and often by what you don't say. Lately, there has been a topic I wanted to explore, but I am afraid to write about it. How weird is that? I am afraid that I might be wrong in my opinion. I am still reading up on the subject. I am trying to find out why I am wrong in what I think. I fear that I might offend one of the half dozen people that read this. That is just so strange.

Hooking Up....No....Not THAT Kind.

Not to long ago my coach was talking about when we started fencing in a tournament. From his perspective, it was the minute you walk in the door. For some that is true...if you can back it up. Getting into some one's head,which is part of the epee game,is only useful if you have the fencing skill to take advantage of it.

I have noticed that,every once in a while, I start fencing when you are called to strip and are hooking up. If my opponent looks impatient and eager for me to hurry up and get through the process....I sloooooww down...... I also smile at him/her. A smile is a great thing to use on strip.

A lot of little things can happen while hooking up and it can be kind of a game. I like to be first through the testing, because I always have to adjust my body cord after the ref looks for a switch.

I have been working on/repairing a couple of club epees and one of my own. I have this overwhelming desire to go to Radio Shack and buy a couple of toggle switches and install them in an epee. perhaps mark one as " get touch" and one as " fire paralyzing dart". With certain refs I think it would be worth the yellow card. I just need to make sure a yellow card is all I get.

Decision Point....Not the Drills.

2011-11-13T06:04:00.000-08:00

1. I have received some really good coaching of late. Bout analysis with my coach or as he watches me with my teammates, rather than just a private lesson. I feel like I may have made a step forward in my fencing. Not a leap to the next level,but progress. That is important to me. I was worried that I might be one of those fencers that hits a level and never gets any better. Of course, I could be wrong and I am just fooling myself. I still have my age old problems with drifting into four, big blade actions and balance. However, I am acutely aware of them and maybe that will help gain ground there. I also listen to and watch my training partners lesson. I always have, when time allows. But I got some good info and advice from last weeks lesson. I hope I can remember and apply some of this.

2. Tournaments and number of participants in North Carolina seem much smaller this season. Of late, I seem to be heading to South Carolina more often. I can fence 40 or 50 people there rather than 12 or 17. (And largely the same 12 to 17 I have fenced for the last few years) South Carolina is not a hot bed of fencing either, but I think sense tournaments are so infrequent, they tend to have a larger draw. I am just guessing here. There is also Virgina, but only a couple of places within a good driving range. I would like to fence in Wilmington, NC next weekend, but am unsure of family plans or needs. I have not fenced there in a while and it might be a good place to test my theory that I am making a bit of progress in my studies.

3. Friday evening I had a dinner meeting with some of the coaches and former coaches of The Greensboro Fencing Club. A former coach had a plan he wanted to share on renting our own building and trying to make a little profit, rather than be the non-profit, all volunteer coaches we have always been. There are some holes in the plan and perhaps to much "up front" money needed. I am still thinking about it. We also talked about looking for another space where we could keep a percentage of the money we bring in. For me, no place like that has come to mind. At our current location , they get all the money, minus a little bit to replace equipment and 100 dollars a month for our college aged coach's gas money. I think we bring them in a revenue of some place between 18,000.00 and 20,000.00 dollars year. Just an estimate. The prices are high there for what the kids are getting.

At this meeting, my training partner and I also dropped the bomb that we are are only committing to the end of the year. It was agreed by all, that if we left the club, it would fold. We manage everything from washing bib liners and the rare occasion when jackets are washed to repairs and dealing with ......well....lets just say we do a lot of stuff and coach as well. We have in essence taken on the duties of our club founder. We are burnt out. Not only that, but we have no idea how long we have left to compete and would like to focus on ourselves for a while. The other coaches have may have a couple of decades left to fence, we may have a couple of years. Who knows?

The down side is hurting the kids. There are those kids who we help so much. Some with disorders or other special needs. Fencing is a place for them to fit in. They compete with each other and oddly enough for fencers....gain some social skills. There are also parents we care about and of course the friendships we have with the other members of the coaching staff.

I am on the fence of what to do. I wish there were more fencing coaches in my area and there was an national effort to train more coaches. Our efforts at present seem to be pathetic.

I have made up my mind that if I leave our little club, I will do so soon. When you have something to do that is hard and unpleasant, you should just get it over with. One way or the other, I don't want to worry about this any more.

Just an Update.

2011-11-06T05:24:00.000-08:00

1. From previous post: I didn't take a month off. I got over my problem.

2. I fenced in the Fort Mill Open yesterday. Around 40 fencers. I was 7th out of pools. I won them all but one and that went past five. I lost by one touch. I had a bye....won first DE...lost second DE......missed upping my rating due to the loss. Always a brides maid, never a bride. That little rating change has been my goal for a couple of years. Yeah...I know....you shouldn't have rating changes as a goal. But we all do and I will not hide it. Heck....if a miracle ever happens and I get that little rating change, I will feel remedial, as it took so long. I am disappointed, but I learned a lesson from my training partner. She had to fence the number one seed in her second DE. She was out matched and a foot shorter.....but......she fenced with such skill...speed....beauty....grace.....and like such a warrior..... I was impressed beyond the telling of it. She of course does not see it. Even the guy's father who she fenced began to cheer for her. For me, I saw more of what I would strive to be in that bout from her than any other bout I saw. Maybe I am prejudice, as we are tight. But I do not think so. I would rather fence like her than have my little rating jump. I mean that.

3. Where I fence, there are 3 cities very close to each other. It is referred to as the Triad. In that small space, with all the small townships in between, there are well over a million people. In this area, there are around six people that compete in fencing and half of them don't do it often. There are no high level coaches. There is a low level club ( The one I help coach at.); what I think is a mostly dry foil club; and then some clubs with no formal training, or coaches with formal training. I have thought about the later clubs a lot lately. Mostly because I have tried to help at one of them. My success there has been very limited. This is what I have come up with. I see nothing wrong with recreational clubs. They are having fun and though we often forget.....that should always be the goal of fencing. I really do not see anything wrong with clubs that "play" at fencing. My thoughts there are similar to what I would term the "recreational club". Part of my reasoning for thinking this way is that eventually, a student/member there will want to have better training and seek it out. So in a small way, it is good for fencing. I do however, have a problem with people that have no formal training (either as a fencer or a coach) declaring themselves a fencing coach after reading a couple of books and then charging people money for coaching. That is wrong.

3. There is a famous and beloved armourer , named Dan. People use to flock to his table at meal time in the Olympic Training Center, so they could listen to his stories. (I was there for Coach's College.) I heard that he once said, " I can never give back to fencing all that it has given me." I love that. Sense I started fencing, I have tried to pay back the people that helped me and help grow the sport in the state where I live. I have done a lot for fencing in that regard. I will not go into it all. Unlike Dan however, I have reached the point where I am ready to say....Hey!...fencing.......we are even. I think I have paid fencing back enough for now.

4. Just looked at the results of the Fort Mill Open. I finished 9th out of 40. Yep...always a bridesmaid.....never a bride.

Accepting

2011-10-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Often I tend to record things that are not related to being a vet fencer. This post is all about being that.

Acceptance. This is what I am thinking about today. This is not the kind of acceptance, as in being accepted by younger fencers. You get over that one way or the other very fast. This is not about being accepted in the fencing community. That takes care of itself one way or the other. There are other kinds.

Last night as we did 1-2-3 footwork exercises, I looked at myself move in the mirror. I never do that. I was trying to see if my balance was okay. When I did this I almost fell over. But I also noticed that my footwork stunk. I moved like a fencer who had been fencing for 6 months and does everything correct, but not with the power of a good bent rear leg or other signs of athleticism or experience. I can't do it. Or to be more precise...I can't do it for long. I can do it a bouting from time to time....I think. I bought a video camera to see what I looked like fencing or taking lessons, so that I could fix things. However, I have never used it to film myself. Partly because I don't want to bother someone else and partly because I am afraid of what I will see. Other footwork practice includes bouncing drills. This where I try to pretend I can bounce or I try to blend in like I am bouncing. The pain shifts from my bad front knee to hamstrings and calf in my rear leg when bouncing. It is a refreshing change. I am accepting that my legs have seen better days. I am not accepting that I cannot give a decent account of myself fencing because they have betrayed me. I can still fleche. And though I don't have the courage to video myself, I would say that often they are not what is called in the club I fence at......" old man fleches".

I lost my temper at the the club last night. I will not go into details here. In my mind it was a question again of acceptance.

My coach told me as we talked later, that " from an economic stand point, that this is a sport which is all about youth." I can accept this or I cannot accept it.

(Note: There is a different perspective from a club owner and an aging student. I get this.)

I am grateful to my coach for all that I have learned from him. It is much more than I can apply. That is another kind of acceptance.

I am thinking about taking a month off from fencing. Or perhaps change clubs for a month.. Micheal Marx said (at a clinic I once attended) that you should periodically change coaches. This would be a difficult thing to do. I suspect that my training partner of many years would remain at the present club. I would hate the long drives alone or missing the discussion after training on the way back to our homes. Can I accept this?

This season I can fence Vet 60. I have no trouble accepting that. I am having trouble accepting some of the changes with my physical ability. Or perhaps, I am having trouble realizing that I cannot "hang" with some younger fencers.

Boring Post

2011-10-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in over a month. Nothing to record or to say.

I have started coaching the UNCG Fencing Club. Nice kids. I enjoy it. I will try this out through this semester. I hope to run a little in house tournament for them towards the end of the school year.

I having a knee problem that seems to be hurting me more and more in my fencing. For now I will just have to suck it up and keep at it.

Big event in South Carolina this weekend. I am unsure if I can make it or not.

Yep....boring post.

No Game. No Plan.

2011-09-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend I fenced in two tournaments. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. It was a full weekend of fencing.

I will not go into detail about them. What I will go into detail is something I am trying to figure out.

Saturday in my DE I fenced a young man and I just had no clue what to do......or almost no clue. He wasn't what I call a good fencer, though he beat me. That is part of what I need to figure out.

Can you fence well and loose?
Can you be the better fencer and loose?
Can a good fencer(Good fencer being a relative term.)loose to a poor fencer.

They say that "The sword is truth." and in the end it must be so. So if that IS the truth, then being beat by a poorer fencer means in actuality, you are NOT the better fencer. If that is true, it is disheartening in the extreme.

Here is an example of what I faced in the Saturday DE.

I fenced a young man about my height or a bit more. He was in good shape. He fenced with his arm almost straight out and stiff as a board. This took away my whole game...almost. Near target was closed out. Deep target was closed out as his arm was to stiff for me to move and even if I did, his deep target was to far back for me to score. I could not beat his blade up and go under the cuff and going under the cuff without beating up was suicide. The only plan I had left was to counter. I beat his blade to make him mad enough to attack me. He was young and it worked to some degree. But basically, I had no plan...no game. (I also thought about binding his blade and using my superior upper body strength to hold it and close in on him. Sadly, it has been so long sense I have done a bind, I have forgotten how.) There were others (kind of new) and like him at the tournament and a couple of them were hard to fence as well. Mainly because they were not seasoned enough to do predictable actions. No telling where that point was going.

No Plan...no game. Sunday, I fenced much better fencers than I will ever be, For the most part I made good touches on all of them. They fenced in the manner I would call "correct". (I know...it is so hard to say what correct is.) Even though they beat me like rented mule (My grandfather's saying.), I was still setting things up and making touches on these fencers. I was okay with that.

One the other hand I fenced a left hander, whose movement was terrible, his arm was stiff as a board and all he did was a bad fleche, yet he beat me. It was an awful feeling.

I just do know what to think. I would like to think that I am becoming a decent fencer. I can't know this. I suspect I will always have a bit higher opinion of myself than is warranted.

I also thought about this. When you train with a coach...any coach, they train you in a manner that is correct. (I know....that "correct" word....just isn't the best word....but I am going to guess you know what I mean.) They have you respond in a manner that is correct....they respond in a manner that is correct....and so it goes on back in forth. When I fenced someone with an arm as stiff as a board or someone who fences in some other "wrongish" fashion, it just freaks me out....takes away my game (such as it is) and kills me.

I have thought about having a coach train you to fence weird awkward fencers. However, I am not sure that makes much sense. There are just to many ways to be wrong and awkward.

I should also mention that I have talked about stiff arms and mine is far from perfect. The difference is that mine starts loose and finishes stiff like a punch. Not good...I am still trying to fix it. (A note in regards to my own stiff arm: I work on my flick. It is still far from good....and for me a very low percentage shot. Yet because I work on it, I think it helps me with my own stiff arm problems. You just can't do it unless your arm is relaxed.)

I am somewhat disheartened.

On a brighter note, on Sunday one of my teammates did very well. She beat a freakishly tall female "C" fencer; won her first DE and took " First Place Female Veteran" with a really nice little plaque. GO Kerry!

Vet Clinic...It Turned Out Great!

2011-08-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the first in what may be a series of vet clinics is over and was a huge success.

I did not know what to expect. Coach was organized; had notebooks for everyone and it just went really great. I think part of what made it great was the fact that Coach is just so charismatic.

People applauded for me for organizing the event and I heard there was some discussion about it at the Division meeting. I would not be telling the truth if I did not say it made me feel good.

The Vet community has been something Coach has discussed many times with other Coaches and Vets as one that gets swept under the carpet because it is complicated? Vets are a diverse group of varied levels of age, body parts that work and don't work, commitment, time / travel / money concerns and various understandings of the sport.

I came to a realization during the clinic, that had never occurred to me in any large degree. I know a few things things that a lot of people in the Division do not know relative to fencing. Okay....that sounds sort of snotty and cocky and the truth of the matter is that not much of it makes me a better fencer. For example: Fencing vocabulary. This is a hard subject to feel competent in. The reason is that it is like a language that has many different dialects. The first two things Coach works on you with are (and mostly at the same time) are being technically correct and fencing vocabulary. I would say the vocabulary is his dialect. He has to teach you his language, so he can communicate with you about fencing. I worked/trained with Coach for four years, so I speak his language, though I am not totally fluent. Some of his language I do not use often. I will never reach a level of fencing where I use Feint in Tempo. In Coaches College, I learned different definition's than Coach uses for simple things like remise and reprise, so when I talk to Coach I must translate some of the language of fencing in to the Coach dialect...or vice versa.

Two of the the new things that learned from the clinic were rather simple, but they stay hanging in my mind. No one ever explained to me that in the simple version of the tactical wheel, that if you draw a line across the wheel, they are the same actions. For example: You start with a simple attack. If you draw a line across it to the six o'clock area on the wheel (to feint deceive) that is also a simple attack. Why the heck didn't somebody point this out to me long ago?

I also need to get serious about stretching. It is one of those things I do even less than cardio. I am all about doing anaerobic training. I know I must change my gym routine. I am going to do this.

Coach was generous in his giving of time for this event. I sing his praises. However, I hope many that attended will think of his wife (Sususn) and all that she did behind the scenes. Shopping;cleaning; cooking and planning. Also she was "communications central" for me in organizing this event. She is a incredibly interesting woman and I am glad that she now feels accepted in Coach's fencing family. I know how important it is to feel that. Yay Susun!

Vet Clinic

2011-08-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday I am heading to vet clinic. Yep...a clinic just for vets.

How this came about: A couple of weeks ago I saw on Facebook that Coach Ron Miller (Known to most everyone simply as "Coach".) was heading to a clinic somewhere in North Carolina. It was unannounced and as it turns out, a spur of the moment sort of thing. I asked his wife (Again via Facebook) where the clinic was. She responded later in the day and Coach (Out of the goodness of his heart) decided he wanted to have a vet clinic....for free. I am often surprised by the kindness of others. He said he wanted to "connect with my training partner and I".

Any knowledge concerning vet fencing is near and dear to my heart. It is a hard subject to broach. In some ways we are just like younger fencers and in some ways we are not. It becomes an even more complex subject when you think of three weapons; different age categories; training and physical strengths and weaknesses.

When I was in my forties, I ran and could bench press over 300 pounds. (The guys I worked out with were much stronger than me.) My point is that that a forty vet is going to be a lot different than a sixty vet. (I will be able to fence vet 60 this year, should I attend any National events.) My legs are still strong, but I have a bad knee and my flexibility is all but gone. Plus I am carrying a lot more weight. (I could say that I am going to loose the weight, but I doubt I would loose enough to make much of difference and it would not stay off long.) The point I am trying to make is that there are vet sixty fencers that are physically like vet forty fencers and vet fifty fencers that are like thirty year old fencers. Then look at a group of vet fencers and see were they compete. Is it mostly local events against younger fencers or are they at every national event? NOW....If you were having a clinic for vet fencers, how in the world could you make it meaningful to all the different kinds of vets that will be there. I do not see how it is possible, but I am about to find out.

I don't think there is an expert in the needs of vet fencers. I could be wrong. I am often amazed that my young coach (Brian Toomey) notes tactics used by vet fencers and pays such attention to them. He has a gift for tactics and sees things that are invisible to me.

(Odd off topic note: I remember my coach and I having a beer in a bar in Virgina. He told the waitress that he was my fencing coach. I saw a glimmer of doubt in her eyes when she looked at the two of us together. Between the two of us, I look like the gray haired fencing master. Never judge a book.... Okay....back to topic.)

Coach Miller has a doctorate in Exercise Science, Higher Education, Guidance and Psychology. Coach is "Maitre d' Armes," and is 66 years old. (A vet himself.) If anyone can deal with a vet fencer clinic of mixed fencers, it should be him. But what a hard topic!

Assessment

2011-07-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

My private lesson last week was an assessment. Just as I can fence poorly, sometimes I can take a lesson poorly. Naturally, it was one were I am being assessed. I feel like I am back in school and didn't do well on a test I HAD studied for.

Some time I need to talk to my coach and find out just what my strengths and weakness are. He has done well in helping me and I am sure he can advise me, however , I would like to give it some thought myself.

Charlotte Fencing Academy On The News!!!!

2011-07-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.foxcharlotte.com/rising/wilsons-world/Wilson-Meets-His-Match-while-learning-to-fence-126108073.html

Random Team Event

2011-07-24T04:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I fenced in another random team tournament. This was a tournament, with several clubs involved, were teams are formed by the coach to make them as fair as possible.

I fenced poorly against people I should have done better with and did not fence as well as the last time we did this. However, I did get to fence 15 people and it was great practice.

There were times when I fenced well, or made a few good touches. In fact,even though I did not fence well, for some reason I feel like I can hold my own in local "C" and under events now. I am not sure that is true. I cannot impartially judge my own ability. Also, it would seem to me that it depends on if I am having a good day or a bad day. Maybe I am not yet consistent.

Coach Toomey told me at my last private lesson, that my fleche has improved (or words to that effect) even though it is not fast, it is at the often at the correct moment. During this tournament, I know that I made a couple of these attacks that were DAMN fast. I tired to figure out why on the ride home. I am thinking that my knees were bent deeper that normal and it was just at the right time to make the faster attack. I am uncertain if it is possible for me to do this more often.

One problem I have with people over a "C" rating (This is of course a generality.) are the people with a fast good flick to the cuff. I tell my self to keep keep my arm moving....don't drift into 4....watch distance.....but I do not seem to follow through with this when I am fencing. Sometimes I can parry these attacks with a parry three, but I cannot repost. My own flick has improved a little, but not enough to make significant difference in my fencing. I am still working on it.

My training partner pointed out to me in a bout of late, that I am leaning forward. I thought I had fixed that. Sadly, when I fence this week....no matter how bad I get beat....I need to go back and make sure my feet are under me and that my hand does not drift into four. I work on doing something new and my old problems drift back into the picture again.

Another problem I see is this: Epee is more complex than other weapons. There...I said it. Fencers are allowed to make cracks about other weapons...once in a while. To often....and you are jerk. However, I am not joking. Here is why I think this.

A. When I watch foilist or sabreist, I generally see about six different types. However,in epee, every damn one of them is different Well....to some degree.
You run into fencers that are just your cup of tea. You can hang with them...or beat them because their style is just what your style is made for. Sadly, your style is perfect for others to eat your lunch. Yep....style.

B. Target area. The greater the target area, the greater the area to defend. IE: More complex. I mean....really.

C. I could go on about reffing (Yep...reffing epee IS actually difficult in some ways.) and other thoughts on the complexity of the weapon....but I am coming dangerously close to saying things non-epeeist don't want to hear. Besides...I am not the gods gift to the fencing world. I might be wrong.

July

2011-07-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

If you are not at Nationals, ( And I am not.)the fencing season is over. There is not much on the horizon.

I want a break from fencing, HOWEVER I know that if I if I take one I will not be able to stand waiting for it to start again. Damned if I do, moderately damned if I don't.

July is the worst month for fencing. Fencers are fenced out. Coaches are tired.

August is another story. You can get reved up to prepare yourself for the next season. July is the problem.

There is a coaching clinic in August I was thinking about, however I cannot afford it as I am out of work. The price of the club, plus renewing USFA membership,plus the club dues, plus the cost of gas to get to club....it is just to much.

There might be tournament On Labor Day, but it is a three and half hour drive. There may be another free fun tournament at the club this month and there is dry fencing in the park thing in Winston Salem. I hope this will keep me moving.

A New Thought and a Team Event

2011-06-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

I use to think that there were two things that happened on strip. There was when you are out of distance or the action has stopped and you make your plans and plot your strategy. Then there is the time when you are in distance and you move with instinct and without conscious thought. (You move without conscious thought as it is to slow and there is no time for it. To me this is one of the most fascinating parts of fencing. What tells you body to move?) After doing a decision drill with Toomey last week, I found there is another area in between these two. Who knew? I have not figured it out yet, and for sure I have not mastered it, but I find this so very interesting.

I just returned home from a fairly large and diversified team epee event. Teams were selected at the event to make it as fair as possible. It was all for fun…..and it was. I was only beaten by two people I fenced (Miles and Henri). I fenced four teams. I don’t like to think to positively, but I think I am fencing noticeably better than six months or so ago. I don’t want to get my hopes up and I don’t want to jinx myself. I just hope it last…if it is true.

