Still alive...still fencing

Work has been crazy busy, and fitting fencing in has become challenging.  I've managed a few practices, a lesson, and a tournament, but otherwise, I'm strapped for time.  So clearly writing has gone by the wayside.

The tournament was....alright.  I could have done much better, and I struggled mentally.  I'm not sure how much was non-fencing stress related and how much was actually caused by the tournament.  I felt unfocused and frustrated, which just kept feeding into itself.  I still managed to have a pretty good time (the group that showed up to fence had some great people in it), but....

Anyways, coach insisted that I did well, that he learned a lot, and we just need to keep going with the lesson plan.  I expected to get worse as I got "rebuilt" and I have so much to tackle mentally in terms of tactics and strategy that I've never really mastered.  So I have a lot of work to do.  It's just been difficult for several reasons.  First, not having the time to put in is hard.  Second, watching your husband have that one lesson that makes so much just "click" just threw in high relief that I'm not anywhere near that point yet.

Ok.  Enough b*tching out of me.  I don't mean to sound whiney (but I'm sure I do!).  I'm hoping after Thanksgiving work will calm down a little bit.  If it doesn't, I'm going to have to figure something out, since I refuse to live my life just to work.  Hell, part of the reason I work is so I can afford to fence!!!

Progress

Practice last night was much better than Monday.  My coach started by giving me a new squat/quad exercise to do as well as giving me a standard footwork warm up.  I'm making slight adjustments in my footwork, and by doing so, I'm realizing how lazy I was fencing before.  I was just sort of stepping rather than pushing myself forward and back.  My lunge is also slowly improving.

As for fencing, I actually got a few really clean and pretty counterattacks.  This was a very big victory after Monday night.  I also felt really focused and was able to watch, wait, and time my attacks well.  One guy always keeps score when he fences, and he was up on me at first 7-1 or 7-2.  I then scored 6 or 7 unanswered touches.  He caught up, and we ended up see-sawing up to 14 all.  I got stupid and rushed though, and lunged into his blade on the last touch.  Oh well.  My timing in this bout was much better and I was moving pretty well, so overall it was good for me.

Going back to the lazy fencing point, I've realized how bad my extension was too.  My extension is better than it was two weeks ago, but it's not as strong as it should be yet.  I missed a lot of touches that were right there, and just a tiny bit short.  If I had a full extension, I would have gotten them.  I'm realizing how many times during the last year I thought I was just way off while fencing, or had a bad idea, or whatever, when what was really happening was that I wasn't extending.  Fixing just this one thing will make a big difference.

One last thing - I'm working on fixing a lot of basics, but I'm starting to slowly be able to work on all of it while still fencing tactically.  Everything I'm doing is still pretty simple - straight attacks, simple disengages, simple parries.  Nothing complex.  But last week I felt paralyzed because I was so focused on form, en guard position, etc.  So that's an improvement.  I'm sure once I take my next lesson (which is Saturday), I'll slip backwards on this point again, but that's to be expected, I think.

Overall, I'm so happy that I felt better last night than Monday.  I know that I have to expect bad days where I'm more frustrated than anything else.  I admit that I was concerned on the way to practice that it would be the same.

Unlearning is hard!

Practice was frustrating tonight!  We did a drill in the beginning to work on counterattacks.  I've never had great counterattacks, but it's something my new coach really emphasizes as an important tool to perfect.  The drill was...difficult.  I kept missing the timing of my retreats and getting hit, or else I would retreat well, but my extension would fall short (or my arm just wouldn't do anything at all!).  I did start getting it a bit at the end though.

Then free fencing wasn't that great either.  I ended up being the odd woman out a lot where there were no open strips or opponents.  Or I would fence with someone who had stayed up, so they would end up getting tired sooner resulting in a much shorter bout.  Then there wouldn't be anyone open to fence and I would end up sitting on the sidelines. 

My poor husband, on the other hand, ended up just never coming down.  At one point, he had fenced 3 or 4 people in a row, and instead of his opponent staying up, he just hopped down.  This would have left me sitting out even more.  My hubby then stayed up for me, exhausted as he was.

And this was where the frustration really began.  I knew it would be difficult and I'm definitely not expecting miracles.  It will take time.  But I failed to hit even one counterattack during my bout with him.  He gave me a good number of straight attacks (it was all he had left in the tank, poor guy!), and I either misjudged my distance or simply failed to extend.

We re-did the drill a few times since I was having so much trouble with it. I got 100% of those!  They were smooth and pretty, right on the arm.  Then, as soon as we went back to bouting, nothing.  My arm just didn't extend or I instinctively went to do a parry or something rather than a counterattack.

So all in all, not the best night of practice.  I'm heading back on Wednesday and will be happy if I can just land ONE counterattack in a bout.  Baby steps, right?

