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!).