State Games

2011-06-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

I fenced in the North Carolina State Games this weekend. I took the gold for veterans Epee. Not that big a deal really. I won 4 pool bouts and lost one, finishing sixth out of pools.

In a way, I fenced well, but I made mistakes. I went in to fencing with these thoughts in my mind.

1. Try to relax. I am not sure how I did in that regard.
2. Keep your feet under you...balance. I am not sure how I did in that regard. My training partner was on another strip and could not watch me much.
3. Move my fighting line. Hard to explain, but I know that I did it at least some of the time.
4. Step back to parry. I did not do it when it counted the most. I know I did it a well in a couple of times in pools.

I have been working on reconnaissance. In a bout situation, I know it helped me once or twice. It helped a great deal as I watched from the side of the strip.

One of my opponents was doing reconnaissances as well. He was starting with the most basic. He would do a beat. I noticed he started every bout that way. When it was my turn to fence him, I waited for the beat; deceived and hit him No one else fencing noticed this but me. I like this guy, but he was ticked off when I beat him 5-1. I thought about telling him what he was doing. Then I thought he might see me as a know-it-all and resent it. Then I thought, maybe I should just save the info for the next time I fence him. In the end, I never said anything. I may do so in the future....I may not

I made some other mistakes when I fenced the kid who won both epee and foil. We both stood still and faced off with each other. I thought I could beat the kid on hand speed. In some ways, I still believe that I can. However, it was just stupid. I did not use footwork tempo changes like I had been working on of late. Again...foolish.

At CFA we play a game called "21". 3 points for an attack. 2 points for a parry repoist. 1 point for counters and doubles. You must when by 21 on the nose. I have only played once, but this is a good game for me. It forces you to analyze what is happening with you and your opponent. I am just starting to get the hang of this,but it is in my mix of goals and things I am working on.

That was pretty much it for me this season. Now I am just waiting on the fall.

Foil Clinic

2011-06-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

(From an outdoor epee event in New Bern.)

This weekend I went to a Mid-South/Apex Intermediate Foil Clinic. This was a joint venture between two clubs. Yep.....foil.

I was on the fence (Right up until it was time to head out.) on if I should go or not. Foil is just not for me. I admire good foil fencers, but thy are twisty-bendy people and their weapon is bendy as well. It just doesn't feel right in your hand. Then there is the whole RoW shenanigans.....I best stop here.

So........Jim.......what the heck are you doing at a foil clinic?

Here are my reasons for going:

1. My training partner and I teach a six week long "Introduction to Fencing Class". We spend a little time on each weapon. We have both been to Coaches College for foil, but that was some time back. I needed a refresher.

2. Coach always said it was good for an epeeist to fence a little foil.

3. Knowing Stephen, I was sure I would get some exercise and footwork.

4.It is like working an extra couple of classes into the week.

5. I haven't had a private lesson in two weeks. This made me feel like I was catching up in some way.

It was a good clinic. I got what I wanted out of it, but I also wish it could have been one more notch up toward a higher level.

Most importantly to me was that I learned to double check. I saw that last weekend, but did not fully get it until this weekend.

I reffed a little and I was better at it than I thought I would be. Fortunately, it was low level and not much in the way of complex actions.

I fenced foil like an epeeist. It was somewhat successful, as most people there were low level foilist or saberist dabbling a bit. Still...I should have let things go and tried to fence more foil-like.

It was uncomfortable in one respect. I have devoted a lot of time to trying to learn everything I can about fencing. Admittedly, that is almost all focused on epee. I know a fair amount about the weapon, even if I cannot always apply it. Being included in a mix of fairly new fencers made me feel like I didn't know anything. I did not like the feeling at all. Is my ego that big? Do I feel like I am being talked down to by a coach? I am not sure. I am not sure what this says about me. It may be past time for me to dabble in other weapons. I will just have to see how it goes and what comes up.

Marx Clinic Review

2011-06-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

CHFA crew and One SFA buddy rented the van behind us for the drive. Good road trip!

First of all, I have no idea why a friend of mind referred to Michael as arrogant. He is seems to me a very, very open and caring individual. I liked him very much.

It has been a couple of years (I think) sense I went to a two day clinic or camp. I don’t think I had a realistic view of what a camp like this would do for me. Somehow, I thought I would achieve enlightenment. That didn’t happen. If I had thought back to various camps, with Alex Beguinet, I would have not been so foolish in my expectations. What generally happens is you learn a couple of small things and you come away with some things to work on. This is what happened at this camp . An improvement in this regard was that my coach was with me and he will come away with some things for me to work on as well. This doubled the effectiveness of the clinic.

This was a clinic for coaches and students. I felt the first day of the camp was to heavily focused on coaches and less on students. This was a large camp with over 50 people present and it may be that this was the best approach, as there were so many students you had to involve/train the coaches there so the students would get more out of it on day two. I think this worked fairly well.

Some Thoughts on Coaches

Some of the coaches at the clinic were very good coaches. Some were mediocre and some were poor. (Note: It is more than just possible, that I may have misjudged some of the coaches, as I based my observations on what they did and did not do.) I have often wondered of late, is it bad for a poor coach to teach? The answer I have come up with (subject to change) is it depends on the location. If you are in an area that has a number of clubs with good coaching and you are taking those students away from someone that could really help them…then I am against this. However, if you are in an area where there is little to no quality fencing, the “poor” is better than nothing. It is just possible for a poor coach to awaken such a desire to learn in a student, that they will seek out camps and better coaching and become a decent fencer. I have thought of this more lately, as I am giving more and more thought to coaching in the area I live.

An interesting side note to this little entry into my journal is that Mr. Marx thinks that you should periodically change coaches. I think this is a good idea as well, but it has to be based on your reality. If you live in an area where you don’t have a decent coach to switch to, then you are in a bind. In the much of the South where I live, this doesn’t seem to be an option. (Thus, the importance of camps and clinics.)

Back to the Clinic

One of the things that blew my mind at the clinic was when Michael told us that it was not the best of ideas to straighten your arm and then lunge. It still makes my mind reel when I think about it. I was taught over and over to extend your arm and then lunge. In Mr. Marx view if you send your arm out fast AS you are lunging, it will make your lunge faster. It makes perfect sense. I experimented on a target during some free time and found that it did not affect my point control a great deal by doing this and my speed was a bit faster. Thinking for myself in the matter, I am not sure that it wise to teach new students this. Many new students have a tendency to “punch” when bouting. (They pull the weapon back and then go forward losing time in the process.) Would it be better to teach the old non-Marx way to new students and then let them change or just go with the Marx approach from the get go? I have no idea. I am still thinking about it.

Was the Clinic Worth It?

In a nutshell…yes. From my perspective, this was an expensive two day camp. Couple the cost with travel expenses and it was a bit hefty for my budget. I would however, recommend it for a number of reasons. (Too much in fact to list here.) Not the least is the charismatic Mr. Marx. I would have to say that it is multitude of small things that make the clinic so very worthwhile. There was no one BIG thing for me. The biggest negative I can think of was that I was expecting the clinic to include more/some on the mental game and it did not happen.

Side Note

During the first 15 minutes of the clinic, Coach Marx was getting coaches together to get them up to speed before the clinic began for students. He walked through a group of several people and up to me and asked me if I was a coach. I told him that I was there as a student and I just looked like coach. We both smiled. When I was at NCFDP, I would always get there early. During this time and at other times, people would often think I was Coach Miller. I am sure that it is mostly the gray hair, but it always makes me feel good for some reason when this happens.

Foil and Epee Clinic

2011-06-02T05:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend I head to my first ever Michael Marx camp in Manassas,VA. (Michael Marx is an Olympian who competed both in foil and epee.) I have been looking forward to it for over a month. It is the "big" thing I am doing so far this year in fencing. (Meaning I have not been to any national tournaments or training sessions that require much travel.)

While I am looking forward to it, I am also a little apprehensive. The total cost is fairly expensive. What if I don't get anything (learn anything)I can apply to my fencing? Learning about fencing is easy. Applying what you learn to fencing is difficult. I think particularly so when you are a late blooming vet fencer.

There are six of us going. We have rented a van and will ride up together. This is a true road trip! Okay...true road trip.....without beer.

I once asked a person whose opinion I respect about going to a Marx camp. The person replied that Marx was a bit arrogant. A coach who was listening piped in, "Imagine that.....an arrogant fencer." It still makes me smile when I think about it.

I hope to record how this went after it is over.

Siff Arms and Daggers

2011-05-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Stiff Arm

I have been thinking about a problem in my fencing. Sometimes I write in my journal as a means to figure things out.

Background: After counters; attacks in to preparation; targets of opportunity… my thing is doing “takes”. This is the result of working with Coach. For so long, my attention was devoted to the technical aspects of fencing. (Not that I am technically very good or all we worked on was taking the blade.) But the foundation for everything Coach teaches seems to be “Six Wall”. (A drill that is done with circles six in opposition.) Picking up the point in 6 and takes in 2 and 8 also became my favorites. With the right opponent, I have some success with this. On the other hand, there are opponents that this sort of thing is useless. (Higher level fencers…come to mind.) So……if I get the right opponent….I feel confident. On occasion I will fence a person with a very stiff arm. I understand this. I am still constantly trying to relax my arm..shoulder…that sort of thing. But this is way beyond my sort of stiff arm. Mostly it is newer fencers, that can’t relax. Once in a while it is a bruiser who can power through. Sometimes it is the combination of the two.

We are taught to use our fingers in these types of “take” actions and keep the arm and wrist out of it. I am going to tell you, with the stiff armed fencer…..this is not going to work. I think you either need to put some muscle into it or find other actions.

What I have been thinking about: Maybe I am too much into doing “takes”…with this kind of fencer. Maybe I should parry/repost. Unless it is instinctive action, I almost never plan on doing just a parry repost. Maybe I need to do a big sweep.

Conclusion: Okay….This didn’t help. Maybe there will be a Toomey comment to point me towards the path to enlightenment.

Winston Salem Fencing Club
I fenced in a park today with the Winston Salem fencing Club. It was a friendly group and I had a good time. The students were from UNCG. I had not fenced outside in a long time. It was a hot day for it, but I enjoyed it just the same.

http://daggerfencing.com/Products.html

Epee and Dagger

In this link there is a product and body cord for fencing epee with a dagger. Okay…..your first thought might be that this sounds a little SCA. However, I often watch a ancient clip of Aldo fencing in Italy with a foil and dagger and it is the most fluid and beautiful type of fencing I have ever seen. I would love to try this. It looks like fun and having fun should be the goal of every fencer.

The Drill ...The Mask and One Touch

2011-04-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

Last night at practice I fenced pretty well.(For me.)I felt pretty good about it and I needed that feeling.

My PL was "The Drill". More accurately, it was the first and most basic part of "The Drill". If I remember correctly, this is a Marx progressive exercise, or at least he gets credit for it.

In the starter part of the the drill you can only score a point by lunging. No advance lunge...no parries....no nothing. It sounds simple, but I am so programed to draw my opponents attack that it was almost impossible for me. (And I tried everything I could think of.) To much stuff is now built in. Of course my coach is killer at this and it was humbling. However, if I ever want to fence foil (I can't think of why I would want to fence the "bendy little weapon"....but I might.)I need to master this simple little drill.

Sense I started fencing, I have wanted to try "one touch" epee. Last night I finally got my shot in a "tournament like" setting. After pools, my draw was a young, very tall "B" fencer. I switched to French grip and posted. In the rules we used, if you doubled....you are both out. That was the case for my opponent and I. I had already decided if I was going out, I would do my best to take someone with me. Yep...I am that kind of guy. It was a lot of fun,but over way to quick. Hooking up took longer than the action.

When I got home last night, I washed my nasty old frayed mask. It is tattered and worn. While I want a new one badly, I feel a emotional attachment to this one. We have both been through a lot and we are scarred. However we have a few more bouts left in us. The thing takes FOREVER to dry. I think I will search the web for rules on "One Touch Epee" while my buddy sits outside in the sun.

Something to Say. Who Knew?

2011-04-26T06:12:00.001-07:00

In this picture (Santelli NYC. Small woman’s jacket with silver buttons). I was guessing late 50’s, but I do not know for sure. Also included are an old plastron (C); an old foil and a detachable bib for a mask (B).

I think this kind of stuff is really cool. If this jacket would fit me, I would find some opportunity to wear it.

I suspect this kind of old unusable equipment has found its way into a lot of fencing salles. I hope some folks are saving a couple of these items.

I gave one to a coach at Mid-South long ago and he mounted it in a glassed in frame like a kimono. It makes a nice wall hanging for their club. Add an old weapon or maybe some old medals and it could look awesome.

My training partner (epee) is a petite woman. She is often getting hit just above the breast protector or getting hit on the breast protector and the tip sliding up to cause a bruise. It would seem to me that these old plastrons (C) could be cut off and made to fit above the breast protector for some extra padding.

It would also seem to me that if I manufactured or sold fencing equipment, I would look into a way to make fencing equipment more specialized or weapon specific. I watch bony little kids fence epee and once in a while they will take a bad hit. (Fortunately, they generally fence other bony little kids that can’t hit hard.) What if there was a way to add something like the quilted plastron (C) so Velcro would hold it to the top part a modern under arm protector? What if they made a pad like the quilted plastron (C) that could fasten to the top of a woman’s breast protector like the old bib (A) that fastened to an old mask?

On a slightly different vent, why can't uniform manufactures make a jacket for epee, where the weapon arm sleeve is slightly shorter than the off weapon hand, so it can be pulled down under the glove and not leave a wrinkle for points to catch on? (Okay….you can have that done yourself. But I am on a roll here.)

Looking at this vintage equipment always makes me wish their was better documented history of our sport. I do not mean from the time of the Egyptians, but more like from the time of the modern Olympics. Great books like "By the Sword" cover some good information, but I am looking for something a bit more detailed.

I want to know about weird rules and strip sizes for early events. Why did the fourth weapon of fencing fall out of favor, other than the fact that it most likely hurt like hell? In this video clip: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=schlager7#p/search/1/5JigsNa3u_s Aldo is fencing with a shortened foil used as a dagger. Why did this go away? It is so fluid and beautiful. (If you watch closely it is just an "X" block done well and fast,but it is ever so cool!) Who knows what interesting fact has been lost in the history of fencing? Such a shame.

Nothing to Say

2011-04-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

My last entry was over a month ago.

I am learning a lot of things. I am able to apply some of them.

I just don't have anything to record that would not be repeating myself.

Thinking about going to a Marx camp in a month and a half.

The Duke Home Meet

2011-02-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

This short clip is from the Duke Home Meet. It is a first class collegiate tournament.

The Notre Dame men epee fencers had t-shirts that had "Irish Fencing" written on them. I thought they were cool and looked into ordering one on-line. Sadly, those must be for the team.

NC Vet Squad of Dooooom Reloaded

2011-02-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

Kerry and Henri (Vet Women) get in a bit of practice. Kerry (on the right) had been out with back trouble for a while.

Link to Greensboro Club TV Spot

2011-02-28T10:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.myfox8.com/videobeta/b442d7a5-e8c5-423f-b590-dc4b8d84599e/News/Join-the-Club-Fencing

Thought Process

2011-02-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

Thought process in deciding which of two tournaments to attend.

Tournament A.
Saturday
3 and ½ hour drive (One way)
32 epeeist registered
A2 tournament. ( Not like that is going to matter much to me.)
A lot of people I haven’t fenced before.

Tournament B.
Sunday
1 1/2 hour drive (One way)
9 fencers so far.
E1….so far (not like that matters with a “B” in the mix)
If I go to this one, I might be able to stop by the Duke Meet and watch that for a while. I always enjoy that.

Going to both is probably not an option.

Plan: Wait for divine guidance or panic to guide me.

Two Down

2011-02-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Last night we lost another coach. Mario is out. Woody quit a few weeks back. We are down two and have four left.

I have never wanted to be a coach. I never felt like I knew enough. I have had some success in coaching epee. One of my kids came in 7th in a SYC last weekend and gained national points. I helped in her coaching a great deal, but I did not do it alone.

Still, all I ever wanted was to study fencing.

It would be better for me in many ways if the club in Greensboro folded. But what about the kids? There are kids I love. There are kids for one reason or another NEED fencing in their lives. There are kids that could be good at it. Our club is just about it in an area with a population of over a million people.

I wish a good three weapon coach would move to this area and wanted to start a club.

The place where we have our club changed the deal we had with them last night. Coaches are now to be the ones to see that money is collected and fencers sign in, even though we are volunteers and do not get paid.

I got “dem” small time fencing club blues.

Truth is Beauty and Beauty Truth

2011-01-28T10:51:00.000-08:00

I will never be an "A" fencer, but I can have good technique and form. (Or as much as this aging body will permit.) I can control having good technique and form if I work at it.

The beauty of fencing is important to me. To me. It doesn't matter what anyone else in the world thinks. It is important to me. Beauty in fencing can be different things to different people. But I know what it is to me.

Many times when someone asks the difference between sport fencing and classical fencing the stock answer is, “One is sport and one is art.” I don’t buy that. They are both art.

In the club I started out in, the head coach was a classical fencer. She did not know she was a classical fencer, until starting the club and going to Coach’s College. (Long story, but true….just go with it.) So……it is possible that I was taught some things (early on) that I took as gospel and never learned that they weren’t necessarily true/accurate. On the other hand, I wonder if other people are in the same boat. There is no one to go to that can say, “This is the correct way to do something and everything else is “bull frockey”. (My Dad use to say bull frockey. I don’t think it is dirty, but either way….I am going with it.)

Here is an example. I was taught that your front foot was like a gun sight and that your toes should be pointed straight ahead as you advance or retreat. However, I was watching video of one of the best epee fencers in the U.S. and his front toe is never pointed at target. He is kind of heavy and does not bounce a great deal. His foot work reminds me of an intermediate level boxer. Yet….he is one of our best.

This is the point where I start rambling. I just have to go with it.

Johan Harmenberg states in his book “Epee 2.0 “, that you should use/learn traditional footwork before learning to bounce. I don’t recall him ever saying why you do this though. Was he suffering from self doubt? Was what he was taught when he was younger so ingrained in him, that he could not totally forsake traditional footwork as the way to go? Do you just need to use traditional footwork as a starting point to progress into bouncing? It is a good thing that there is traditional footwork, otherwise you would not find many Vet 50 men (or above) fencing. We don’t bounce very well…or very long.

I sometimes hear people use what I think is the wrong term for an action. It is nothing worth arguing about. It just strikes me as odd. Rather than confront someone over a trivial matter, I would prefer to think that I am correct and quietly feel sort of smug. I often do the same thing when people talk about why there is no target below the waste in sabre. I am not sure I am correct on that one, but I am sure I am closer to correct than the traditional answer.

For some reason, as I search for some kind of truth in fencing, I think about something my Sifu once said. “Never tell someone they can’t do something. They might be the only one who can.” I have no idea why that popped into my mind. I am just sort of rambling around here, trying to figure some things out.

I think an epeeist is more likely to be concerned with truth….or with absolute truth. It is more a part of the weapon.

I was just thinking about all the little things that I believe are true. For example, a tight little “take” using your fingers is better than big ‘take” because you are able to complete the action faster. On the other hand I can think of a time or two, when a big sweeping action works quite well.

I am starting to give up on working out what is true in fencing. I don’t think I will find it today.

Part of what made me want to write all this rambling mess, is a discussion on Fencing Net about coaches that “click the blade” as a sign that the drill is over.
For some reason, the majority of these coaches think it is a bad idea. I think it is such a trivial matter that I can’t believe it is being discussed.

I seem to be in the camp who thinks there is not a DAMN thing wrong with it. There is nothing more beautiful than a coach and student who can run through a half hour of drills without speaking a word. Cues initiating each action and the little “click of the blade” end a sentence in what is truly a conversation of blades. I just love it! It reminds me of a Chinese two man form (kata). It is a joy to watch.

It kind of raises another question for me. If I could be a great fencer, but look like a big goof ball on strip, or be a good middle of the road fencer and always have perfect balance and form, which one would I pick? I really do not know which way I would go.

Yeah I do. I had rather be the artful fencer.

Coward

2011-01-25T05:56:00.000-08:00

I fenced in a tournament this weekend at CFA. I did okay in a pool of five, winning three and losing one. The one I lost to was a left hander. That had some impact, but mostly he was just the superior fencer.

I placed high enough to where I should have had a good chance at winning my first DE. I fenced a young man that was left handed and not a very good fencer. His en guard was neither in four nor six, but somewhere in the middle. He had one action. (A lunge…not a real good one.) I lost to him 15-14. Needless to say, I feel pretty “sucky”.

I was up something like 6 to 3 and I thought I would just double on him for a while and let him panic when the score hit double digits. It was going okay for a few touches and then he caught me and passed me by one. The score was 14-13.He did his lunge and I did a take in two that was beautiful and tied it up 14-14. I have a good take in two. This was the first time I had used it. The next touch I went to counter his lunge and he got the touch. Game over.

Colleen said I gave up control by going for the doubles. Maybe so, but I do not know how I would have had control.

My plan for going into the tournament was to stick with simple direct actions and counters until I felt comfortable trying more complex actions or actions I have been working on. (Or until need dictated a change.)

I think what made me loose and was not using my new or more complex actions. I think what made me not use them was:

A.Being too conservative
B.I was a coward. I was afraid I would fail and they would get the touch.

I am not sure what to do about this. I just do not seem to have a game plan.

Snow....Not Much to Say

2010-12-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

I am snowed in. It is the first white Christmas here sense the sixties. It has occurred to me that most of my fellow fencers can't remember that one, but I do.

I am finding it more and more difficult to maintain this journal. I just don't have anything to say that is not redundant.