Out of Shape and Interesting E-Mails

My husband and I went to practice on Saturday.  He had his first lesson with our new coach, and much like me, he was completely thrilled and exhilarated when it was over.  It will interesting watching him progress through his lessons in comparison to my lessons.  I have much more of a foundation to work with, but I have far more muscle memory to unlearn or tweak than he does.

One thing that has become very, very clear is that I need to be in MUCH better shape to get to the point I'd like to be at.  My legs crapped out after about an hour of fencing/practicing. I'm afraid to start running to help get there, as the greater intensity of my footwork and lunging may be all my knees can take.  I don't think I need to be doing any more high impact stuff.  I think we are going to look into picking up an exercise bike on Craigslist or something as an alternative.  What I would *really* love is a pool. It's a total body work out and no impact.

Finally, I got an interesting e-mail today.  When my husband and I left our old club (the OC), we just...stopped going there.  We went to the new club one night to try it out and we easily decided after that one practice that we were switching.  We haven't been to a tournament since our switch, so we haven't run into anyone from the OC yet.  Now, us not going to practice for a few weeks isn't that unusual.  There have been times when neither of us were able to go to practice because work got busy or something.  And let's face it, if we loved going, we would have made the time to go regardless of how busy we were.  But during those absences, we never heard from anyone from the OC to see if everything was ok or whatever.

Now, however, we get an e-mail saying "we've missed you at OC practice.  I hope that all is well."  I find this odd.  My guess is that the coach knows we left OC, because when we recently registered for a tournament at ASKFred, we changed our club designation to the new club (and this coach checks ASKFred pretty regularly).  The thing that I find odd is that other people have left OC before (a good number of whom left to join our new club!!), and the coach never once even acknowledged that they left.

I am wondering if this is the extent of the communication that will come from OC now, or if I should expect some questions next time I attend a meet hosted by OC (which will be in December, most likely).  I don't feel the need to volunteer information to OC, but if the coach asks me why we left, I will have no issue telling them that we felt seriously neglected, that the lack of structure at practices is a disservice to ALL fencers, and that the coaches need to be far more diligent and proactive in coaching, both in ensuring that people who schedule lessons actually get them and providing attention and assistance during bouting in practice.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, as I think the coaches there looked at me as a valuable resource for the club.  It seemed OC coaches treated me as such, and they had even been told that by another coach (A guest coach came to run a weekend clinic. The coach remembered me from the college club circuit, and at the end of the clinic, he pretty much told OC coaches that!) I have a good amount of experience due to collegiate fencing and I do enjoy helping other fencers learn.  In fact, during some practices, I felt like I coached some of the younger and/or inexperienced fencers more than the coaches did!  So I really am wondering if they will say anything to me or not.  I am doubtful that anything I say to them, whether they ask me for an explanation or not, will make any difference whatsoever.

First lesson

The first lesson was AWESOME.  We covered a lot of ground and went through pretty much every basic action.  It is going to take a lot of time to unlearn what I've been doing for 5 years, but I can already tell that the style of fencing will suit me better and it will make me so much more effective.  For posterity sake, I'm going to run through what we worked on and the changes I need to make.

En Guard position:  I need to roll my thumb to the top.  I have a very good en guard position generally.  I've had fellow club members remark that I almost never show target (hand, wrist, forearm).  But my riposts and binds aren't great, and I miss.  A lot.  I think rolling my thumb to the top will correct a lot of this.

Extension:  I need keep my arm much more relaxed and really extend from the shoulder - a straight, strong attack.

Lunge:  I've had it drilled into me FOREVER that the hand goes before the foot.  Always, hand then foot.  This is so that your point is on target and you're simply propelling it forward with your lunge.  I'm now changing it.  Which makes sense - the longer you keep your hand relaxed, the more likely you'll be able to react to your opponent by disengaging, etc.

I also need to make my lunge longer and more powerful.  To this end, my coach hooked me up to a harness with bungie cords on it.  He had me advance, lunge and retreat with it on, and then off.  I felt like I could fly after taking it off.  It was incredible.

Ultimately, I have a lot of adjustments to make, some bigger and some smaller.  There is so much muscle memory that needs to be unlearned that it will take time.  I also have to get into better shape, along with tightening and cleaning up a lot of my footwork.

One thing I need to remember while working on all of this is to stay focused on long term goals.  I fenced with someone after my lesson and I had so many of these small, basic changes floating through my head that I almost forgot to fence.  I got some good counterattacks on my opponent, as well as a good number of double touches, so I must have been doing something at least partly right.  I am essentially starting over, so it is going to be slow and rough going at first.  I need to work on improving while not getting frustrated.  It's an easy trap for me to fall into, especially considering my temperament and personality (which is another post for another day).

But the best thing about my lesson?  Having a coach tell me that he sees a lot he can work with.  Having a coach tell me not to get overwhelmed.  Having a coach tell me "My fencers' problems are my problems.  I don't want you to think that all of these things are problems YOU have to fix.  No, these are my problems and I have to fix them.  You put in the work, and I'll do the fixing."  It was incredibly uplifting and motivating to have someone pushing me to be better and promising to do whatever he can to help me get there.  It feels wonderful to be excited about fencing again for the first time in a long time.