There is a two day camp at CHFA this week. I am giving some thought to seeing if I can go for one of the days.

I do not see much in the way of tournaments for me in the near future, though I may be able to squeeze in a couple in January. I will just have to see how it goes.

There is a new video at the NCFDP web site. http://ncfdp.org/ It is long, but it very nice. You can see an example of the type of lessons I use to take with Coach Miller. The young man taking the lessons, is better than I ever was. I felt honored to have a couple of pictures of myself and my training partner included at the end.
The music is more than apporopiate as well.

Observer

2010-12-08T09:22:00.001-08:00

I will be an observer for a Mid-South this weekend.

The observer role needs to change.

In talking to Donny,(Who drove 51/2 hours at the last minute and got paid less than gas money to observe an ASU event. A true hero in my book.)he and Greg are going to submit a petition to allow observers to fence. Not only fence, but fence free. I support this 100%.

Here is why. Observers need to do three things. Check safety. Check registration. Turn in results. They do not need to be the head of the bout committee and who is more aware of safety than a fencer.

Observers were created to take the load off Division officers. If they do not change how events can be observed, there will not be enough observers to handle the job in the future and the load will begin to shift back to the officers. It should be addressed now, otherwise it would be like the way our nations deficit is being handled. Wait for the next guy.

To correct this problem, you fix it so there is an advantage to observing. Make it so people want to do this job. This might entice college kids or folks in the military to want to be observers.

It needs to be fixed. Just saying.

"Interweb" Stuff
Our Division website will almost never let you sign in to post. That could stand to be fixed as well.

I think we have three NC fencing areas on Facebook. I can never remember which one we are using these days. Why not have an OFFICIAL NCUSFA Facebook area. One where anyone can post. Why can't we do that? I guess such a thing would require board approval.

Question
When a sloppy "hacker" beats a technically good fencer, does that make the hacker a good fencer?

This and That

2010-11-14T16:30:00.000-08:00

So Far This Season

I think I have fenced in 6 or 7 tournaments so far this season. One good result; one poor result and the others were about what you would expect given the field and my ability. Over all, I think my results are actually declining a bit.

Vet Fencer Clinic

At JO Qualifiers this weekend, a coach talked to me about the possibility of having a weekend clinic for vet fencers. As usual, his ideas were good ones as far as parts of the program for the clinic.

It seemed interesting to me, that the coach or the coaches who would hold this clinic are all in their thirties. They have fenced sense they were young. It seems to me that it would be extremely difficult to know what it is like or what the needs of a person who started fencing in their 50's would be like. Each decade would hold different needs. (A vet 40 fencers is going to be a heck of a lot different than a Vet 70 fencer.) Each individual would be entirely different from another.
I think what I wonder about most is…..is it futile? At some point in time, even though you are learning, your bodies’ abilities are declining. At some point there must come a point where the lines on a graph intersect. You are learning, but the decline in your body and mind will not allow you to apply what you are learning. If you cannot apply what you learn, then your ability to progress is at an end. I am mostly talking about fencing in open local competitions. Generally when you bring something like this up, someone will tell you that you must fence smarter. I buy that. I also buy that everyone is trying to fence smarter and there are a lot of people out there smarter than me.

Blade Work

I have come to a couple of conclusions about blade work this week. (Right or wrong....and my thoughts on the matter are subject to change and /or revision.)

I studied with Coach for a long time in an effort to become technically proficient. It was time well spent. While my blade work is not great, in some regards it is better than a number of people that I fence. (That sounds immodest, but I think it may be true.) However, there was an unforeseen side effect of this study. I think that I try to use it at the wrong time and often against the wrong people. You are armed with what you know. I know this. If you have concentrated on blade work, then you will want to use that weapon. You will look for the any opportunity to use it, even if the opportunity is not there or the wisest course of action. However, I have found of late that I score more on people with simple direct actions or counters. For a while, (except for the feint action I am working on.) I am going to focus on trying to experiment with some other types of actions. This is hard to explain verbally, but I know what I mean.

Last Tuesday I was in Durham, as my wife was at Duke having eye surgery. I took the opportunity to go fence at Chapel Hill. I fenced some different people and had a private lesson with Coach. My actions in the PL were often not good, but for not having done this in many months, it was not all that terrible. Coach teaches drills that are somewhat static and designed for being technically correct. (I have heard it referred to as "Hungarian Style". I have NO idea if that is true or correct.)

Coach Toomey subscribes to the philosophy that drills should be done in a more bout like environment, with a bit of "Open Eyes" thrown in. He has been very successful in this approach.(I agree with this as well. I even think it would be better to dress out in full gear at practice,just so it would be like a tournament.)

I think, that if there was enough time for coaches and students (And there never is.) it would be best if you could do both.

Drift

This problem of my en guard drifting into four is worrying the heck out of me. I am trying to work on correcting it again. It is going to be hard. I had an idea concerning this. I think I know why it happens. I am fencing another right handed fencer and I am wanting to reach across to get to his weapon or arm which is in my four.

I think besides working on my hand position in the regular way, I may look to changing my fighting line a bit and see if that can help.

Jim the Division Officer

I have been asked by three people now to be a Division officer next season or to Chair the Division. My friend, Grace suggested I be in charge of youth development.

This is a teeny tiny bit of an honor, but mostly it is a plea from people who want you to take it so they don't get stuck with it.

I like to think that I make a big effort to pay back those who have helped me. I feel like I have paid back the people and club that helped me get started in fencing.
I feel like I have always been active in helping with Divisional events. I feel like I have done more than many for the Division. I think my account is paid up in that regard. Of course there are people who have helped me in fencing that I have no idea how to pay back as well. But I digress.

I have some personal problems that I think might inhibit me from being able to do a good job as a Division officer. It is a thankless job and people will whine and complain about whatever you do.

Oddly enough, I am still thinking about it.

Dancing Bear

I saw a couple of clips of me fencing not too long ago. I thought I was moving like a dancing bear.

Tommy tells me I am moving smoother, but I can't tell it. I am never going to have the foot work of a young person and I (like other Vet 50 men) are never going to bounce more than about 15 seconds in a bout. I want to give this more thought. I am not sure what I can do about it.

Sabre Kid Moms

This weekend I went to watch JO Qualifiers. It was a good event and I got to see some of my favorite young people and not so young people.

I watched a lot of sabre for some reason.

One of the interesting things about youth events are sabre moms.

Almost always, you will see a sabre mom rush to her child at the eight point break with a water bottle in their first DE. It always makes me smile. The kid has not been fencing thirty seconds, but she is not going to be outdone by those foil and epee moms.

~ Shrug ~

2010-10-24T07:20:00.001-07:00

I almost posted today. However, after reading it, I found I really did not have anything to say or record.

Maybe I need more caffeine.

RFC Event

2010-09-20T05:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday I fenced in an RFC tournament. To say it was hot in the venue (no AC) would be an understatement. I have rarely been happier not to be a fencer who wears a lame.

The epee event had 18 fencers. Some had to drop out due to a long delay in starting. This could not be helped due to a computer problem and the fact that this was a tournament designed to test and train new referees. That sort of thing goes slowly.

I was tied for second coming out of pools. I won all my bouts. (Please note, that I had the easiest pool and the results would have been different had I been in one of the others. Just telling it like it is.)

My first DE was against a UNC fencer, who I beat 5-1 in pools. I made the same mistake I made in the first tournament of the season when I was fencing a woman. I was over confident. I told myself I would fence every fencer there like they were the best fencer in the event, but I did not. I am a slow learner. I had to come back from her 4 or 5 point lead in order to win. I did, but it was still bad on my part.

My second DE was also another learning experience. I started by looking for some way to set up an attack or a “take” that would work well against this guy. Shortly in to the bout I was down 8 to 2. I focused and started doing simple direct attacks and trying to use what Toomey said were my strengths. (Timing and distance.) To make a long story short, I came back, but lost the bout 15-13 or 15-12. I am not sure as the results are not posted. It was a decent comeback, but a loss non-the-less. If I had won this, I would have gone up in the ratings. I do want to fence this guy again!

As I was signing the score sheet, the ref (someone from out of state, that I don’t know.) looked at me and said, “Stuff”. He said, “Where I come from……we call it stuff. You got stuff!” That made me happy. It took the edge off my defeat for sure. I finished 5th in the event.

My training partner, Henri finished 8th and got her “E” rating. This was something long overdue and there is no one prouder of her than me. In the scheme of things, people may over look what this means. However, if you are a late blooming vet fencer and a petite woman to boot, competing in an Open event this is awesome! Only another vet could really understand this.

(Notes for Coach Toomey and Coach Dietz: Henri won this bout against a very tall C rated UNC women’s fencer. The actions she used to score were: She feinted low to the leg or foot to draw the attack and then fleched. She used this many times during the bout. She scored 4 or 5 touches on an in-fighting situation. You do NOT want her getting past your point! She lost a couple of points by attacking out of distance.

Other Things of Note

I got to talk to Coach Miller a lot. He was very supportive of us at the event, though he was there to watch his fencers. (Note: He could not coach his fencers at the event due to NCAA regulations. He could only observe.) I miss Coach. I wish I saw him more often.

There was a really good group of women epeeist from UNC at the event. These girls were friendly and had good social skills. (Rare for fencers.) ( Please note that I realize that I should call these young women……”women”….and not …”girls”…..however, at my age it seems more appropriate.) They are a good friendly bunch. I liked them all. In particular, I liked one named Shannon. She is personable and has good sense of humor. UNC has some tall ones in the bunch as well.

As proud as I was of Henri, I felt bad for the “C” fencer that lost to her. We all know that anguish.

I have often seen young male fencers fence Kerry and Henri(petite vet women fencers) and after winning a close bout seem smug or cocky. I just want to slap them in the back of the head and tell them they are idiots. I did not see this at the event Sunday. I just happened to think of that as I was writing. I hope I never seem this way to anyone that does not desperately need an ego deflation.

Noble or Bitterest

2010-09-05T04:22:00.000-07:00

'By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by
reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest;
and third by experience, which is the bitterest". - Confucius

I figured it out on a drive back from a tournament, as I sometimes do.

I wonder why I don't ever seem to figure things out on the way TO a tournament.

My attacks and takes have seemed useless of late. I seem to only counter and make simple direct attacks. I felt something was wrong. I thought it was because a fencer was new or had a stiff arm...or something. My actions I like to do just felt like they should not be done.

Well....the epee-sense was tingling and rightly so. I am out of distance to make my attacks or do my "takes". Yeah...yeah...yeah...That doesn't sound like such a difficult or great revelation. But it is....sort of.

I have been working on several things over the summer. One of which is getting my opponent to attack out of distance. Another is knowing my opponents distance as well as mine. I have been opening up the distance when I fence and my opponents are doing the same. I can't reach anyone.

There is a lot more to think about in this regard. If you are at the furtherest distance that you can attack and be attacked by your opponent, then only simple direct attacks and counters will work? I need to experiment with just getting in there and slugging it out? I will experiment this week.

More Notes

2010-09-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

Retreat;retreat;long retreat...half advance.

I Think I am Becoming More of a Watson than a Holmes.

2010-08-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Brett. The best Sherlock Holmes EVER!

The Game is Afoot!

This weekend I fenced in Charlottesville, VA in a CFA (Charlottesville Fencing Alliance) tournament. It was my first event of the season. I did fairly well in pools, (for me, that is), winning 4 and losing 2 by 1 point. Both went past 5 points. I finished 10th out of pools with a plus 9 indicator in a field of 32. My first DE was against the 23rd seeded person. I made a huge mistake and lost. Lesson learned, I hope. (I almost did not make this post as I was so embarrassed by my performance at the event.)

It was strange mix of fencers, which I like. It reminds me of past events in my Division.

When I go to a small tournament, I like to have a short warm up, and then fence for a bit. (If I can get a strip and someone to fence.) Then I start my information gathering by watching others warm up. This gives a lot of info, but I do not see everyone warm up.

I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. I like to observe people and determine what I can ascertain about them. This is difficult in everyday life. People are more homogenized in comparison to the days of Sherlock Holmes. I learn more about people by walking by their car, than observing them.

The following are a few of the things I look for or listen to when I am at a tournament:

1. Are they wearing fencing shoes?
2. Is their name on the back of their jacket?
3. Are they wearing a jacket with a number or something that indicates it is a club jacket?
4. Do they have a brand new uniform and/or weapon?
5. Are they wearing an FIE uniform?
6. Do they have markings showing they have competed in international events?
7. Are they wearing a club patch? What is it?
8. What is their level of fitness?
9. Are they alone?
10. If they have their name on their jacket, is it old and faded?
11. Is a coach spending more time with one student than another? What is she/he showing them or telling them?
12. Are they using a French grip? Is the grip thick and weighted? Are they tall and using a French grip?
13. Does their mask have a lot of inspection marks?
14. Do they seem to know a lot of people not in their club?
15. Do they seem nervous?
16. Do they seem to have social skills? This is pretty easy to pick out, as most fencers are very limited in this area.
17. Do the fencers or their coaches have foreign accents?
18. Do they have parents/spouse or someone watching them? Can any information be gathered from the way these people are dressed or overheard conversations?
19. Conversations at the registration desk; on the floor or in the changing area.
20. What kind of bag are they using for their equipment? (If any.) Is it a hard case? If so are there stickers or other info on it?

These are just some of my observations, as well as the obvious ones like height, gender and age.

It became clear to me at this tournament that I should back off taking in this kind of information. I am not Sherlock Holmes. My assumptions are not always correct.

For example: There was a young man in my pool wearing an FIE uniform with slight indications of wear, and good and slightly worn fencing shoes. His name on the back of his jacket was slightly faded. I would fence him first in pools and would not get to see him fence prior to that. I suspected he might be an experienced fencer. He wasn’t.

I made an assumption about another fencer in my pool who bowed like he was at a Renaissance festival after saluting. (Once in a while you see some guy that does this sort of thing in local tournaments. I have no idea why!) My assumption was, “OH boy!...A gift….I am going to beat the tar out of this guy.” I did. So far, this assumption has yet to be wrong.

I fenced a couple of times at a club in Las Vegas. The head coach was the former coach for Notre Dame. A quote of his was on a sign hanging in that club. It said, “The answer is on the strip.” I need to remind myself that the information needed is on the strip. I will not quit playing Sherlock Holmes. I like it too much. However, I will remember that he was a fictional character who was almost always correct. I must remember that information I gather prior to fencing someone is an assumption and not to put too much stock in it.

One Other Thing

I noticed in this tournament, that the majority of touches I scored were simple direct attacks, mainly stealing distance, an opponent without a good sense of distance, and counters. Lately, I have spent a lot of time working on various attacks, setting up attacks. I think my “takes” and parry/riposte are not bad, and I like using them. However, in this tournament they rarely “felt” like the right thing to do. An opponent's arm would be too stiff, a new fencer who did weird things that made me question if an action would work on them. There were good fencers who kept the distance open. Some had a long lunge and a fast recovery, and I felt out of distance. I just never felt that I should use some of the things I have been working on or use actions I feel most comfortable doing. I have always heard that simple actions are best, but I felt like something was wrong with what I am doing. I don’t know why I fenced this way. I don’t know if it was the correct thing to do. Maybe I am just overthinking it.

Notes

2010-08-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes this is not a blog, but a fencing journal. Nothing interesting to read here…..move along

I am locking my rear leg sometimes. Must fix. Look for this in others when I attack.

I use to have my en guard drift into four. I worked hard to fix it, but it is back. Must Fix.

I am standing up when I counter (sometimes) and not returning to en guard. Again….must fix.

Relaxing on strip is better, relaxing shoulders comes and goes, though I am making progress. Do target exercises.

The Division (A Double Connotation)

2010-08-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I attended the NC Divisional Meeting. This is the first Divisional meeting I have attended. My reasons for not attending in the past are:

A. I do not consider myself to be of significance within the Division.

B. I soured on Divisional matters about 5 years ago. While it is much better today, I am still not totally over it.

C. There is no one less political than me.

The reason I decided to attend: one of the topics for discussion from a group of people interested in a splitting the NC Division. I though this was a topic to be discussed. The meeting was interesting, but the “biggie” was saved for last.

If I had known that a petition was already filed and the deed was done, I would not have bothered to attend. I found this out as the topic was brought up. I have no idea why there was a discussion about it after the fact. I figured this is what it must be like to be in a long term relationship with someone, and then one of them breaks up with the other over the phone.

The whole thing was uncomfortable. The seating was almost directly divided (not by design) with the people wanting to leave the Division on one side, and the people wanting it to stay together on the other. I was in the group “that did not want it to split up”. There were crossed arms and tight jaws staring across the room at crossed arms and tight jaws.

I didn’t want to fight with these people. I always felt welcomed when I fenced at their clubs. Fortunately, I don’t think it ever reached the level of “fight”. It still sucked. I left in a hurry, as oddly enough I was heading to the coast.

On the drive down, I analyzed the meeting over and over in my head. I tried to look at things from the side of the group who wanted to leave the Division. I thought about the reasons stated for wanting to leave. The things said and the things unsaid. I thought about why I did not want the split, when in truth, it would not affect me personally at all.

I was born in this state. I had to take a class called “North Carolina History”, which had to be the most boring class ever. I had to learn the state dog and the state sea shell. Yes….there is an official state everything. While naïve, living here all my life has made me sentimental concerning the state and this transferred to the Division. As I looked across the room during the meeting, I realized that a person from another area could not share this type of feeling. I also realized that my emotional attachment to the State and the Division were nice, but it really had no meaningful bearing on what was happening. You could not say, “Hey…Wait…Jim has an emotional attachment to the State. Don’t split it up.” It is not relevant.

Often on AskFred, when I have registered for a tournament, and you have to enter the club affiliation, I have thought I should just put down “Divisional”. I am a member of the Greensboro Fencers' Club (formerly the Downtown Fencing Club.) I have been a member of NCFDP and proudly studied with Coach Miller both in Chapel Hill and Greensboro over the last four years. I was briefly a member of Mid-South Fencers' Club when they were in Greensboro. I am presently affiliated with the Charlotte Fencing Academy. I have studied with Alex Beguinet, and I have lost count of how many seminars I have attended at Raleigh Fencers' Club. I go wherever I can to study fencing in the state. Again, this is an emotional thing and has no real bearing on splitting the Division.

These are some of the reasons given for wanting to leave the Division and my opinion on them. (Please note, that this how I remember it after four days.)

A.“It is too big.” This means the total distance across the state. Not the membership, which has slipped into the three hundreds with USFA memberships. Eh…..maybe…..maybe not. Going across the state from the coast, fencing begins to tapper down in Durham and ends in the line hooking Charlotte and Greensboro. ASU pops up again in the mountains. That is a shame, as I have always thought Winston Salem and Asheville could support good clubs. I guess it is relative to what you consider “big”. Other Divisions have greater distances to drive.

B. Herman brought up that it is a four hour drive to Charlotte for JO’s if a qualifier is held there. I can buy that. There is a tournament in Charlottesville, VA this weekend that I would like to attend. It is about that same distance, and I doubt I will go due to the drive. If you are a coastal club you do have the length and breadth of the about half the state to contend with on one side and England on the other.

C.Greg wants to grow that area in terms of fencing. Short term, I don’t see the need to be another Division to do this. Long term, maybe. The proposed new Division doesn’t expect to divide any money that the current Division has. They said they would start from scratch. So, in the long run, after they had some funds, they could be used to grow that area. If you wanted to get on with it now, you could stay in the present Division and apply for funding.

Here is what I tried to bring up during the meeting. That during this time of economic uncertainty and other reasons, clubs could be lost in the future. The smaller the Division the greater the impact this will have, and the larger it is, the more easily that loss can be absorbed. It went over like a lead balloon.

Here is what was unsaid. How does this split help the current Division? How does this split help the Non-coastal Division? That never came up. Also not mentioned was that part of the reasoning for this had to do with bad blood between people and clubs and some personal agendas (That is an assumption. If I am wrong in that regard, I apologize.)

There was discussion on this not being in line with NCUSFA Mission statement and some other things that I hope I never have to understand regarding USFA rules and regulations.

Perhaps a petition should be submitted not to split the division. If so....for gods sake....don't tell anyone or talk about it before hand. Evidently, this is the way it is done.

I have no idea if Divisions or Division qualifiers will even have a place in the near future. I have no idea what will happen next or when. What I do know is that my opinion has changed from “ I would like the Division to stay together” to “ Okay…Hell…Whatever.”

Also at the Division Meeting…….

I found out at each meeting the board wrestles with the restrictions Divisional Observers have placed on them. Good! I think that they should rethink the whole thing. The whole thing is based on thinking someone will do something wrong; be biased or cheat. I have fenced at every club in this state except one and my feeling is that no one is going to intentionally cheat or do anything wrong. There will be some bad calls reffing. If you don’t think a Divisional Observer is an honorable person, don’t let them observe. It is THE most boring job in the world. You should check membership and check safety. At that point you do almost nothing until you get home. I say if they want to ref….let them ref. If they want to fence….let them fence. It reminds me of the rule about wearing a knee brace outside of your uniform. A blade might get hung in it. Well...it might....but what are the odds. Trust people to do the right thing and loosen up.

Follow up to Circle Six

2010-08-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.fencing.net/forums/blogs/allen-evans/7740-limiting-ballistic-throw.html

See what you think Thomas.

In reading this, it seems that many factors go in to what type of action to use.

Three of which are: Distance; speed and trajectory.
Oddly enough, that DOES sound like rocket science.

Enough on this topic, I have over thought it.

Circle Six in Opposition

2010-08-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

Cast of Characters:

Brian Toomey: Coach and Owner of Charlotte Fencing Academy.

Ron Miller: Coach of the University of North Carolina Fencing Team (NCAA team) and both father and grandfather to North Carolina fencing.