Shoes - Frustrations

I have a pair of very old Adidas fencing shoes that I LOVE.  I purchased them on sale the summer before my senior year of college.  They were on sale because they had long before been discontinued with select sizes left.  I purchased a size that was actually 1/2 size too small. But I love them.

I've been fencing in these shoes for over 2 years now with varying degrees of intensity.  In college, I would fence a few tourneys a month and practice for a few hours 2 or 3 times a week. After college, I would fence very, very occasionally.  And of course, I've been using them on average 2 times a week plus competitions since I started back up last fall.

They have held up remarkably well.  No tears and no holes.  While logic tells me they should be uncomfortable (since they're a bit too small), they in fact fit like a glove and offer perfect support.  I move well in them.  I feel light on my feet but close to the ground.

The only problem is that the tread has been obliterated in the obvious places on the front foot.  My new club has the "cheese grater" strips which actually provide me with a bit more traction than just a wooden floor, but with no tread, I can't possibly fence in these shoes for much longer.  So I've begun searching for a replacement.

Adidas has always been my go-to brand.  I am comfortable with their fit and happy ordering online because I know what I'll get.  At least, I used to.  Adidas seems to have dropped fencing as a priority. Now, all of their "fencing" shoes are really just court shoes (like racquet ball, bandmitton, etc.) with the word fencing slapped onto the label. That is NOT what I want. I want a FENCING shoe, dammit.

My husband fences in the Leon Paul Scimtars.  He likes them a lot, as do a lot of people I know who have them. My only problem with them is that they are wide and seeing how I fence in shoes 1/2 size too small, I clearly do not have wide feet.  The Viktoria shoes are just too expensive for me to drop the cash on without knowing what the fit and quality is.

So I ordered a pair of Asics.   They weren't very expensive.   I fenced in them on Monday and I can't decide if I like them.  They certainly can't hold a candle to my old pair and they formed a couple of blisters on my feet.  That may have been simply due to the laces loosening as I fenced in them.  I still plan on wearing my old shoes at practice and maybe pulling these out for a few bouts at the end of the night to see if they wear in a bit.  But I doubt I will ever be 100% happy with these. So the hunt will continue...

New beginnings

I'm not a beginning fencer by any meaning of the word. But I am hopefully embarking on a new chapter of my fencing life. First, a little about me.

I did not start fencing until college. I went to school in New England and fenced for a club team. I have been an epeeist from day one. While I loved fencing dearly, I always struggled. I believe I have some modicum of natural talent, but I have never had consistent coaching to help me fence with consistent (not to mention better!) results.

I took a break from fencing after graduating, mainly due to a lack of money to fund my hobby, but also due to the lack of accessible clubs. If you didn't own a car, a bus ride followed by a nice hike while lugging fencing gear was the only option.

After getting married, my husband and I relocated to Atlanta, where I went to law school. I needed to start getting more exercise and wanted to have a non-law related outlet to make friends, etc. Fencing seemed like a good option, but again, the lack of money was a problem.

Now that I am an attorney, I can finally afford to fence again. I dove back into the sport last fall and damn, did it feel good to be back. My joy soon turned to frustration and dismay, however. When I joined the club I found, I had high hopes for finally getting the consistent coaching that I knew I needed. Those hopes were dashed. The coaches seemed to have favorites, perhaps those people the coach felt were worth their time to coach because they could earn results for the club. Whether it was the intention of the coaching staff or not, I began to feel like I didn't deserve any attention because I would never be good enough. It honestly began to feel like some odd abusive relationship. Another problem was that even in practice, there was a significant emphasis on competition and winning. I don't think this was necessarily intended, but it's what happened. I'm very, very competitive and I LOVE to win, but practice is where I need to learn and figure out things that I need to fix, things that work, etc.

Once I realized that I dreaded going to fencing practice, I knew I needed to change. I just recently switched clubs, and more than ever, I have hope again that I have finally found a coach with whom I can work. The other fencers at the club are great to fence with and they are interested in discussing strategy, tactics, and problems we're trying to improve on any given night. The coach is excited to work with everyone and his actions convey the fact that he sees something of value in every fencer.

So this blog is my attempt to better document my fencing experiences. I hope to keep track of coaching, lessons, practices, and tournaments in an effort to track my progress and improve. I have my first lesson with my new coach later this week and I am excited to discuss what he thinks are my strengths and weaknesses and to lay out a plan for future lessons.

As for goals, I have two. First, and generally, I hope that with additional motivation, I will finally be able to tone up and lose the 10 pounds that my doctor always suggests I drop. :) Second, and fencing specific, I would love qualify for Nationals this year. I'll be fencing on a team at Nationals, but if I could also qualify for Div III WE, that would be incredible (especially since the competition is held in Atlanta this year, which = no traveling!).