Tommy Dietz: “A” rated Epeeist and Coach at the Greensboro Fencers' Club. Tommy started fencing in Greensboro, and then studied at Charlotte Fencing Academy. He is a member of the Charlotte Fencing Academy. It really gets confusing trying to label him.

Henri Gales: A petite woman fencer (yes…woman…Henri Ellen) who appears to be a perfect Southern Belle (except for the fact that she is a vicious little fencer and if you pour holy water on her skin, it will sizzle and blister.)

Jim Kent: Just another late blooming vet fencer.

(Note: An out of state friend asked me to clarify about people mentioned in my journal.)

Circle Six

Thursday evening I went to the Charlotte Fencing Academy. Generally, we head down on Fridays. (We pay a strip fee to fence.....though we often get more out of it than just fencing.) We have been going on Fridays due to length of driving time (three to four hours round trip). Brian was kind enough to include us in the drill segment. It was a simple drill, circle six in opposition or a form of circle six opposition.

The drill has often occupied my thoughts since then for a number of reasons. Coach Toomey's circle six is different from the way previously instructed by Coach Miller. (Yes……I know that just as there are different ways to do a beat, there may be different ways to do other simple actions.) What continually goes through my mind is……”Which is the superior action?……Or is there a superior action?”

For the last four years or so, I have been working to have some degree of technical proficiency. Coach Miller is a great coach for that. In his training, circle 6 in opposition is a cork screw motion continually moving forward, and the action is more of a “J” than a circle. (This was imperative as circle six in opposition or the drill “Six Wall” was the foundation for most other drills.) In Brian's version, the action has more of a “V”, and there is a split second of holding the blade after the “take” before going in. (Note: If Toomey reads this, there will be a comment on my description of the action. Please read that, as I am sure there will meaningful comment and correction.)

Technically, the “cork screw action” that continually moves forward seems superior as it takes less time. I have spent a lot of time trying to make that action autonomic. However, the drill in Charlotte was designed to be more tactical. The drill was designed to be like what actually happens on strip. The coach is not wearing a sleeve, nor has his elbow bent to form the perfect pocket for the attack. The cue is not resting the tip on the bell guard. The coach is not helping you to succeed in the action.

I cannot objectively evaluate myself as far as fencing actions or fencing in general. I can however, evaluate my training partner (Henri) somewhat objectively. I would say that her blade work is pretty good. She might be better at it than me, but we should be on a similar level. I am going to watch her and try and draw some sort of conclusion concerning what makes more sense for our level regarding circle six in opposition. I would like to form some type of conclusion.

Yet another note: Coach Toomey often states, “Fencing is not rocket science.” However, it is complicated enough to make my small mind ponder things for hours and hours.

I have also spent twice a week in Greensboro training with Tommy. He has been working with me on: relaxing my shoulder; flicks; and, stealing distance tactics. The things I study with him seem more difficult than circle six. Yet, basics are always important.

I wonder if I will ever be able to make the things I am learning effective on strip?

Did you fence?

2010-07-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

How is it going?

Sometimes you become so focused on where you are going, you forget where you were. In working with Tommy, I have increased the number of attacks in my arsenal quite a bit. Not too long ago, I felt very limited in my number of attacks. It is time to buy a nice notebook and record them all. I have been meaning to do this for over a year and am looking forward to this.

I am much happier with my ability to attack; though figuring out which ones work on different opponents seems to be eluding me.

I am making some progress in setting up attacks with footwork and tempo changes. There is still a long way to go though. My balance seems to be a bit better, but I am becoming increasingly unhappy with my footwork in general. It helps to be with Henri and Tommy. Tommy has strong athletic and threatening footwork. Henri is quick and very balanced. Her feet are always under her.

Tommy has a great yielding parry, and we are beginning to work on this. I will need to see how this goes, as stepping in with this action seems like such a foreign concept. On the other hand, I never got really good at stepping back when I parry, so nothing is ingrained.

I am working on relaxing and am making a small amount of progress there. Relaxing when out of distance is becoming a bit better, relaxing my shoulders when attacking is going to take a lot of work. I spent too many years punching people. Relaxing before the punch for speed and then tensing up at the point of impact has always been reflected in my fencing. It is hard to change.

Committing to an attack is a problem. (Not hesitating…actually “not hesitating” and “not committing” may be two separate issues.)

Another problem is being confident enough to draw an attack. I pretty much have nothing there.

Confidence is becoming a problem. I am feeling old, fat and not much of a threat to anyone on strip. My training partner's confidence seems to have improved somewhat. She has also made great progress. I feel like I am falling behind.

I feel like I am learning a great deal lately; however, having the ability to put it to good use is escaping me. I have some time before the season starts again. I will just continue to work hard and hope others are resting.

Escrime

I just bought a new fencing jacket from Escrime. I bought some of their knickers a while back and really liked them. Partly because they are light; off white and a bit shiny. Mostly,I liked them because they do not have Velcro. I needed a jacket that matched those knickers.

My previous jackets had been PBT. (I tried to support vendors in North Carolina when ever I could.) They were good. They are also very heavy and this new one is so very, very light in weight. I would recommend it if you fence in a hot environment. Part of the cuffs have a elastic insert which allows the glove to slide on easily. The only thing I don't like is that the retaining clip is plastic. I am not sure how that will hold up. Time will tell.

My PBT jackets have lasted a long time. The products I have from PBT are "tanks". I have an epee I have had for 5 years and never done anything to the tip. Of course, being a "tank", that weapon is heavy and I don't often use it. The body cord is the same way. Of course, the bad thing about the PBT body cords is they don't fit well into other makes of weapons.

Being a Vet 50 Fencer

I dress in jeans and fencing T-shirts most of the time. (Partly because I am proud of being a fencer and partly to promote the sport.) From time to time, people will ask me about fencing.

Twice in the last few months,a person has asked me. "Did you fence?"

I wish I could capture verbally the look of disgust on my face when asked that. I will leave it to your imagination.

Thanks to my editor!

Epee Fable and The Off Season

2010-07-07T04:23:00.000-07:00

There is rarely much of interest to read online about fencing. The lowest point for things to read in this country is during summer (the off season) and during Summer Nationals (which is this week). (Except for results of the tournament and interesting post on Facebook about the event.) Summer Nationals is the big national tournament with around 6,500 fencers in attendance. I am not attending this year, even though it is fairly close. I hate I missed it.
I decided to post something about fencing online. It will not be interesting either, but somehow it helps with the lack of fencing I am experiencing.

1. Broken epee blades make nice stakes for your tomato plants. They are easy to insert in the ground. I knew they were good for something!

2. A definition: Epeelysia or The Epeelysian Fields (PN) The place where the souls of virtuous epeeist find peace and a place to bounce in the afterlife.

(Note: I saw this some place on Fencing.net and really liked it. I tried to find the post again to give credit to the person who wrote it, but was unable to find the post again.) Further info: The Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, were the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous in Greek mythology.

3. An Epee Fable By Jim Kent

Once upon a time, a young epeeist wandered through his back yard. Like all good epeeist, he carried his beloved weapon in his gloved hand. In his frustration (Caused by lack of fencing….no doubt.) he whipped his blade back and forth making a Zorro- like sound as his blade cut through the air. He spotted the laundry his mother had hung out to dry in the warm sun and advanced and bounced toward it. He in engaged a damp shirt with his blade and poked a wet towel from extension distance. He turned and lunged into one of the poles holding up the rope on which his mother’s wash was hung. Sadly, a nest of wasps were living in that pole. They swarmed out and attacked the young epeeist. He dropped his weapon and fled the backyard screaming and peeling off his clothes as he ran.

Moral: The moral of the story is: “Never attack into a close line.”

Beer and Coaching

2010-06-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Coaches College

I have applied to Coaches College for Epee 1. Now, to wait on acceptance and to see, if with such short notice, they can get the number of people needed to actually have the program. I am not optimistic.

Why am I doing this?

It is somewhat local this year and therefore a bargain price. I still have no great desire to coach, but I find myself doing so more and more. I used to feel that I did not know enough to coach. To some extent I still feel that way, however I am becoming comfortable with teaching at a low to low intermediate level, and I know where to send students for higher level instruction should the time come. Besides, as I am coaching some anyway, I should strive to become better at it.

Should this program for coaching actually come into being this August, I see it as something for the future. At some point in the future, I may wish to coach or help more in coaching Epee. It may be that having some credentials would be of benefit. Who can say?

I have this feeling that in the future fencing will take a leap forward in popularity. Not to mainstream levels, but higher than it is now. It could be because of a movie. It could be because of someone using fencing as the latest fitness craze. It could be because all those karate places in every strip mall will look for a way to boost profits. I am rarely correct in seeing into the future, but I have a feeling about this. If a miracle happens, and I am correct in my predictions, more coaches will be needed.

Another reason for doing this is, it is one of my goals in fencing. Few of my goals in fencing are totally within my hands. This one is. I find that comforting.

Mid-South Fencing Club on Friday

I am heading to Mid-South Fencing Club on Friday to act as a Division Observer for a tournament. There is food and perhaps beer afterward. This means I will miss practice again in Charlotte. Beer and good food can soften that blow.

This is the last thing happening locally this season. I am not going to compete in Nationals, so the long wait for fencing in the fall starts. Beer and a cookout seem like a good way to end it.

Random Things

2010-06-13T06:24:00.000-07:00

Book Review

For my birthday I received the book, "Masters of the Sword and their Books" by Chris Karcher. It is nonfiction and an easy half day read. It is sort of a catalog of swordsmanship and fencing masters from 1516 to 1799. It has little in the way of useful information on fencing, However, I love this sort of thing, and there are some interesting quotes and fantastic illustrations. If you like to dabble from time to time into fencing history, I would recommend it for your library.

“Offence is a defense” Ridolfo Capo Ferro

“In the end, fencing is systematic, it is scientific; it is thoughtful. Fencing is control. “ William Hope

It is evident beyond a doubt that, in reducing this art to simple principles, we easily discover that in reality it consists in a very few things.” J. Oliver

“The point is to be preferred over the edge, both because it arrives quicker and hurts more” Giacomo di Grassi

“Tell it Giacomo!....yeah dawg !” Jim Kent

Gifts for Those Who Listen

Friday night: Tommy, Henri and I headed down to Charlotte Fencing Academy for some bouting. In between bouts, I watch others bout or take lessons. There is a lot of useful information to be had by listening to coaches correct students or give private lessons at CFA. I think that if you did not fence at all and just took the time to listen to what is being said, it would not be wasted fencing experience. Odds are if it applies to another fencer, it will apply to me. This is the type of information I hunger for.

Balance

I think my balance is improved by just paying attention to it. I worked on that in bouting Friday night. To a lesser degree, I worked on trying to be more relaxed….and even more relaxed out of distance. During the week, when I fenced with Tommy, I became aware that my weapon hand would drift into four. At this point, I believe it to be a combination of too much and too big blade actions and trying to keep my arm in different positions to avoid his nasty flick. Still, I must keep an eye on this, and for a while during practice, I will try to keep a stable/standard en guard in six. Balance/relax/good six… doesn't sound like much to work on….but it is. This is what I will work for the coming week.

The New Karate Kid Movie

I haven’t seen it yet. But, in watching the trailer and thinking about a fencing movie being made along the same lines,the weapon would need to be epee. Otherwise you would need half the movie to explain RoW.

Just saying.

Just Thinking

In two years I can fence Vet 60. I hope I can still hang in two years.

Bye Nicole

2010-06-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend Nicole Agresto will graduate from high school. Three of us from the Greensboro club will be in attendance. (Okay…One of the three is CFA….but he started with us….and it overlaps from time to time. It gets so confusing.)

Nicole is the last of the “original kids”. I remember when she was twelve and so quiet and shy. Now she is “Miss Social”.

With her parting we will also rarely see her family. That will be sad as well.

Coach Miller tried to recruit her for the UNC team. It is always interesting to watch him go through the proper NCAA procedure. I have seen him do it many times now. She decided to go to ECU instead, as their program fits her needs and that is where her friends are going.

She plans to fence at ECU, so I am sure our paths will cross from time to time. (As well as our blades.)

We love you Nicole. Be safe. Study hard.

Balance

2010-05-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended a one day camp at Charlotte Fencing Academy. It is a good camp and I would recommend it.

I was there for a number of reasons, but the main one was to work on balance.

While playing “THE Drill”, I found that I was leaning forward, waiting on the lunge. (“THE Drill” is something borrowed from a Michael Marx training camp.) My feet were not under me. I tried to be more mindful of that the rest of the day.

I have come up with a couple of theories concerning this lack of balance.

1. Age

2. Leaning forward and not having my feet under me.

3. 235 pounds moving fast forward or fast backwards does not stop as fast as 150 pounds. I can squat 450 pounds or so. My legs are strong. I can push this old heavy body forward with some power, however stopping it is a problem.

4.I try to get past my opponents tip to often and stopping the rush of my body is going to throw me off balance. (Brian called me on the “balance thing” doing this.)

5.All of the above

I am not going to figure this out or fix it in one day. But being aware of it and working on it may help in time.

We played a great game called “War” at this camp. It has other names, but the club, “degeeked” it a bit. It has a lot of the fun of fencing “doubles epee” but is not limited to four people. The kids at our club in Greensboro could not handle this game. They are too young and I am afraid they would get hurt.

During the drill segments of the camp, we worked on a move that began with a check forward (kind of a half advance) and offering an invitation. I rarely use an invitation like this, as nothing demoralizes me more than to offer and invitation and then get hit there. But what interested me about the drill is the check forward or half advance. This check forward is not like the way I do it. Of course I do not check forward very often. I check back all the time. I don’t use half advance or half retreat very often that I am aware of. This is a mistake and I need to go back and review some basic footwork.

A camp like this would be hard thing for me to envision pulling off. Three weapons and fencers of different levels make it difficult. The epee group was at a level where we could be left alone to bout and help each other. There were two new kids there, but they were looked after by the others. I was particularly impressed with a young man named Sam and his guidance and patience in working with a beginner. I saw a side of him I had not seen before.

It was a day well spent.

Are We....Or Aren't We?

2010-05-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

My training partner (Henri)and I never wanted to be coaches. Being late blooming vet fencers, we wanted to devote ourselves to the learning of all things fencing. Being a late blooming vet fencer, you are constantly aware that your time to compete may be ending at any time.....so you best get on with it. Yet, we also felt an obligation to give back to the club and to the people who got us started.

We attended Coaches Collage for FOIL I at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. We did so as we thought we were losing a Foil coach for a year, and we wanted to help out at our local club.

Speaking only for myself, even after taking the FOIL I course, I think Epee is the only weapon I would feel comfortable teaching (up to a low/intermediate level). One of the most difficult things in fencing is .......evaluating yourself. Would I really be a decent Epee coach....or am I fooling myself? Would I want to be?

The Greensboro Fencers' Club is a low level/introductory/recreational club. All the coaches are unpaid volunteers. We have had some success over the years, and partly I believe it is because we encourage students to seek better coaching and instruction (whenever possible). Locally....we are pretty much it.

My training partner and I have been studying under an NCAA coach for the last four years or so in Chapel Hill. We belonged to two clubs. We have always tried to set aside a time for study...improve (hopefully) and keep that time separate from helping at our local club. Of late, we are trying to study at CFA in Charlotte, NC (time and distance are a problem there, but it is worth the effort to study under someone with an excellent program and a different approach to coaching).

I digress. Back to the topic.

At the Greensboro Fencers' Club, my partner and I do the following jobs:

1. Move curtains, chairs, bleachers and open up cabinets prior to class.
2. Get kids dressed out.
3. Wash bib liners.
4. Wash plastrons and uniforms.
5. Order equipment.
6. Repair equipment/get equipment repaired.
7. Communicate with Proehlific Park staff and fulfill their request. Examples: Rosters
8. Communicate with coaches to let them know what is going on.
9. Schmooze with parents to get them involved.
10. Work on getting club T-shirts for the kids.
11. Attend fencing clinics to improve our value to the club.
12. Participate within the Division and Divisional activities. Example: Observer clinic; observe at tournaments; help with set up of Divisional tournaments and represent the club in Divisional matters.
13. Run demos requested by Proehlific Park.
14. Attend functions when invited by Proehlific Park staff.
15. Substitute for other coaches when they are late or absent.
16. Compete.
17. Attend local tournaments with kids.
18. Meet fencers and parents when a fencing vendor is in town and help them choose equipment.
19. Educate parents on fencing.
20. Help with Sectionals.
21. Responsible for competitive class.
22. Work to rebuild a competitive class.
23. Arrange payment for guest coaches.
24. Put away equipment.
25. Keep in contact with former students and parents.
26. Prepare hand outs for new students with vocabulary and web sites.
27. Create and maintain first aid kit.
28. Create and maintain tournament equipment check out log.
29. Private lessons for kids.
30. Dress out and fence with kids preparing for tournaments.
31. Study with other coaches to bring back games and knowledge for the kids.
32. Clean out and organize closets.
33. Maintain relationships with other clubs and coaches.

On the Greensboro Fencers' Club roster, we are listed as assistant coaches. Are we? Even though we do not believe we know enough, should we think of ourselves as coaches? Does this fit in with "the reality of need outweighs the desire for perfection" in my previous post?. Does it matter one way or the other?

These aren't big questions, but I have been pondering them of late.

The Reality of Need

2010-05-05T06:54:00.000-07:00

Sectionals

I attended Sectionals a couple of weeks ago. More than that, I helped with Sectionals. There was a call for help with the tournament, but in some way I feel that I invited myself.

I got there around 2:00 Friday and brought in pamphlets and stuffed bags for fencers. I carried chairs, tables and all manner of things upstairs. I ran various errands and helped with set up. There was small group of good people doing this. A few alway seem to be involved in this sort of thing. It is a job even more thankless than reffing.

In my mind I was thinking of a Jackson Browne song whose lyrics talk about "Roadies: setting up for a concert". The Load Out / Stay - Live 1978. "Pack it up and tear it down....they're the first to come and the last to leave."

It wasn't just set up, good people floated in at the end to help with pack up as well.

I have set up for a lot of tournaments, but this was the highest level tournament with which I have been involved. I learned a neat trick for smoothing out copper strips using a table which I had not seen before. That copper strip was the beginning of my learning experience and a thing I have been reflecting.

As I looked at this ancient strip, with duck tape and wrinkles and more than a couple of holes, I thought about a question on the Epee Ref exam which questions what to do if a hole is found in the strip during a tournament.

The reality of need outweighs the desire for perfection. We were lucky to have this strip, and although it had some holes and duct tape, we were still lucky to have it.

Mostly, the Refs at the event whom I knew were very good and very professional. One was not. That Ref will not be corrected because the reality of need outweighs the desire for perfection.

There was a thread on fencing.net concerning the rules regarding names on jackets at national events, and if this applies to qualifiers. I watched as an NC fencer received a Red Card for this. Whatever the correct verdict is on this discussion, if you fence at a tournament of this level, you should have your name on your jacket or leg.....or lame. You should know that. I am not worried about it one way or the other. "Me and mine" have our names on our jacket.....right color......more or less the right size. The reality of a need to make a call outweighed the need for the perfection of the call.

I suspect that in most every tournament you could find an error or fault. There is a fine line between "nit picking" and violation of the rules. What is it? Where is it? Most everyone seems to know where it is. Depending on who you are, and how tolerant you are this gray area may be wider or narrower. Still, it is an unspoken agreement. Weird....huh?

I do not recall ever criticizing any tournament. I never feel like I know enough to do so for one thing.(There was one I should have criticized, but even that was such a learning experience I will not do so).

In fencing at this event, in the initial seed I was ranked one away from the bottom. I knew I was very much outclassed going in to the event. I figured this is how it would end up. In retrospect, I think I should have just kept my money.

My one and only DE was 15-10. My Allstar blade broke on the last touch. (I hate that. It was a blade that I think was made in Germany, before they started having them made in China). I had to salute at the end with a broken blade, half of it was dangling. Greg Spahr was kind enough to critique my bout. He pointed out a lot of useful things. Some I knew and did not utilize. For example, I was fencing a guy who was using a French grip and pommeling. I never miss something like that, but I did this time and didn't even know. The reason was that I had already given up....or at least just wanted to get it over with. I don't EVER give up, no matter the score or who I am fencing. The fact that I did that really bothers me.

Message in a Bottle

More and more of late, I want to talk with someone who is an expert on late blooming vet fencers. Sadly, I don't truly believe one exists. I thought about asking this question on fencing.net, but that is a message in a bottle. I have some theories now about people that start fencing in their fifties, and I would like to verify them or correct them if I am wrong.

Gorilla Tape

I noticed as we were taking up strips and cords that the red tape and the Gorilla tape were pulling the finish of the gym floor. I am afraid some day someone is going to get a bill for damages at a tournament. I am thinking that in this instance, need and desire should be kicked to the curb and just use painters tape.

Fencing at Charlotte Fencing Academy

Tommy, Henri and I went down to CFA two weeks ago. We got in a little bouting and had a critique of our fencing from Brian. He pointed out my balance was not good. This is the second time he has stated this. I sort of brushed it off the first time he said so, as I thought it was my knee. I was thinking about doing it again, because I was fencing Miles. For me, Miles "means attacking out of distance". I have to look into it though. The same call twice means there is a problem. I am not sure what it is. I don't feel off balance......unless I attack out of distance. I am also considering that as you age, your balance declines. Is this an age thing.....the way I move....other.......some combination of the two? Damn.....another thing to think about.

A Gift

2010-04-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

I discovered this week that Coach Miller has given me a gift that I did not know I had.

I was working with an adult partner in the 4 week “Introduction to Fencing “class. I was the leader of course. (Note: Read leader as target.) I discovered that I can see all the things in other people fencing epee that he has corrected in me over the years. I can see every dang one of them. I have to make myself focus and I do not see them as fast……but I see them. Who knew?

(To-soon-the-foot disease; proper en guard in six; point is to high in the action; elbow pooches out; shoulder to tense;not holding the weapon properly; drifting out of six into four;not enough energy; thinking speed equates to energy; arm is to tense; using to much wrist and arm and not enough fingers; action to big; cannot relax arm after touch to second parry;pulling pack the arm(punching);knees not bent; returning to en guard is wrong;retreat starts to soon......I mean the list just goes on and on......and this was a simple drill. I just became mesmerized with what I could see!)

I also found that I have the hardest time not giving a student too much information. I don’t do this often, but I want to do so. If you give them too many things to think about as they do an action their minds turn to mush. This is another thing I learned from Coach. He always knows when my mind is on overload. Knowing when to give a person more information….knowing when they are ready to handle it……..that is the part of coaching that is hard for me to understand.

2010 Southeast Sectional Championship

2010-04-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will fence in the 2010 Southeast Sectional Championship tournament.

Why am I doing this? I have no idea.

Okay.....I have some idea. First, it is in my hometown. I feel obligated to be a part of it.

Other than my training partner and I, there will not be much (if any)involvement from the two local clubs from the standpoint of helping with the tournament. That bothers me. So,we will at least represent Greensboro Fencing Club.

Editors Note: I am not sure if we are The Greensboro Fencing Club or The Greensboro Fencers Club. We were formally the Downtown Fencing Club and I still use that to register. I guess it does not matter that much to me at the moment.

We have gathered info pamphlets for visitors. We have picked up other pamphlets for a friend. I have sent out a ton of press releases to various medias.

Friday night, we will help with set up. After that my conscience will be clear.

In fencing, I think there are around 45 entries in senior epee. Most are highly ranked fencers (and even the ones that aren't are mostly WAY better than me) and I think I am ranked third from the bottom in the initial seed. I am going to get creamed. Oddly that does not bother me much. I will fence in a big pool; go out my first DE and be done early in the day.

I am going to work on distance and being relaxed during the event.

$50.99 is a lot of money for fencing in this event, when you are not competitive. I justified it by figuring twenty dollars and a tank of gas would cost about the same thing if I went to another local tournament.

I will get to watch Henri and Kerry fence on Saturday. I am thinking about inviting my oldest friend to drop by and watch some of the sport. I am going to try and make this a fun weekend. We will see how it works out.

"D" is for "Damn"

2010-04-12T04:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend I fenced at ASU's "Massacre on the Mountain" tournament. Driving through the mountains in Springtime was wonderful. I fenced in two events, the E and Under and the Open Epee.

I warmed up with Henri, the House Elf, and Miles for the first event. In warming up with Miles, it became clear to me that I need about two more inches of steel, even when I fence French and pommel. Sadly,the rules on the length of a blade are pretty specific. (Note: Miles is around six feet and three inches tall, with loooooonnnnggg arms.)

After pools in the "E and Under" I was in the number two spot, as I won all my bouts. (Which is pretty much where I thought I would be after this event was over.) In retrospect, I think I should have finished third, as there was a "U" fencer in the game that got his "C" in the Open.) My first DE was against a young man I had fenced twice before and had beaten easily. He fences with a stiff arm and does a couple of unorthodox moves.(Note: Read unorthodox as goofy.) Before I knew it, I was scrambling to catch up. To make a long story short, he beat me and told me, " The third time was the charm" as we shook hands at the end of the bout. I did not take that well. I pondered on the fact that I was beaten by what I know is a poor fencer. What does that say about me? A black cloud of grumpiness followed me around through lunch, like I was a cartoon character.

In the Open Epee, I did poorly in pools, winning 2 and losing 2. After beating Kerry 5-1 in the "E and Under", she beat me 5-4 in the Open. I was kind of counting on that win. However, it made me smile as we were sitting beside each other that she told me she was getting to make a "happy face" in her fencing notebook after fencing me.

I won my first DE, and my second DE was against an "A" fencer. I had some luck there with " small advance, long advance...attack from extension distance" and a couple of toe shots. I did not follow the game plan I had in mind before fencing him. I hate I reverted to my standard game. Not that the outcome would have been any different, but I think that when you know you are out matched, that is a time for experimentation and creativity. I had planned to open up the distance more and keep it that way and try to use the clock. Oh, well......

When the day was done, Kerry, Henri and I went to the " Black Cat Burrito" and chowed down. It has become something of a ritual for after a ASU event.

I finished 7th in the Open, which was a "B1" event, and renewed my "E". (Oddly enough it was the third time I had done so this season. I just cannot seem to make it over the hump to a "D" rating.

I am the second oldest competitive fencer in the Division. One guy is older and the rest of the people are a couple.... to a few years younger. I am wondering if those few years make a difference. Some of my fellow Vet 50 fencers have "D" ratings. One is higher, but he trained in Russia since he was eight, so I don't count him in the equation.

Coaches I respect, have always told me not to look at ratings and just get out there and fence. I do this most of the time, but every once in a while,I can't help but take a look.

I used to want to be a solid "D" fencer. Now, I just want the rating and I could care less if I deserve it or not. ( Yep....I am that shallow.) I have had an "E" rating for four years. It is embarrassing. It is like saying," That guy never gets any better." Or maybe it is just telling me something like, "Jim...This is as good as you will ever be....get over it." I don't know.

On the drive home, I thought about what it would be like to have a "D" rating. It is most likely the highest rating I could ever hope to achieve. I think if I had that rating, "D" would stand for "Done". If I had it I could move on to other aspects of fencing I want to pursue. I also thought, that maybe "D" is for "Dangling Carrot", and it is what keeps me blindly pulling the cart trying to improve a bit. I have no idea, and it is starting to make my head go numb thinking about it.

In closing,the mountains and weather were beautiful this time of year. I got in some bouting and made a new Vet fencer friend. I ate and hung out with some people I like. All in all, it was a day well spent.

Stagnant

2010-04-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

My fencing journey has been stagnant of late.

It was a bad month for studying with Coach Miller. Spring break, NCAA tournaments and related events have made it very unproductive for lessons or even bouting.
At The Greensboro Fencers Club, I have put in some time covering for coaches and helping to teach the four week “Introduction to Fencing” class.

I have spent a little time working with Tommy. Even though the time spent there has been short, it has been the most productive.

This weekend, I will compete in ASU tournament. I have no expectations or goals in that regard. At the very least, I will get in some bouting. The mountains should be beautiful this time of year.

My training partner and I are considering making some changes in our training after this semester. Things just seem to be moving to slow. Studying fencing is like fencing. Don't stand still or become static.....keep moving!

Sectionals are being held in Greensboro this year on the weekend of May 1st. As our little local club is in Greensboro, I feel like I should volunteer to help set up for the event or something. I doubt that there will be any other support from the club, other than my faithful training partner and I. Sadly, I have no idea who to contact or even if they would be interested in the help. I will continue to look into this. I have collected visitor guides and a map of Greensboro for the event. I guess that is helping a little.

One of the sad things about having an on-line journal is that you become a slave to it. At least now I have posted and the guilt from not posting is lessened.

More on Action V.S. Reaction and the Time ItTakes

2010-03-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

This is my journal. Sometimes it is not about thoughts, but more a fencing notebook.

So ignore this entry.

1. Slow small advance...search for weapon in 4 or engage in 4. (Other actions work beside engagement, but for the notes this will do.)

2.Wait for opponents disengage.......lateral 6 parry/take (just move it out of the way!)....keep it high.

3.Depends on distance....large advance/lunge/fleche.

The Gray Sabreist

2010-03-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Below is a message from my Canadian fencing coach friend on my Facebook account.

"Jim attended Saber Fencing for Foil (and Epee) Fencers."

Jim's Canadian Fencing Coach Friend: "I had to look what this was about, as it SOUNDED in my brain-fog-before-my-cup-of-tea-state, that the sabre fencers were holding a benefit tournament for those poor dears who can only strike with the tip of the blade."

Sadly, it was not a benefit. I went to a class at Mid-South Fencing for "Saber Fencing for Foil (and Epee) Fencers". It was a great class, and I would recommend it to anyone that fits the bill. It was certainly everything I needed.

I think I did okay, except for my tendency to retreat and counter. Somethings are just too implanted in me. I may have picked up a thing or two that I can add to my epee game. I also got in some fencing, without competing. I think I needed this, as I have been fencing so poorly of late. I needed a positive experience.

Stephen is a great coach/instructor, and I learned some new games to take back to the Greensboro kids. I think he needs to design a program called, "Epee Fencing for Sabre Fencers". He is in a target rich environment.

Unfortunately, I used my time and money up on Saturday and will miss the CFA tournament today. I think this is just as well, as again, I think I need a little break from competition.

Starting to Understand

2010-03-11T07:03:00.000-08:00

I Understand Now

Last night, Tommy worked with me on second intention actions coupled with distance. I have always avoided these as I think my speed may be diminishing, and I am not sure I am fast enough to do them anymore. I now "get" that by using correct distance, I don't need to be that fast.

The lesson involved doing a press. I don't fence many people that are going to actually allow me to engage their weapon, but I now understand the principle. This is like a rough sketch in my mind before starting a painting. There is a lot of detail to be added, and I will need to find several ways to do this other than the press. I now have a better understanding about the time it takes to react versus the time it takes to do an action.

I hope I can put this to use. I need something that will make me happy with my fencing again.

Sabre For the Non-Sabre Fencer

This weekend I am attending part of a "Sabre For the Non-Sabre Fencer" class at Mid South Fencing Club in Durham, NC.

I am going for a number of reasons. One is that I just do not know very much about sabre. In my fencing journey, I need to at least take a peek down that path from time to time. Another reason is I sometimes teach a four week Intro Class at the Greensboro club. Generally, when I hit the class for sabre, I just do epee twice or find someone that knows a bit about sabre to teach the new students. I most likely would continue to handle this that way, but I need to know something more than the tiny bit I know about this weapon. The third reason is you never know what you might learn that can be adapted to epee.

Divisionals

I did not do well at Divisionals. My fencing has been very poor of late. I like to think that the problem is mostly mental. Time will tell.

My girls did well though.

Disclaimer: One of the "girls" I am referring to is actually a woman. People that think in a politically correct mode would be upset with me using this term. However, there is a sub class of Southern women who are insulted if you DON'T refer to them as a girl.

I watched one of them win, just as she expected to do. I watched one get her confidence back after her win. But my favorite was our tiny, tiny little 12 year old who came in 3rd of 3 when she got her first touch on a normal sized opponent. She turned and looked at me and the smile under her mask just lit it up like a lamp. I loved that!

Old Spurt?

2010-02-28T05:25:00.000-08:00

Carolina/Duke Meet

February 19th: I went to the Duke/Carolina Meet. It was in an interesting and totally different venue. The event was held in the Eddie Smith Field House on the campus of UNC. I understand it had been 20 years since this event had been held.

There was some great fencing in all three weapons. Olympic medalist Becca Ward in Sabre (Duke). Thomas from France in Epee (UNC). But, the most amazing thing for me to see was Joe Alter (UNC Freshman) in Foil. He is incredible, and he was on fire that night. The previous weekend he had finished 14th in Foil at the Junior Olympics. I remember him as a little kid who fenced at Touche in Charlotte. Suddenly, he is a god. Awesome!

Besides the action, I got to talk with a lot of people I have not talked with lately. Alex and Elizabeth (of course)......Susan....my favorite sabreist, Avonlea (always interesting conversation)....the list goes on. It was an evening well spent.

Mid-South Event

The next Saturday evening, I went to the Mid-South Gala to support their efforts and to check out Deb's good eats. Nice event! I got to spend a lot of time with Coach and Susan. I did not get to spend any time talking to Deb, as she was so busy. She was kind enough to convince me to stay for dessert, which was wonderful.

My favorite part of the evening occurred after we went through the serving line and discovered there weren't any places to sit. Henri and I were just getting settled on the floor, when Jeff came over and told us we should not be sitting there. He said, " Let me go run off some teenagers from this table. I love doing that." And, he promptly did. It still makes me smile.

Sunday, I fenced in the Mid-South Epee tournament. I knew it was going to be hard, and I did not see myself even making it to the middle of the pack. Still, I thought there was one guy I could take, and a couple of more if I was having a good day. Evidently. I was not having a good day. I finished dead last in a field of 12. It has been a good while since I finished last in a event. I am still sulking about that. Even listening to T-Bone Walker did not help much.

I had not finished dead last in a tournament in some time. It brings in to question my age and if I can still give a decent account of myself. I have always told myself," I will compete as long as I think I am giving a decent account of myself." It also caused me to reevaluate myself. It is very hard for a person to see what kind of fencer he is. Clearly, I am not as good or knowledgeable as I think I am. (Which is a shame, as I never thought I was that good or that knowledgeable.)

I acted as the Division observer for the Mid-South Foil event. Fortunately, it was a warm day and I could goof off outside. I really enjoyed watching Foil. (Who would have thought it?) It became clear to me as I watched, that I could never fence this weapon properly, but I am developing an appreciation for it.

I had hoped I would do better in this weekend's tournament at ASU and my confidence would rally. Sadly, the event was canceled and no emotional rally took place.

Classes and Such

In local fencing, I did not make it to club in Greensboro all week. My wife is having vision problems and cannot drive. She will have surgery this Tuesday and hopefully this will fix her right up.

I had to fence in Chapel Hill on Tuesday, as I had left a small kit of expensive equipment there the previous Tuesday, and I was worried about it. I had a good lesson.

I fenced and talked with Jordan for a while that evening. I had not done so previously. I thought she would need some space to find new friends on the UNC team. (Jordan is a freshman who studied with our little club in Greensboro and made the UNC team.)

Charlotte Fencing Academy Camp

As the ASU tournament was canceled due to weather, I found an opportunity to go to Charlotte Fencing Academy for one of their weekend camps. I was glad I finally had a chance to do this and would recommend it to anyone.

The drills and private lesson with Toomey were the best parts. I also finally got to play "The Game" which I heard so much about. I got creamed fencing the young fencers. I did not plan on winning, but I thought the score would be a bit closer. Again, it makes me wonder about the age thing.

In my private lesson with Toomey, I was having trouble with balance. I don't recall having this problem before. It could be that after "The Game" my knee was bothering me. I am also aware that one of the things you lose as you age is balance. Possible "old spurt"? I will be 58 in a couple of months.

Editors Note; An old spurt is like a growth spurt. But, not a good thing.

This weekend.....Divisionals. I looked at the list of guys who are registered. I am pretty much counting on a miracle to win one pool bout. Time to go flip through the blues CDs again.

On a related note,I just found the book "The Inner Game of Tennis". Perhaps this may help.

" Luke....I am your Grandfather! Search Your Feelings. You Know This to be True." " Nooooooooooooo"

2010-02-11T07:12:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I last posted.

Weather conditions, coaches on leave, stranded coaches, and sick coaches have caused a bit of problem in the Greensboro club, but somehow we always manage to overcome things.

Lessons and fencing in Chapel Hill have gone well for me. In private lessons from Coach, I received the best praise I've ever received from him. This is one of the noncompetitive ways I gauge my progress. I hope it was not just because he was in a good mood or something.

Last week I became a grandfather. This became a time of reflection for me, as I spent 12 hours in the hospital waiting for Lucas to arrive. During certain times, it is impossible not to think about the future. I was imagining how old he would have to be before we could start working on fencing. Would I be physically able to play with him in that regard? Would he have any interest in it at all?

I have three children. I know that your interests and the interests of your children rarely jives. Still, there have been exceptions to that. Two of my children fenced with me for a few months. It was unspoken, but we knew that they were not interested in fencing very much. They were starting their own lives and moving on. They did this so we could spend time together and share an experience. I will forever be grateful to them for doing that.

My heavy and aging body does not reflect it, but for many years I was a runner of sorts. I was never fast, but at times I could run forever. My favorite running was trail running in the woods. It suited my slow speed, as you must watch for roots and rocks. With my music playing, it was often like being in a movie. It was always moving meditation. Injuries took this away from me, and I miss it more than any activity I used to do. I mention this, as my son has become a runner. To what extent our history together influenced him, I cannot say. But, I think there there was some influence.

All of this reflection gave thought to how I have been thinking of fencing of late. I had been looking for something spiritual in it. Now, I think "spiritual" may have been the wrong word.

We are such a small non-mainstream sport, that we are all connected. Within that connection are sub-connections: weapon; age; location.....coach; fencer; parent. So, we are all connected by the sport of fencing, and then we are also connected by the various sub groups. Sometimes in ways not as obvious. I have friends who do not fence, fencer parents or coach's spouses. Yet, because of our ages or personalities, we have connected and are friends.

Now, not all fencers/coaches/fencer parents are a positive connection. If some of them were your dog, you would promptly take them to the vet and have them put down. Still, there is a connection. And many times those negative people provide a service, even if it is just a model of what not to emulate.

Often, however fencing parents and fencing friends may not even realize their influence. I have been influenced by non-fencers/fencing parents/coaches who were not my own. They never realized, or in some cases even cared, that they had positively affected my fencing journey.

I am sure most coaches look at all the kids that pass through their salles and wonder if they will fence or coach in the future. Will their children fence? Coaches cannot help but be aware that they are touching the future.

Jennifer Oldham, when writing her thesis for her Maitre d'Armes, did a poll on various aspects of fencing. I do not remember the question or answer exactly , but a number of fencers reported feeling about fencing as , "being connected to something larger than themselves".

You might see that as spiritual. Perhaps there is a better word.

Last weekend at the Duke Meet, a beautiful young twelve year old girl and her parents came to watch "real" fencing for the first time. She is one of our students in Greensboro. She has long, beautiful hair and huge, blue eyes, that are so bright they seem to have a light behind them.

She turned to me during the meet as we watched. Her eyes grew even larger and brighter as she said, " Fencing is just so very cool!"

I wonder about her and the future, just like I wonder about my grandson and fencing. You never know, but I like to think I might be pleasantly surprised.

Knowledge Flow

2010-01-25T05:52:00.000-08:00

An interesting week in fencing this week.

I will dispense with notes on fencing in Greensboro to some extent.

Suffice it to say I helped with some kids classes, including foil, which means I was involved with all three classes this week.

Tuesday, I had a good lesson with Coach Miller. By good, I mean I did well and he bragged on me.

Another good thing that happen Tuesday, was that Josh offered me some very good advice on problems I was having with an action. It is extremely rare that he does that and it may have helped a lot. During his instruction, I had several revelations. He showed me how to take a blade in eight and fleche. For some reason, it never occurred to me to do it from eight. I have no idea why. The night was filled with simple revelations like that. Things that are simple, but for some reason had escaped me.

Matt helped my training partner and some of the knowledge gained there was passed on to me.

It was a very meaningful night for learning.

I bouted poorly that night. Part of it was my own depressed mental state and part of it was that I was working on smoothing out my blade action in attacks, as well as working on combining slight extensions of the blade as I advanced and retreated.
(This is difficult to explain. It is something Tommy is working with me on.)

I fenced in a CFA tournament in Charlotte this weekend.

I did poorly in pools, winning two and loosing two.

My first DE was against the young man that won the tournament. I lost and was done for the day.

Even though I did poorly, I enjoyed the event and the fencing.

More meaningful than the fencing were various conversations.

I talked with coaches and gained valuable information on things to work on and possible upcoming opportunities to train.

Nicole was used as an example for me to immolate, on relaxing when out of distance.

Again, another simple action to practice that had never occurred to me.

The list of information gathered is to much to record here.

I have felt for many months that gaining knowledge in fencing was slower in coming, yet in one week, there was a huge influx.

I also found that I was wrong in a belief I had. Oddly enough, I had just discussed it with a coach at this tournament, when I was dramatically proven wrong.

I have often heard good coaches state that "fencing is fencing" or "it is all the same stick".

I never truly believed that. I thought that once you were technically proficient in a weapon, THEN it could "all be the same stick".

However, I watched a sabre fencer win an epee tournament, primarily due to his knowledge of distance and experience gained from fencing another weapon.

So I was arrogant and clearly wrong in not believing what coaches I respect have always said. Lesson learned.

I talked with a Mid-South coach a little about doing drills. I told him that my training partner and I were "drill masters" and tried to explain the " Coach...Coach" game and scoring methods and tactics used in competing in drills with Coach Miller. I am afraid I made a fool out of myself by doing that. I often wonder if I sound "goofy" when I talk to people who have been fencing/coaching for a long time. He may have taken me seriously. Humor as a training tool is often a foreign concept.

I am afraid that the " Coach....Coach" game will always be as esoteric as the " unstoppable thrust".

Ibuprofen

2010-01-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

Ibuprofen......the vet fencers pal.

Well....crud!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/

Two Random Thoughts

2010-01-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

Best Fencing Web Sites

In my opinion, the best fencing web site would be Facebook, coupled with Ask Fred.

While you do not see a lot of young fencers posting on Divisional forums or Fencing Net, they are on Facebook. Coaches; fencing parents and coach spouses, all communicate there. People say “thank you” for hosting events. They congratulate those that did well in tournaments. They socialize and form a sense of community.

The list goes on and on. Yep….it gets my vote.

The Sword

I personally think the sword is generally an inferior weapon. It is better than a knife or club, but it starts falling off after that.

It generally only puts you on equal footing when you are facing an opponent who is also armed with a similar sword.

Yet we constantly romanticize it. I would dare to say that it is out of this romantic notion that fencing continued. Long after there was any use for such a weapon, fencing and fencing related sword sports still survive.

Why?

There is the above mentioned romanticism. There is viewing fencing as sport, totally unrelated to the sword.

I have wondered of late, if it might be that there is something spiritual about it.

I think in most sports you can find something or some element that has a spiritual or meditative nature.

Comparing fencing spirituality to something like Bushido would be going WAY overboard. I am thinking spiritual in a much smaller way.

I have read scientific explanations for being “in the zone” and found them lacking.

I have often wondered about that thing inside your mind, that tells you to do a fencing action…..but without conscious though.

Both those actions happen in other sports as well.

I have come to no conclusion on the spirituality of fencing or if there is spirituality unique to fencing and unlike the spirituality found in other sports. It is not a topic you can bring up many places. People will look at you funny. It has just been on mind recently.

First Week in Fencing for the New Year

2010-01-09T16:06:00.000-08:00

Monday:

I was to help coach the "Intro" class in Greensboro. First class of the year after our break and no one showed up, so I worked on repairing body cords. A few people showed up for sabre.

Wednesday:

I went to help with the kids epee class in Greensboro. There are around a dozen of them and just getting them dressed and outfitted is an ordeal.

Coach showed up and had a group lesson! I would have never guessed. I thought it was over for him in Greensboro, but he said he would be there intermittently until the season was over, and, or they sold their house in Greensboro. This is a good thing for Greensboro.

Tommy will coach the competitive class, when his schedule allows as well. (CFA Greensboro satellite location.....that is kind of a joke...and kind of true.)

Saturday:

Saturday was a different sort of day for fencing.

I went to Mid-South Fencing for a Foil Open House.

Prior to that event, Matt Cox gave a reffing seminar on foil. From my perspective, it was perfect.

I don't fence priority weapons often enough to be proficient in reffing them. In the two clubs I presently belong to, there is no way to become proficient. I fence epee. To become a decent ref in RoW weapons, I would have to fence them regularly and be at a club where a ref might have the time and desire to coach me. There are too many things in the way of doing something like that at this juncture, and it would mean not devoting myself entirely to the weapon I love.

I would have liked to have been a three weapon fencer. As a late bloomer in the sport and given my present age, I don't think this is possible. Still, I like to learn what I can....when I can.. about other weapons and a review of the little I know about them is always welcome. The ref seminar was just what I would have hoped for.

The format for the day was:

Ref Seminar
Lunch
Group Lesson
Private Lessons
Open Bouting

The group foil lesson given by Peter (a foil coach from Ireland) and Stephen was a good one. It was a mixture of low level techniques and games. (I learned a new one to take back to the kids in Greensboro.) Even though the actions taught in the group class were basic, I struggled to do them correctly. Struggled and failed ...a lot. Still.....it was fun.

It was cold, and we walked down the street for lunch. They had some really good soup that was perfect for the day. While we were eating, Margaret from Salle New Bern came in, and I invited her to have lunch with us. I now have a new friend in the New Bern club, the next time I am down that way.

I fenced a little and yacked with Grace and company, while waiting on my private lesson. I like her.

There were three coaches giving private lessons and all of them good. I picked Stephen for my private lesson. I had never been coached by him before.

The coaches were troopers. Some of the foilists took private lessons from all of them. Coaches were a bit worn out, but they hung in there.

Stephen is a patient man! We did a two part drill, that ended with an "open eyes" drill. I was clumsy. My parry 4 was an epee parry 4....when I could remember to do it. In fact...it was a bit too strong for an epee parry 4. I am being kind to myself. It was a good basic lesson. Even though it was basic, I struggled with it.

I would look at that skinny little blade and think...."this doesn't feel right". I would do a Circle 6 and think, "the bell guard is not big enough to pick up the point".

This all sounds bad, but there is some good in it. I never felt like I had the right mind set to fence foil. Even though in epee, I like to parry.....something does not click with me and foil. I think it goes beyond just a lack of experience. Maybe not.

There was good in this. Some of the things that drove me away from foil and into the arms of epee were that I just could not stand my constant clumsiness and failure at it. It is so very odd, that I actually went to Coaches College for foil. ( Note: I did not go to Coaches College because I wanted to be a coach...or teach foil...I did it because the club was losing a foil coach and needed someone to help out.)

Even at my age, I found it was possible to mature a little. My clumsiness and failure did not bother me nearly as much.

I may look into dabbling a bit in foil.

Christmas Gift

2009-12-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I received a book entitled,"The Care and Feeding of All Things Fencing" by Michael Mergens.

If your armoury skills are mediocre at best (like me)I would highly recommend this book.

It covers all that you would expect and more in layman's terms. It covers from reels to lames.

I have been thinking of late (Sense I got this nice gift.) about fencing books.

Unless you are very new to fencing, there is not a lot to be gained by most fencing books. There are of course several exceptions to that statement.

I would recommend the following to anyone who has not read them.

"By the Sword" by Richard Cohen (For History )

"Epee 2.0" by Johan Harmenberg (For advance tactics in epee and history.)

"One Touch at a Time" by Aladar Kogler (For the mental game of fencing...though some things are a bit far out.)

"The Complete Guide to Fencing" by Barth/Beck (For chapters on teaching young fencers.)

Books I would not recommend are:

"Strength Training for Fencers" by Harry James. (This is a great book for physical fitness,but in no way I can find is it " fencing specific".)

"Epee Fencing: a complete system" by Imer Vass (This book has some value, but it is mostly drills and drills are open to interpretation and to difficult to understand in most instances through the written word."

I think that in the future fencing books should come with a DVD or be e-books in some fashion. They need to be somehow.....interactive.

I have never read a e-book. Perhaps there is a way in that format to combine the written word with action pictures and audio. Imagine how nice it would be for the new fencer to be able to hear fencing vocabulary words pronounced as you read or to see movements that explain RoW.

It would also be wonderful to see those old pictures of classical fencers with their off weapon hand held high to disappear.

CFA Tournament

2009-12-14T04:23:00.000-08:00

Sunday, I fenced in an epee tournament at Charlotte Fencing Academy.

I was forth out of pools and had a bye. I finished sixth for the day.

I blew my knee Friday. These joint problems are starting to make me feel my age.

I had my knee wrapped under my sock and another brace over that one. It did not seem to bother me in pools and even at my best, I doubt that I would have done better in my DE unless I had my choice of opponents.

Note to self: Brian showed me something after the tournament. I realised that I have forgotten how to check forward. I can check backwards well. When the knee gets better, I need to work on this. This also made me think that I need to work on my slide as well. It is footwork that I rarely have used and I need to go back and review.

After the tournament, we went to Mid Town for dinner with the CFA folks.

I wish I could study with them, but so many things prohibit that. I think they have the best epee training in the state.

Brian talked to me about my need to become more proficient at setting up attacks. This is the biggest single item I need to work on. I know this. But it is the biggest mystery to me in fencing. I get parts of it, but I am missing parts as well.

Henri had an idea concerning getting a group of "over 30" (some well over) fencers together and trying to negotiate a package deal with a club that would better meet our needs.

For example: Conditioning is important, but you can do that on your own. If you work all day and have a long commute to a club, you don't want to waste time getting lessons after you are exhausted. Couple that with a long commute back and you need a time slot/lesson plan that works better for the "over 30" crowd. Of course you need enough "over 30" folks to make this worth a clubs time. There is the problem.

Coach is moving back to Chapel Hill, so group lessons from him in Greensboro will be a thing of the past.

Tommy may be able to coach a competitive class, but his job and studies should always come first.

I love working with Coach, but it may be time to rethink about were I study. A 10 minute private lesson and a couple of bouts before half the salle fills with karate people just isn't going to do it. On the other hand, I really admire Coach and like working with him. For my part, we are friends. What to do....what to do?

Or it could be that I should just except that I fence at the level I do and roll with it. Pick up what you can ....when you can....and quit obsessing about it. That sounds negative, but it may not be. Nor would it mean I love the sport any less.

To The Point | Washington Times Communities

2009-12-11T05:07:00.000-08:00

To The Point | Washington Times Communities

Christmas and Down Time

2009-12-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas Break

The Christmas season means a break from fencing.

I use to want one. I wanted a break right up to the point where I had one….then I could not wait for it to start again.

This time I have mixed emotions about it.

I feel like I am just on the edge of understanding some things about fencing. This is difficult to explain. Knowledge is not coming as fast as it once did and even after all this time, I am ravenous for it. I must be. Last night I watched a young woman do a drill in foil. Her actions were so crisp and graceful…..just for a moment…..I wanted to study foil. My hunger for learning in fencing seems to be spreading out. I want to learn more about almost any aspect of the sport.

Coach has often said, “There are no secrets in fencing.” Perhaps that is true, but often in my study of this sport it does not seem that way. If you do not understand what better fencers/coaches know….it might as well be a secret. How do I pursue my study within the limitations of my situation? That is a big question.

Last night was my last private lesson with Coach until January 12th. There will be bouting next week, but no lessons.

I thought Coach made an interesting observation after last night’s lesson. He said my training partner had the energy and I had the patience. He said we needed to move toward each other’s strength…or words to that effect. We have always been the Yin and Yang. It makes sense.

Charlotte Fencing Academy Tournament

This weekend I will fence at a Charlotte Fencing Academy tournament. I am looking forward to it. I hope my teammates decide to join me.

After that, I do not see a chance to compete until mid February.

Courtney

Courtney will return from Hungary soon for the holidays. Courtney is a UNC fencer studying abroad. The truth is I never knew her that well when she was here. However, I read her journal religiously and I feel like I have gotten to know her through her writing.

I worry about her. I hope she gets to see her NC friends and fencing family over the holidays. She needs a break with friends and some North Carolina food. Renewed, she can then continue her adventure.

Fencing in Greensboro

Tonight Coach may show up for a group lesson in Greensboro. God….and Coach…..they work in mysterious ways.

The Greensboro Fencing Club will continue with its program through December without much of a break. We have some momentum going with membership of 10 to 12 year olds and want to keep it up. I wish we had some adult sized people so I could bout more locally….but we don’t.

We now need to figure a way to add another strip to our small space. I do not remember if we have another set of working reels and a box. We so need to replace the batteries for those things.

It sounds like things are going well in Greensboro and to a certain extent they are.
There are some problems. We need some new weapons; youth weapons and chest protectors. However we are all volunteers and all the money goes to the people who own the space. It is a dilemma.

We also do not schmooze enough with parents and fencers. We don’t sell the program. We are just a loose little group of people who love fencing and are trying to keep it going in our part of the state.

I am not sure that a strong leader and a more businesslike approach would work with our group of coaches. We all have problems with authority. It would most likely be death for the club.

I suspect that as long as we exist..….we will be what we are. There is nothing wrong with that.

Thailand

2009-12-03T04:45:00.000-08:00

I think I was interviewed in Thailand. (Except no one talked to me.) The writer evidently read my journal, including some very old entries.

I have spent about three months in Thailand, but it was a few years back.

I used a translator on this, but could not make it all out.

I hope I am okay in their book. It was interesting to read about fencing there.

Hello to you in Thailand!

http://www.thaifencing.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=465:the-gray-epee&catid=87:2009-08-15-15-55-32&Itemid=53

Truth

2009-11-24T17:24:00.000-08:00

(Gandalf......Vet fencer....Grey...like the Gray Epee...it all makes sense...(sort of) in the end.

Recently, on fencing.net and the fencing.net Facebook link, there is an article bashing Nick Evangilista and his book "The Art and Science of Fencing".

My first day fencing, I left the gym and headed for Barnes and Noble bookstore to look for a book on fencing. That book and the "By the Sword" were the only ones in stock related to fencing. "By the Sword" is an excellent book, and I read it later. I bought "The Art and Science of Fencing", as it contained so much more of the information I was hungry for.

I should point out that Nick Evangilista is a "classical fencer" who is less than happy with "modern sport fencing/Olympic fencing". This is strongly reflected in his writings.

At the time of reading the book for the first time, I did not totally understand the difference. The book influenced me in a couple of ways negatively. For example: Trying to fence foil with a French grip.

I wrote Mr. Evangilsta shortly after reading his book. He sent me a picture of himself. (I don't know what that says, but it must mean something.) I learned a few things about him that most people don't know. For example: He raises goats to eat....that sort of thing.

Not too long ago, I heard (right or wrong)that he does not fence anymore. This bothered me a bit, as we are about the same age.

I have reached a point in my study of fencing that I do not agree with much of what was written in "The Art and Science of Fencing". (I say this as I am a "modern sport fencer/student of Olympic fencing". All like me would say the same, so it is no big revelation.)

Would I feel compelled to tell him so if we ever met? Not at all.

This is a man that wants to validate his famous coach/father figure and what he taught. Of course he also wants to validate himself. One is noble,the other human.

Let it go.

During Coach's most recent group lesson in Greensboro, he asked us to free fence and use the actions we had been working on in drills. We did so.

Coach said, " You guys move like classical foilists........there is nothing wrong with that." (That is not an exact quote....as we were in the middle of bouting, and I did not hear it all with my mask on. But, a reference was made to our group and moving like classical epeeists or foilists.)

I must confess that if I had an opportunity to study with a really good classical coach for a few months, I would do so. Not because I think it would help me with my fencing, but just for the experience. It is a dying art and I am drawn to knowledge that will soon pass from the world.

The combination of thinking about classical fencing and learning a few things from a coach whom I respect and one of his students has caused me to give a lot of thought to what is right.....and what is wrong in fencing.

Olympic/sport fencers sneer at classical fencers because classical fencing doesn't produce fencers that can compete successfully within the parameters of Olympic/sport fencing. Yet, so much of Olympic/sport fencing has classical elements (or only slightly modified classical elements) used in it. (At least for beginning/intermediate students.)

In the book "Epee 2.0" by Johan Harmenberg, he talks about inventing and using " bouncing" foot work. But, he also instructs his readers to master conventional footwork first. Why does he do that? He never says why.

Bouncing footwork is at odds with the classical approach of economy of movement. This is something you pay attention to if you are a Vet fencer.

Bouncing makes a lot of sense. Something in motion accelerates faster than something static. (Whatever the correct scientific phrasing may be.)
If you are young and athletic enough to do bouncing footwork, why learn the basic advance and retreats?

If you are an older vet fencer and you see wisdom in economy of movement.....why bounce?

For a couple of years now (maybe three....I need to check with my partner) I have taken private lessons (once a week) with Coach. A PL once a week is not enough. However, (generally) his group lessons are much like private lessons with less trained "leaders".

For three years or so, I have worked on a drill to do a beat,pick.....take the blade in eight....hit to the thigh. Now sometimes we move through this drill and I go far in drills. Sometimes, I still spend a lot of time on this one segment of our drills.

I really think it depends on what sort of mood Coach is in.

There are a host of small things that can be done wrong in this drill. Drop your arm too much on the beat.....too much on the pick....pick is not deep enough.....too little pressure on taking the blade in eight....not enough firmness/energy in the action....your weapon arm "poofed out"....too much shoulder...it goes on and on.

Now, here is the rub. I have never ever used this action in a bout. I see almost no possibility of ever using it in a bout. Once in a blue moon, I might use a beat/pick/remise. If I find an opponent that is kind enough to have extended their weapon parallel to the floor.

I have to assume that I am becoming technically proficient (or at least in the journey of becoming technically proficient)and that each element of this drill is what I am working on and not the elements strung together to form the drill.

Editors Note: This question goes in with a half dozen questions I have, should I ever have the opportunity to have a long talk with Coach.

So is working on this drill a waste of time or not? Is it right....or wrong?

When we teach young kids how to fence, in the beginning we work hard to drill into them to keep a good en guard and tip on target. As time goes by and you advance....you drop your arm...pull back.....change it up if your opponent has a good flick to the cuff.... a lot of different positions for arm and point. Which is right? You could say it is a state of flux and that you must master the good en guard in six....point on target before moving on to the more advanced places to have your arm and point. Or are those actually advanced places and should they be taught from Lesson Three or so? Lock your arm in an unchanging place that becomes a constant target for your opponent....or move it all around like the "Hokey Pokey"?

Why have basics first, if eventually you will discard most of them? Yes....you need a foundation....yes...you always come back to them...yes....some of the basics are constantly in some successful peoples games.

So many times I tell a new, young fencer something or instruct them on something and I feel like I am lying to them....or at least withholding some of the truth.

Editors Note: I often feel like my journal would be better with a musical back ground or at least wav files. If I had a way to post wav files I would have Jack Nicholson saying, " YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

The truth is that someday you will not want to keep your arm in six and your point on target. This will be more dangerous when your tiny little forearm does not look like it is using a trash can lid for a bell guard.

But, you just can't say that to a kid....I guess. They would not get it.

They would never understand the struggle to find what is correct and incorrect in fencing. What areas are gray? What areas are absolute...if any?

I know they would never understand......because I don't.

So, is it pointless to critique "The Art and Science of Fencing"? How can "modern sport fencing/Olympic fencing" critique classical fencing when there are so many elements of classical fencing in it? How can "modern sport fencing/Olympic fencing" say something is wrong with classical fencing when there are so few absolutes within itself? How can we critique something that will be constantly evolving in the future? What makes us think that we will not evolve full circle back to a more classical style? (I know it is unlikely.....but it could happen.)

You often hear, " Epee is truth." I like to think that of the three weapons that this is close to true. It is a large part of it's appeal.

The search for absolute truth (if it exists) must be even harder in other weapons.

Last Editors Note: This is a rambling post. Sometimes I can't find anything of interest to read about fencing on-line. As I read back over this, I feel like I am just talking to myself. I remember a quote from Gandalf that says," It is a habit of the old to always address the wisest person in the room." He was ,of course, talking to himself. In this case, I am certainly NOT the wisest person in the room.....but I AM the only person in the room.( Thanks to my editor! Now if you could fix my mind so it does not bounce all over the place.)

Yosef Open

2009-11-18T04:56:00.000-08:00

( Black Cat Burrito is to the left down a side street.)

Sunday I fenced in the Yosef Open at ASU in Boone, NC. The weather was unseasonably warm and perfect. The drive up through the mountains was beautiful. The leaves had past their peak in color, but it was still very pretty.

This was a two day event, with foil on Saturday and epee on Sunday.

I thought the ASU kids did a good job in running the tournament. The refs were good for epee, and Mario was the observer.

I fenced two events. I tied for third place in the "E and Under", and I came in seventh in the open, renewing my rating. (Actually, I renewed it over a month ago by winning a small tournament in New Bern, but there was some sort of problem in regard to it working through the USFA system and being posted.)

My fencing family was there with me. I cherished the fact that Nicole was there, as this is her last season with us before she heads off to college. Mario was there and those who are becoming my extended fencing family from CFA. I felt very much at home.

I enjoyed watching the contrast between how Henri fences and how Nicole fences. Epee is so expressive. Nicole could be described as being light and airy.....until her attack. Henri is quick and menacing. (She would argue the point of being menacing....but she is.)

We all got a bit grumpy/upset with our performance at one point or the other during the tournament. That was unusual. It is not unusual for one of us to do so, but not all three of us.

Kerry is the model to emulate when it comes to being undaunted. I have always said so, and Sharon brought it up at this tournament as well.

I noted that Kerry no longer dutifully keeps her tournament notebook, but Miles does. I always wanted to read Kerry's notes.

Miles is a very tall, skinny, young man who gave me trouble. He fences with his arm out, like a relaxed point in line. I could not figure out how to get to deep target with him. With his arm extended, taking the blade or taking it in opposition did not seem to work. Deep target seemed too far away, and, if it wasn't, one retreat with his long legs made it that way. I did not experiment with cuff shots like I should have, though his thin arms make that bell guard look huge.

I reflected on this on the drive home. I came up with an idea for next time. (Code word: Noah) Hey...this journal is like my tournament notebook.

On the ride home, I also thought about tactics and how they relate to the mix of seasoned fencers and newer fencers in the open. Also, I thought about how my current training causes me to abandon previous fencing actions.

Here is an example:

I fenced a young man in a DE. He was fencing with a French grip. Generally speaking, when I fence a person with a French grip, I beat the heck out of their blade. They tighten their grip, and it slows them down. (Also, if they are inexperienced, it may rattle them.) In the case of this young man, his arm was so rigid that this was not a desirable action. (Of course I did not figure that out until the ride home.) His super rigid arm negated my favorite attacks.

I reverted to how I fenced a couple of years ago.(Primarily counters and simple direct attacks. I guess this is still a big part of my game, but I have been working to build past this.) I even scored with a reverse lunge, which was my game when I first started fencing. Of course, in the case of the reverse lunge, you don't often fence people who will chase you down the strip.

I am now wondering if I should have with me, the opposite of a tournament notebook for after bouts. I am wondering if I should have a written list (a menu) of actions which I am fairly proficient in and study it before a tournament. I become so involved with actions I have been working on, that I forget about actions I once worked on.

In this tournament I never had the chance/or thought to use:

A. Short advance/strong 2/long advance. (This works well for me, with the right opponent.)

B. Short advance/long advance with just extension. (I am not comfortable with it yet and did not see the right opportunity to experiment.)

C. As good a use of feints as I should have.

D. One-two.

In my second DE (in the open), I fenced Kelly. I am pretty sure that anyone that knew the field, knew that Kelly was going to win the event. I did not mind. I like to experiment with Kelly. (That and I was ready for a hot shower and Black Cat burrito.) When you are going to get trounced, there is nothing to lose by being creative. I think I scored 3 toe touches on Kelly. For some reason that always makes me feel better (the Tommy influence I guess). I lack a decent flick, except to the toe. It is the one target that I do not have to pull back to hit.

Kelly coached me during a DE under directions of Kerry. He pointed out something to me after our DE of which I was unaware and have no idea how to fix. He told me that I move into perfect distance and then hesitate for a moment before my attack. Is this an age thing? Is this a cautious or analytical thing? How do I get rid of this?

All in all, I fenced okay (most of the time).

I got unexpected praise from Toomey. Henri told me that she thought I should be more proud of that than a rating or trophy. I would have to agree.

It was a good day. Followed by a good Black Cat burrito and some good company.

Plodding Along With Fencing

2009-11-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

Last night I helped a bit with getting an Intro class ready. Not much, but a little.
We had around eight new students in Greensboro. One was an adult.

Our club is mostly 12 and under these days. That is a good thing, but it makes finding someone to fence almost impossible.

Tommy worked with me a bit. He is trying to teach an old dog new tricks and has been very patient. We are working on attacking with the feet/weapon extending before the advance/attack is mostly from extension distance and makes a parry difficult.

Editors Note: Until recently, I thought there should be more names for common actions in fencing. I have come to the conclusion that is beyond impractical and that the language of fencing is complicated enough. I thought more about this as I tried to describe the action Tommy is trying to teach me.

This attack is not like any other I have ever used. I have no feeling for it. There is no automatic signal to my brain like you get when it is time to lunge or parry.
Maybe it takes time. maybe it is just different and you adjust to it. The answer is always on the strip.

Tonight, I head to UNC for a lesson. Maybe tonight I will get lucky and get in a bout or two before the karate class comes in at 8:15 and cuts the strips down to half.

I do not have a tournament I can get to until the ASU tournament on the 15th. I am looking forward to that. I could use a day in the mountains.

My big thing for fencing related activities this weekend is Cam's baby shower. Though I have three children, I have never been to one of these things. In my day it was a "women only" sort of thing. This one has guys and beer. I am strangely excited about the upcoming experience.

Holmes and Sabre

2009-10-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday, I was the division observer for a sabre tournament at Mid-South Fencers' Club.

For this job, memberships are checked before an event, memberships mailed after an event, and a report is submitted on line after the event.

During the event, you check on a few safety concerns and technical items. After that you don't actually do much of anything, except spend the day there.

The only people I really knew at the event were Stephen and Matt. Jen popped in briefly. Nice bunch of kids and parents, but I did not know any of them.

When you only fence one weapon (like me...and I would guess the majority of people there) it creates sub groups. The only sabre people I really know are coaches or sabreists who also fence epee.

I had a couple of nice chats with Stephen and learned a few things about sabre, reffing and coaching.

I had an interesting conversation on epee with Matt. One of the topics we discussed was about "beats". I classified a beat Jen demonstrated at her epee class as a foil beat. (A beat to the side of the blade.)

When I took my first private lesson with Coach Miller, a couple of years ago, he told me to do a beat. I beat the side of the blade. He told me that was a foil beat and had me beat the top of his blade with the bottom of mine. Beats like this are only done when the blade is parallel to the floor. (Point stays on target and you do not lose much momentum of the blade going forward.) It made perfect sense to me, and I have never done a beat any other way since.

Matt didn't buy it (about being a foil beat) and I really did not buy what Matt said, because of the length of time/distance covered the beat would take as he demonstrated.

I think I did not make my point with Matt, primarily because I did not express myself well and partly because he thinks my level of knowledge is still where it was around 5 years ago when we first met. Not that it has grown all that much, but I think in relationship to epee alone, that the knowledge gap has diminished a bit.

So, I spent my day watching sabre. I had some good pizza and I read.

I am a big Sherlock Holmes fan. A friend suggested that I try Laurie King's "The Beekeeper's Apprentice". This is a book about a girl/woman (Mary Russell) with the same deductive and observation skills as Holmes. I understand that later in these series of books, she marries Holmes. If you enjoy Holmes, I think you would enjoy this. I did and already have the second book in the series.

I drank coffee and I watched sabre. I watched and I wanted to fence. I didn't care if it was sabre, I wanted to be out on strip having some fun.

I recalled my last tournament when I fenced sabre. I fenced sabre only because they needed another person at a tiny Vet event.

I was fencing a guy who did not like me very much. This bout did nothing to improve our relationship. I saw his hand open in an attack of opportunity. Hey....I fence epee! I hit it with the point. The tip went between two fingers,through his glove and into his hand. He went to the hospital and had stitches.

For several years, every time we had an Intro Fencing Class in Greensboro, I would hear this incident mentioned in regards to sabre safety. No names would be used in the safety lecture, though I would think about being referred to as "Jim the Impaler" for a while after that tournament.

I never had much interest in fencing sabre after that, for fear of hurting someone. That curbed my desire to fence it on Saturday.

So I read ....and I watched.....until it was finally time to go home.

I completed my online report (to some degree) and have new memberships ready to mail to the USFA. I am waiting on the division secretary's mailing address to send him copies.

Matt asked me if I would come back and do another in December. We got off topic or something and I never answered.

I would go back and do it again, but must see what is happening in December around that date. If I am asked back, I will make the following changes. I would bring my own chair. I would bring something (more than a book) to entertain myself.

Observer

2009-10-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

It doesn't appear I am going to get a lot of fencing in this week.

Tommy worked with me for a while Monday. I think that is going to be about it.

UNC is on Fall Break....I think.

I will miss Wednesday, as it is my oldest daughters birthday.

The big thing for my week is that I will be an official USFA NC tournament observer at Mid South Fencing Club this weekend. It will be my first time in this role.

More on this after the event.

Friday

2009-10-17T06:47:00.000-07:00

(This photo used without permission. It was taken by Jen Cox. I am sure she would not mind me using it....if she does...I will remove it.)

I audited a class at Mid-South fencing on Friday. A truly cool bunch of students and an interesting night.

Proud

2009-10-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

Last night Tommy worked with with me, while the kids class was in progress. I am beginning to understand what he is teaching me, though it may be a while before I am able to use it effectively. It does not have the same instinctive quality that a lunge or circle six have. At this point, it seems to me more like a "luck" thing, though I understand how it avoids a parry. I will try it again in practice bouting the first chance I get.

I am also eager to try the semi-circle beat and pull back tactic he showed me.

I know this does not make sense, but I am recording it here so I will remember.

Coach was a bit late getting there from Chapel Hill and there was one of his old alumni at the club, so lesson time for the advanced class was cut in half as they chatted. We free fenced a while as he waited for Coach.

Coach's lesson for that night was in the form of conversation. The kids don't care for it all that much (They enjoy action.)but I love these types of classes.

The lesson was primarily for Henri and I.

Coach knew we were disappointed in our showing at last weeks tournament.

He asked us about how we felt coming into the tournament. I told him that we had talked and knew we would not place well. I related that we were trying to think about it as just "strip time".

He told us that when we come into a tournament thinking that way we are giving something to our opponent.

The lesson was on the mental game and stopping a negative spiral. Over confidence can be just as bad of course. But the lesson was primarily concerning stopping negativity and mental preparation.

Obviously you could have all the mental game in the world and not beat a vastly superior fencer, but I was reminded of the importance. I had forgotten.

He recommended a book entitled,"The Inner Game of Tennis". This is a book I have heard about sense I started fencing, but have never read. I will need to dig it up. I also looked in my fencing library for the book, "One Touch at a Time", but I must have lent this to someone and never got it back.

Coach offered me his hand to shake during his talk. We shook hands. he asked me what I felt. I said, " A firm hand shake." He asked, " What did I feel?" and I replied, " The same.". He nodded.

He related that when his team is fencing and they come off strip, he will often shake there hand or do a "high five". If their hand shake or high five lacks energy or feels weak after a bad bout, they go sit on the bench. He is measuring their energy and mental state through these actions.

That sort of thing fascinates me.

He talked about the pre game routine. (This is not necessarily part of your warm up, but is just as important.)

The lecture covered so many things, it is not possible to record them all here.

As I stated, this was mostly for Henri and I.

He asked us if we thought we were good fencers. " No ...and of course not." were our reply.

But he thought so. And he told us how proud he was of our fencing. How it was like night and day in compared to two years or so ago.

He went on and on about how extremely proud of us he was. ( Well..." On and on" for Coach.) Oddly enough, he truly meant it. I often do not see what this man sees, but it certainly made me feel better.

As the night closed, Coach (Who turned 65 last week.) told us that if he could get his back fixed up and drop 20 lbs., he was going to compete again. It has been 13 years sense he last competed. He has bad knees and though he likes sabre, he will most likely fence epee as the lunges do not have to be as long. He is unconcerned about winning. He just wants to fence.

I think that is AWESOME! I so hope that he makes it to the point were he can do this.

On the drive back home, I thought about what it would be like to fence him. I would have a lot of mixed emotions about doing that, though I am sure they would vanish as the bout progressed.

So........It was a proud night.

He was very proud of us and I was very proud of him.

Last Sunday

2009-10-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I fenced at a NCFDP tournament in Chapel Hill.

I did not win a bout. Neither did my training partner.

My training partner is in a funk over fencing. Last Friday I experienced one of the worst family tragedies I have ever experienced in my life. (It is a personal matter and not one to be shared on line.) It was and is consuming me mentally.

I am sure that the funk and the travesty affected our performance a great deal.

On the other hand, we knew we were primarily canon fodder going in (We were simply out classed.) and were trying to look at it as just strip time. None the less I had expected better showings.

I am starting to believe that I will never fence significantly better than I do at this moment in time.

In part, it is due to age. Also training and strip time.

The limitations on training are (In regards to available clubs /places to train):
(The views below are incredibly brief and not all inclusive of information.)

Club 1. Good group lessons. No one to really fence with.

Club 2. Excellent technical training, but no one to fence with at an appropriate level and a lack of strips.

Club 3. I may be technically superior to the coach in blade work drills. I am not sure what I would learn or if there would be enough fencers available for decent strip time

Club 4. Drive time is to far away. Couple gas cost with dues and it may be to expensive. Also return trip would put arrival home very late at night.

I am starting to think that the training is not going to make that much difference in performance. It might....but how much?

Perhaps it is just time to do the best I can with what I have available.

I always told myself that I would compete as long as I felt like I was giving a decent account of myself. (The decent account thing has to be through my eyes only.)

I know that my level of fencing is in the " D and Under " category. I doubt I will be able to upgrade that.

Last week I won a small low level tournamnt. This week I was target practice in an A1 event.

The hardest thing in fencing is evaluating yourself. ( Well....that and getting kids to pair up or line up correctly for drills.)

Grace

2009-10-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

(Former North Carolina governor's mansion in New Bern, NC)

Joseph Cadole Memorial Fencing Tournament

This weekend three old friends and I were having a "guys weekend". My brother and I have house at the coast and my friends like to fish, so we went there.

Fishing off a pier is not for me, so I left them on Saturday and went to fence at a tournament in New Bern.

There was a fair sized foil event going on when I got there, with around 16 fencers participating.

None of my teammates were with me, so I had to entertain myself by watching foil. I watched the RoW refs for a while to see if my call was like theirs.

I got bored with that pretty quick. Fortunately, there was something better to watch. There was a young girl fencing foil named Ellie Cooper. She has the nicest mixture of tight attacks and feminine athletic grace that it is just beautiful to watch. She moves like a dancer. It reminded me of the quote under the title of my journal," violence refined into beauty".

Pools started faster than I expected, so I never had a chance to warm up. There were 4 "E's" in the tournament , but only 9 fencers, so it was not a D1 event.

Skipping over a lot of meaningless details, I won and renewed my rating.

In the final bout I fenced a young man named Joshua Harvey. He is a handsome young man. (I always feel a little weird saying that...but he is.) He is also a real nice kid. After the bout, he came over and said, " I just want to shake your hand again".

We talked for a while.

In the bout I was down 14-12. I made a toe shot and a cuff shot to tie it up. In the end, he went for a toe shot and I did one of those unnamed (yet standard) moves were your feet jump back and your blade goes forward.

In the last two entries in my journal I have posted that I did not fence well. That was true this time as well.....BUT.....some times I made good actions. I guess that is progress.

I thought that I made some good clean moves, but you never know if that is what it looks like from the side lines. They could have been awful for all I know.

I thought a lot about how things look in fencing as I drove back to the beach house.

I thought about how people look after a bout when they come up to shake your hand. I hate it when they look ticked off. I like it when they have an air of grace and dignity in victory or defeat. I shoot for that. I wonder if I pull it off?

I had two strange things happen during this tournament that never happened to me before.

In pools, we began to double strip on the middle strips. These strips were to close together and the refs had to stand shoulder to shoulder. There was not more than 4 feet between strips.

I got a yellow card for turning my back. I heard the foil ref call halt. I thought my opponent must have scored and turned to walk back to the en guard line. I was winning big, so it did not matter.

In my first DE I was fencing the second oldest guy (after me). I would say 40ish. He was a pretty good fencer and we had a good bout going. I was a point or two ahead in the second period. During the break, I saw our fairly new ref having excited words with a young kid holding the timer.

It seems that our last period was 5 minutes long, rather than 3. The ref asked us what we wanted to do about it. I am winning and don't want to be a jerk and we were having a good bout, so I told them to just ignore it and go on. All I could think of as I walked to the line was, " I hope I don't loose because of that decision".

I turned it up a notch after that and won the bout with room to spare. So in the end, the decision may have helped me

Hey.....This was a small low rated tournament......NOT the Olympics.

On the drive home, I thought about a tournament I was in in Raleigh. We had to ref out of pools. I was reffing and was unfamiliar with the timer. The bout started and after the first touch, I realized the timer was not on. I just acted like I was looking at the timer for the rest of the whole pool bout. It seemed like it was over quick enough to be under 3 minutes. I never told anyone, until now.

These kind of things make you a bit more forgiving when a young man lets the time go by.

No Power = Good

2009-09-29T04:34:00.001-07:00

Last night I went to club. There was an awful storm. At the club there was no power and it was to dark to fence, so club was canceled.

It is the one time during the week, when all the coaches are there at the same time.

It became an unplanned coaches meeting, which moved to Starbucks.

It was good. It was real good.

We did some planing. But more important, we socialized and had some fun together.

We had not done that in a long time.

The Day at Fetzer

2009-09-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday I fenced at a UNC tournament.

In preregistration, I was ranked at the bottom of the barrel. As I was the oldest and lowest ranked epeeist and as I had a bit of knowledge about most of the fencers coming, I looked at the event as an opportunity to get in some strip time. The cost: 10 dollars and getting the crud beat out of me.

There were 16 or 17 fencers in the field. Results are not posted at the time of this writing for me to double check.

I see myself as a "D and Under" kind of fencer. The closest rated fencer to me in pools was a "D" and I won that bout. It was the only victory in a pool of 5. (I think it was 5.)

As I said, my only goal for the tournament was to get in strip time. I hoped to NOT come in last, but I was pretty sure I would. I fenced the young man that came in second in my only DE. He was rated 5th and I was 12th out of pools. The results are not posted, but I don't think I was last. So....Yay!

The kid who won the event, was a World Cup guy from France. I am glad I got to see him fence. Tommy saw different things than I did as we watched him. The thing that most impressed me was an action I had never seen. He had a " waiting fleche". This
is like a " waiting lunge" or a feint of a lunge. Cool!

I stayed to watch the Women's epee event. I am glad I did. I pulled for my teammate and the vets.

I had a strip coaching experience like I had never had before. The situation was simplistic, but I recognized it and knew just what to do. I also knew when it was time to go back to the game plan. It worked perfectly.

In women's epee, Kerry and Jordan tied for third. Henri took second. Anna (?) took first.

I helped clean up as the day drew to a close. I wanted to go eat and talk fencing with my teammates, but dinner was waiting at home.

I so love fencing at a venue that has showers!

The Week ....So Far.

2009-09-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

Monday: I went to club in Greensboro. I have no idea why I go that night.
Took a lesson with Tommy on a simple action. I practiced this action Thursday and tried to incorporate it in bouting without success.

Wednesday: Subbed for Cam and taught epee. Cam is "way" pregnant, and she worked with the two eight year old kids.

Coach got there late, and mostly we talked. There is a possibility that Guilford College and Wake Forest kids may come to the club for lessons. May work out...may not. We will see.

I watched Coach make his first contact with Nicole under NCAA rules in an effort to recruit her to UNC. I have seen this several times with different kids I know, but it is always special and cool when it is a kid you care a lot about.

Thursday: Private lesson with Coach at UNC. I did well. You measure this by the number of number of " good jobs" and "high fives" you get from Coach. The hard part is attacking in 4 with opposition, holding in 4 for the remise. I am so trained to do 6 and circle six that it is hard to make it instinctive.

Sharing the space with a karate class is becoming a problem. I go there mostly for private lessons with Coach. But, also for strip time. I can't get meaningful strip time in Greensboro as most of the kids are 12.

By the time the karate class shows up at 8:15, you have warmed up....maybe had one bout and a private lesson. After that, there are alot of people competing for four strips. Really good fencers like to fence really good fencers....so it is hard for us intermediate folks to sort of find a place.

What to do.....what to do.....about strip time?

Sunday: I plan on fencing at a tournament at UNC on Sunday. I feel that I should do this, even though I will be the oldest and lowest rated fencer there. There is a "U", but he is a "C" foilist. This will not be good for confidence, but I feel I should go.

I looked at a KOS tournament for today. It seemed more my speed, but UNC is kind of "home" so I guess I will go get the crud beat out of me there.

Hey!....I just might learn something.

First Tournament of the Season

2009-09-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

Epee Regional Youth Circuit (RYC)

I know what you are thinking. Jim.....Youth Circuit.....RYC???? Okay.....not about me.

However, two fencers from the Greensboro Fencing Club (Formally the Downtown Fencing Club)journeyed to Georgia for the Epee Regional Youth Circuit (RYC) DFC. Both Margaret Bertoni and Charlotte Hatcher are twelve years old. Charlotte tied for third place in the 12 and under, but had the misfortune to fence her teammate in DE's and went out.

Margret Bertoni took first place. Not only did she take first place in the 12 year old event, but she moved up to fence in the 14 year old event and took first place there as well.

BOO-YAAH!!!!!

The Three Musketeer Picture (Above)

Nicole thought it was "geeky". However, this is Nicole's last year fencing with us before she heads off to ECU. I wanted a picture of the three of us like this as a keepsake.

I was sentimental, but they turned on me and hit me with double toe shots.

Sharon posted on Face Book: "The "after" picture of the three musketeers should have been Henri with the ice pack on her chest, you with the ice pack on your shoulder and Nicole with the ice pack on her forehead!"

CFA Tournament

I fenced my first tournament of the season at Charlotte Fencing Academy this weekend.
I did not fence well or do as well as I hoped, but I had a good time.

It was a well run and friendly event.

Nicole had a slow start in pools. In her first DE she was down 6-1 in the first period. She came back and won it! It was truly an exciting finish. She also did well in her second DE.

I was very proud of Henri. She fenced well in pools and won her first DE against a much taller seasoned opponent. She went out to the kid that won the event in her next DE, but gave a good showing of herself for the day.

Editors Note: I noticed at this tournament (more and more) that people just LOVE Henri. "Poor deranged souls", I wanted to cry out. " Don't you realize that when the devil takes human form, that he takes a look that is cute and non-threatening!"

Me.....I am just the "old guy" that hangs out with Nicole and Henri. ~ heavy sigh ~

I will look at this event as practice and strip time. If things go well, I will fence tournaments the next two weekends. I will just see how it goes.

Sabre for Non-Sabreist

I was talking with Stephen Pashby about a class he wants to start that deals with teaching some basic sabre to people that don't fence sabre. I thought that sounded interesting, as I am always looking to learn a little something new.

I thought I would talk to the coaches in Greensboro and see if they would be interested in hosting something like this.

I had a good weekend. What more can you ask?

Following My Dreams

2009-09-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just gonna ask them where they're going and hook up with them later. ~M. Hedberg

Long Winded Today

2009-09-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

(Jordon is the girl second from the left.)

This has been on my mind of late.

Often, when you visit a club's web site, you will find a list somewhere of their accomplishments. Tournament placings earned by students and coaches are commonly posted. Also, when club kids make college fencing teams.

The Greensboro Fencers' Club (Formerly the Downtown Fencing Club....and I have trouble thinking of it by any other name) had a student make the University of North Carolina fencing team this year. She will fence epee. Is she a very good fencer? (No.) Could she be? (Possibly in this environment.)

How did this happen? Is it because she is academically gifted and got into UNC? (Partly.) Is it because Ron Miller was running an epee class at the club & she got to know him? (That sure did not hurt.) Perhaps there are other reasons. I know last year, Coach was a bit short on women's epee fencers for the team.

Jordan (like me) also went to several clinics given by Alex Beguinet, the head coach of Duke University team. The rivalry and hatred between UNC and Duke borders on stupidity in my book. There seems to be enough hate in the world without perpetuating something like this. Of course, I was a student at neither university. Maybe I am not getting something. Alex liked her. He will remember her. It will be interesting if they meet or speak at the Duke event next year.

I think of a lot of very talented young fencers (that I know in this state) who wanted very much to be accepted at UNC and make this team. I can only count two that did this year, and Jordan is one.

In my mind,The Greensboro Fencers' Club has had a lot of accomplishments. Particularly, considering that it is a very small club and all the coaches are volunteers.

Should it ever get to the point where the GFC lists our accomplishments on our web site, I think somewhere in there it should say something like the following:

" Gave some kids that did not fit in a place to to feel accepted. To gain a bit of discipline and learn a few manners/social skills. " (Words to that effect. Perhaps not those.)

That IS an accomplishment.

Wondering

For the last couple of years, one of my goals in fencing has been to become decent technically. Not great....pretty decent. Coach is a great person with whom to pursue that goal. Even in our little group lessons, we are generally divided into a " leader-student" pairing to work on drills. Nothing unusual about that. But, it is a lot like the private lessons. As much or more of the instruction is often for the leader, as this is more difficult to do correctly than the fencing action. I like that aspect of this. In a way, it is like you are being trained to coach without knowing it.

I am wondering something lately though. Is this the best way? I feel weird thinking about this. Ron is a great and distinguished coach. I have only questioned what I learned from him twice. This is number two.

I am not going behind his back and questioning him. I will ask him about this the first chance I get.

This is what I am wondering though.

Everyone needs to be able to do basic actions with some degree of technical proficiency before they can move on to tactics. However, I am wondering if it would not be better (for some students at least) to gain a moderate amount of technical ability.......learn tactics.....and then perfect the technical actions for those tactics.

Maybe I am wondering this due to feeling that my knowledge of tactics is so very limited.

Reading

Generally, the books I read related to fencing are non-fiction.

A friend lent me a historic-fiction book lately titled "The Fencing Master" by Artro Perez-Reverte. This seems to be a very common book for fencers to read. I am late getting around to it.

I am about half way through at present. It is a good and easy read.

From time to time in the book, you read phrases that are commonly heard in fencing. I assume that as it was published in 1988 , many fencers first read these quotes for the first time in this book.

Perhaps the most common is about "holding the weapon like you would hold a small bird".

All I could think of when reading that is, when I fence epee my bird may be in good shape for a while, but, at some point in bouting I think I break some of his ribs. Fortunately, there is no shortage of small birds.

Editors Note: No animals were harmed in any way in the making of this journal entry.

12 Year Old Girls Fencing Epee

The GFC has three, 12 year old girl epeeists. One is so tall I would want proof of age if I was checking her in at a tournament. She is fairly tall even for an adult. One is short. One is frickin' tiny!!!! I think she is the smallest 12 year old I ever saw. The tall one and the tiny one are fencing in an event in Georgia soon. I worry about the tiny one. She has great foot work and mobility. She is brave, but lacks the killer instinct. She often does not lead with her point when she lunges. I wonder if part of that is due to the small size of her arm and the weight of the weapon. I worry about her. I hope getting the crud beat out of her does not make her dislike fencing. She is a sweet kid.

Grandfencer

Yesterday, I went with my youngest daughter and her husband to see the ultra sound of the baby she is carrying. This one also identified the baby's sex.

His name will be Lucas.

I had always hoped to be able to teach my grandkids how to fence, or at least get them interested so that they might pursue it later in life. I have a tiny antique fencing jacket with silver buttons up the side waiting on one to fill it out.

I hope circumstances will allow me to at least be able to "play" fencing with him/them.

I have had children, and I know that what interests you often has NO interest to them. (Though I find it comforting that my son, Sam, loves to run. He saw me do this often growing up. Perhaps it was an influence...who knows.)

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

NCFDP

I had a good private lesson with Coach at UNC on Tuesday. We seem to be adding more and different actions to lessons lately. This is a good thing.

I am so programed to do "circle six in opposition" at present, I use it to instinctually in bouting. Great parry....but too slow and predicable. I need to broaden my scope.

I made progress in fencing Alex this week. I am hitting near target with flicks once in a while, and I opened up the distance. My flicks still stink, but I am working on them. Next week, I will try attacking him in third intention. Hey...I have to know!

They are working on one of the gyms at UNC, so the fencing room is being shared around 8:00 by a karate club. So many people in one small space generates a LOT of heat. I have to hit the showers before the drive home. It is best to get there early now. If not...it will be hard to find a strip.

2009-09-03T04:52:00.000-07:00

( I have always been told that there is nothing more sexy than a man doing dishes. You don't think I am being "played" do you?)

I am not fencing very well of late.

Editors Note: By that statement, I am of course referring to the limitations of my own ability.

It is most likely due to several things. I am also wondering if age is catching up with me. One of the many things that is wrong is that I catch myself standing still on strip. I am also very tired of late. I do not know what that is all about. Another may be that I am just not getting enough bouting in.

But what kind of bouting?

I see myself as a " D and Under " kind of fencer. Once in a while,I luck up and do okay in higher level tournaments.

Here is a question I ask myself of late. Is it better to fence "A and B" fencers and mostly be their target or to look for practice partners that are just a bit beyond your ability.

I have come to the conclusion that I am just not smart enough to figure out what a good "A" fencer is doing on my own. By that I mean that I almost never come away from a practice bout with something new to work on, or that I can try and emulate.

You Would Think This Would Be A Small Problem

I want a target at my home. Not a tennis ball hanging sort of thing, but a strong stationary target.

I have decided that it would be good for me to work on some basics. I am not happy with my lunge and I feel that I need to work on adding a couple of odd things to muscle memory.

If I had this target at home I would shoot for 5 good actions of the following every day:

A. 4 Infighting actions
B. From extension distance
C. 2 actions that there are not names for in fencing.
D. Lunge
C, Advance lunge

Doing this would not take very long and I do not see how it could do anything but be of benefit.

The problem is where to do I put such a target.

In the house? I don't think that will fly.

On a tree? I would feel funny with the neighbors watching.

The deck seems the best choice, but I just had it rebuilt. I need a way to mount something that will take a hit, but could be taken down without showing that it was there.

I need to give this some more thought.

Jim's Week in Fencing

2009-08-29T03:30:00.000-07:00

Monday: I helped teach a beginner class, consisting of 1 student. The little guy is a quick learner with good footwork and a tight circle six. (For an eight year old.)

Tuesday: NCFDP opened for the first gathering. I had a good lesson with Coach and did well.

Fencing was another story. I fenced Alex. The last time we fenced (May, I think) the score was the score was 15-14. My personal best against this good Russian fencer. This time it was the most embarrassing score I can remember. So much that I am not going to put it in print.

In reflecting on why, the things I am aware of are:

A. I need to open up the distance.
B. For some unknown reason ( lately) I feel compelled to attack. Not good attacks that are set up, but simple direct attacks. I use to love to counter. What the heck happened to me?
C. I am impatient. I always thought patience and using time was something I had a good handle on. Time to think again.

Perhaps I just need more strip time to make up for my months of not fencing.

Coach went out of his way to introduce me to his friend Coach Jim Murray from John Hopkins. Jim lost his job there for some reason. I "Googled" him when I got home to learn more about him. Interesting that he had taught wheel chair fencing in Kinston.
I also found that a Jim Murray was in the US Fencing Hall of Fame. That Jim Murray died in 1954. I wonder if he was related.

Wednesday: I did some light fencing in Greensboro.

Thursday: I did my Tai Chi Class. I may have found something that would be of benefit at a tournament. I would have to go some place private to do it though, I would feel to self conscious doing this in front of a crowd of people.

Friday: We did a very successful demo and had at least six new kids sign up for a beginner class. I did not do a lot of talking to parents, I was more a visual aid. I fenced on and off for three hours. (This was good for me.)

There was talk of using the new space for divisionals or sectionals. I hope there was conversation with using tape on the courts and the mess a bunch of fencers can make.

Charlotte Fencing Academy

2009-08-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

I had a really good day fencing at the Charlotte Fencing Academy.

By "good" I do mean I fenced well. But it was a good and enjoyable day of fencing. It was also the first time I had really fenced all summer.

The club had an unsanctioned team event, which was by invitation only and for the club members.

We were fortunate enough to have been included.

It was a small event with an "A" fencer captaining each team. I fenced with Kyle and Kerry. Kerry and I were carried to victory by Kyle.

We felt so welcome there. There is a true sense of family and everyone was so nice to us. In my opinion, the sense of family is THE most important aspect of any club.

The fencing was great. It was nice to not be concerned with the typical tournament stuff..

After fencing we went out to eat together and again we felt privileged to be a part of that group.

It was a day well spent and one of the best I have had in recent times.

Tai Chi & Qigong Cross Training

2009-08-21T04:32:00.000-07:00

Last night I began an eight week class in Tai Chi & Qigong. I did this for multiple reasons.

However, as an interesting side note, I intend to see if I can benefit from this type of exercise as a way to improve my fencing.(Or perhaps my ABILITY to fence.)

I am not expecting anything. I am sure that an eight week (one night a week)course in Tai Chi & Qigong will give you as much expertise as an eight week (one night a week) course in fencing.

As our instructor spoke, I saw similarities in teaching this and teaching fencing. It was hard for her to explain words and concepts, just like it would have been for a fencing coach to do for a beginner class.

They offer the Tai Chi sword forms at her school in Winston Salem. I always thought they were WAY cool, but I doubt that I will ever get around to that, or if the movements would have much value to fencing.

There are things that COULD come out of this and be of use to a veteran fencer. (Perhaps other types of fencers as well.) As you age, you lose balance and flexibility. I think this might be an aid for both. Improving focus would be of help to me, and it is possible this course might help in that as well. It does help with your ability to relax, though I generally feel relaxed on strip.

I believe that certain aspects of fencing are like moving meditation. I love and am fascinated with that part of fencing. I once found long distance trail running to be extremely meditative (before Plantar fasciitis ended running for me). You can find this type of thing in many sports. However, Tai Chi is true moving mediation. Can it somehow improve those aspects of sports that are similar to it?

Then, there is the ability to focus your Chi. This is rather esoteric, and I am not sure I have ever bought the whole concept. In my years of material arts training, I did a lot of demos. The flashy things I did like laying on a bed of nails and having a guy break cinder blocks on my stomach were to be demonstrations of the use of Chi. Every one of these types of things (with the possible exception of "breaking") really had nothing to do with harnessing your Chi. So, I am a bit skeptical.

On the other hand, I did an eight week course on Tai Chi many years ago, and I always felt GREAT when I left that class. I am not sure when this was. It must have been in the 80's, as I remember I was reading Ann Rice books.

Still, I believe in the presence and force of Chi. So, maybe there is a way to use it in fencing. I will take a shot at it. There is nothing to lose.

Short Mindless Post

2009-08-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

I have been fencing a little bit for the last week and half. A little footwork and a bit of fencing. Some of it dry. (Steam for my UK friend.)

While fencing dry is not as much fun, I am finding it a good way to work on somethings. (As I do not get caught up in the score.)

I have not been going to the gym like I should. I have a couple of joints that have been hurting and I have been waiting for them to feel better. My thinking now tells me it is related to age and it is time to suck it up and just head to the gym and see what happens. Naturally most of the pain is in my weapon arm shoulder.

My son is heading back to UNCC this weekend. I had given some thought to going to a tournament down there as I would be in the neighborhood. Sadly, it does not seem to be filling up. My son is now talking about going down on Friday, so it may not matter anyway.

I just finished mowing in the back yard and hacking at some brush. I am waiting for my turn at the shower and to use some stuff to get rid of poison ivy oils. I think I will need that.

For some reason while I was working, I began to think about my "kneeling squat". I don't have a name for it. I sometimes kneel in an effort to avoid the blade in fencing. I could never do those skinny kid squats to avoid the blade, even when I was a skinny kid. I got this from Tommy a long time ago. (Before he improved so much.)

I never plan on doing it. Much like I never plan on a lunge. It just happens. Mostly with success, though not always.

I am now trying to decide if it is a good idea or not. When I do this my knees in my en guard are bent more than they should be. (Maybe?) A small matter I will give more thought to as I shower.

A Conversation Continues.

2009-08-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

cobalt said...

"If it wasn't an automated system on a very simple to use web site, I could understand. But to paraphrase Matt Cox on a different question I asked, "I call BS." If you're a tournament organizer, then you should understand nowadays how important it is to have that data up on askFred anyways. It's a big deal in regards to promotion of your tournament, and helps the sport as a whole. Honestly, I can't think of anyone who took more than 2 days to get that stuff online last year(Well, I can think of one... )

And with the automation on ncfencing.org, it's pretty simple stuff for the observer. And Matt's a pretty active webmaster. When there's a problem he's pretty much immediately on it.

All in all, I have good vibes about this new system. I tried poking holes into it as best I could. It's pretty solid. Obviously, with people trying to cheat it, holes will be found. But, all in all, it's a massive improvement in organization from last year."

August 17, 2009 2:06 PM

The Gray Epee says:

I do not disagree with what you are saying. Though there is more than one club that is not prompt to post on Ask Fred.

What I do believe is that if a tournament was to loose it's sanction( after just two days)it would not harm the tournament organizers as much as it would the kids fencing that tournament.

To me, screwing with the kids that fence in a tournament is not serving them.

In truth, I think we are on the same page. The result of possibly not having things done in time is the only problem I see.

Point....Counter Point ( Fencing....~snicker~ Get It?)

2009-08-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

" cobalt said...

But taking weeks/months to process a rating change does help the fencer? Because that's why that rule was put in place.

The fencers are our customers, they're within their rights to want quick service.

Saying, "Cause that's the way it always has been.", only leaves us continuing to tread water against other sports that DON'T have a problem doing this. "

August 17, 2009 7:58 AM

This was a response to the last post in my journal. I agree with what was said here.

On the other hand I still believe that that giving people two days or risk loosing the right to be sanctioned is a bit extreme.

North Carolina Divisional Observer

2009-08-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

I have just returned home from my training to be a North Carolina Divisional Observer.

The material was informative and well presented.

Shortly into the training, it became even more apparent that this is a job without any joy in it at all. Perhaps I am wrong and have just not found it yet.

You cannot fence or ref. You have responsibilites prior to the event and after. But, through the whole long day of fencing you don't really do "jack".

I can read for a while. I can socialize for a while or work on repairing weapons, but after that it is like being on a flight to Hong Kong.

Still, the goal here is to serve the fencers. I guess an observer just has to "cowboy up".

Question

I had one question during the training.

It seems that 24 hours after the tournament, the organizers are to have the results posted on askfred.net.

24 hours after that, observers are to have verified the ask.fred results, completed pertinent forms, and sent results to the Divisional Secretary.

I asked, " Why the rush?"

Part of the answer was, the fencers want immediate gratification, and they want to be able to use their shiny new rating at next week's tournament.

My thought is, if someone needs immediate gratification, then fencing is not the sport for them. In fact, I can't think of a sport where immediate gratification is part of the equation.

From my own personal experience with events posted on ask FRED, I have found the following:

A. If you are embarrassed or demoralized by your results in a tournament, they will be posted on ask FRED by the time you drive home.

B. If you did well in a tournament, those results will be posted DAYS later, when everyone except you has forgotten about it.

What brought up my question in the first place was, it was stated that if the tournament organizers did not have the info posted on ask FRED within 24 hours, and the observer could not do his part in the following 24 hours, then the event could be at risk of losing it's recognition as a sanctioned tournament.

I must say, that does not seem like it is serving the interest of the fencers.

2009-08-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

Good News/Bad News

Bad news: I got laid off. Good news: I can fence again: ( At least, in a more limited manner due to finances.)

I have not yet determined the best way to get the most bang for my buck. Right now, I think I will stick with NCFDP. I miss working with Coach.

I am not sure what to do about the Greensboro Fencers' Club (formerly the Downtown Fencing Club).

While we were at the "Y", I knew my place in the scheme of things. I was a good, dependable helper, and could be counted on to "sub" as a coach when needed.

Since the move to a new space this summer, there are very few kids to work with. I do not feel all that needed or a part of things there any more. However, I have friends there and I want to be a part of it as long as it can hang on. But what kind of part? And does my part fit my friends view of that "part"?

It is complex. I need to think on this a while.

Divisional Observers

I am thinking about doing one of these Divisional Observers Clinics. I can't think of many things worse than having to hang around a fencing tournament and not able to play.

The post on Ask Fred states that clubs which do not have members to do this will not be able to have sanctioned tournaments.

It seems a bit funny, as it is being held during a time when the college kids who run the college clubs are not here to participate.

I figure, if I do this, and I am, at present a member of two clubs, they both are covered.

Weird

It is strange how when I was not fencing this summer, that the fact that three of my best weapons will not pass a shim test(and an overzealous ref was concerned about a dent in my mask)did not bother me at all. That kind of thing use to worry me to death until they were fixed. Not so much at the moment. I am heading to the post office now to mail in my USFA membership.

I guess I am back.

Out

2009-07-09T05:54:00.000-07:00

I pretty much see fencing as being over for me. At least for the foreseeable future.

I am trapped in a job out of town. I am not sure how long I will be able to hold on to the job. It is god awful and I do not feel qualified to do it in many respects. Still I must try to hang on to it as long as I can , as the alternative of being unemployed with the economy as it is, leaves me little choice.

Should I become unemployed, there would be no money to devote to fencing.

I am pretty much screwed.

I still read everything I can about fencing on line. I check on the people I know and learn what I can. However, that makes me sad. Living without something you love is a lot like living without someone you love.

There are a lot of depressing things going on in my life at the moment. A friend suggested that I blog about them. (Or that I continue to blog as an outlet.)

I don't think I want to bare my soul on-line, but I may give this some thought in other regards.

I so miss people from my fencing life. It is impossible to separate that love from the love of the sport.

The Plan for Now

2009-05-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

I fenced last week.

It was the first time I had ever seen a video of me fencing. Dang! I thought I was better than that. I now see things to work on.

In my driving to Indiana during the week, I have not found a club near Jasper, Indiana.
Note: The job is long and fairly physical, so staying up late and driving far is not an option.

I do pass through Louisville, KY. 1 1/2 hours from Jasper and they have a club or two. I will explore this after I become more acquainted with my job and other matters.

There are some season end tournaments. Tournaments will now become practice. Get in some bouting when I can...where I can.

I might be able to meet with some friends on the weekend and bout.

If things go okay with the DFC, they may start free fencing on Fridays. I may can work that in.

The summer is always slow, so just as long as I can keep at it a bit, I may not loose to much. Of course I do not have ALL that much to loose.

My plan is to be a nomadic fencer....a homeless fencer for a while....but to still keep at it.

Not great. Not what I want. But it is a plan of sorts. If I had my way, my life would not be as it is. A lot of people would say the same thing.

Never more than of late, have I ever wanted to do the thing that makes me happy and forget all about the things I should do.

Postings Will Be Less Frequent

2009-05-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

It is a sad time and depressing time for me.

Like many companies these days, the one for which I work is encountering financial difficulties.

My job is tied to the housing industry.

Last week, I found out that I would almost certainly lose my job by August. I worked a deal (if a deal is what you can call it) and took a job in Indiana. I will drive eight hours every Monday......work there through the week..........and drive eight hours home on Friday. Even doing this, my job can not be considered secure. There is still risk and uncertainty.

So, for the foreseeable future, fencing will become something I do whenever I can find the time and a place.

There is no choice in the matter. I have a son in college and a wife with huge medical expenses.

Like I said, even this does not offer definite security regarding my employment.

If I were unemployed, I would have time for fencing, but not the finances to do so.

My career has always been very specialized. As furniture is no longer made in the US, that has eliminated that option. I can get a job in China...I think....but my wife could not be without the medical treatment here, and I would need to live there and my family here. I have seen how this has worked for other people. Let's just say the results are not pretty.

There are also laws about hiring in the US (if there were jobs to be had), but anyone in their fifties know that there is prejudice in hiring someone in our age group.

Relocation is not much of an option. I can't sell my houses.

I will just have to see what the future brings.

I suspect posts on this blog to be less frequent.

I love fencing. It is/was my passion.

However, my greatest regret is not missing the fencing, but missing the people I care about who fence.

For the time being, I am going to buy a leather bound journal and record some of the things I have learned about fencing epee. I will include drawings (I was an art major).

I have always had a fantasy that one of my grandchildren (when I get some) would find something like this and become interested in fencing.

That's pretty unlikely. However, once in a blue moon, I buy a lottery ticket.

Grey Epee....over and out.

Raleigh and Las Vegas

2009-04-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

Raleigh

Sunday, I fenced in a RFC tournament.

There were 18 or 19 people preregistered for the epee event---only 11 showed up.

In the first set of pools, I only won one bout.

In the second set of pools, I only lost one bout. (Moderately long story on the second set of pools thing.) At least we got in some extra practice, because that is what it was.

The inconsistency of my results is something I ponder. Am I like an old car? Does it just take me a while to warm up? Do I fence better when I am a little ticked off? I know Nicole does. Though being angry does nothing.....it has to be just a little ticked off. Or is it just kind of a crap shoot at certain levels?

Oh well.....I am bored with thinking about that already. Moving on.

Las Vegas

Monday, after being in a plane for about six hours and in airports for about four hours, I went to The Fencing Academy of Nevada Las Vegas.

The lady at the desk was really nice and went out of her way to introduce me to people and see that I got to fence.

The first thing I noticed was a bevy of tiny teenage girls fencing epee, wearing FIE whites with "USA" on their jackets. They looked both cute and menacing.....and they certainly were the later.

There were at least 2 Delgado's there. I must remember to tell Mario. Perhaps I just did.

I pretty much got the tar beat out of me by all ages. I fenced 3 times with long breaks in between. I was tired, though not being tired would have made little difference.

I watched a young woman foil coach give elegant private lessons. Always with footwork and covering distance.

I studied the way these people fenced. There was nothing fancy about it, though they were clearly high level fencers. It looked like Olympic fencing with less distance between the fencers. I clearly do not understand elements of higher level fencing. That is okay. If I did, I would lose the fun of trying to figure things out.

I met the big guys there, shook hands and said hello. That was about all I was expecting. I am just not the kind of guy that can strike up a conversation. Besides, they were busy.

I watched Maitre Auriol talk to fencers with a look or a glance. He looked at his watch when a fencer came in late. More than once I saw him give a disapproving look to someone bouting. It evidently is all that needed to be said.

I headed out early , as I was tired and not certain I could find my hotel if it was very dark.

I talked to the nice lady at the desk again and asked her, " Is this the begining class? Cause if it is, I want be back on Wednesday for the advanced class." ( I wanted to be there on Monday, as I thought the people would be closer to my level of fencing.) She laughed and told me the people fencing were the regulars and that I was holding my own. She told me to come back on Wednesday, and I will.

One the things of interest to me at the salle was a quote from Maitre Yves Auriol hanging on the wall.

It said, " The answer is on the strip."

I love simple truths. They are the best.

Brief Post

2009-04-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

Private Lessons

My private lessons have not been going all that well of late.

I concentrate on my standard problems and a new one pops up.

The new one is pulling back my weapon arm. It is partly because my advance is too large.

RFC Tournament

Heading to Raleigh early tomorrow morning. Looking at the pre-registration, I would say the odds are not good of hitting a mark better than expected. Still, hope springs eternal.

Once more, the three musketeers will be together.

Vegas

Another business trip to Vegas is about to have a couple of bright spots, as I hope to head to a Las Vegas fencing club and some bouting.

There are a number of well known coaches at that club.

I doubt that I will get to talk with them. But I will be happy just checking out the club and getting a bit of strip time.

http://www.fencingacademyofnevada.com/

I have been instructed to post on how that goes. That will give me something to do on the two nights I will not fence. Yay!