I would love to say I conquered, but that would be lie. At the 3rd annual Clocktower Open in Rome I made the top 8 in E and Under Epee and the top 16 in the Open. In the E and Under I lost my focus in the last DE - which has taught me never rush to end a bout in the second period with the score at 14-13. It rarely ends well. I felt I fenced better in the Open in spite of my place, and I gave heady chase to some very good fencers.
My main problem was that I didn't power through my opponents whenever my point stopped short against them. I would get within two inches of a touch after an attack or an attack-lunge, and if I couldn't stretch it, I would just retreat. The smart thing to do would be a forward recover, and lunge again while keeping my point in the same line. If I had of done that, I could have beaten at least two other people in each event today.
Lesson learned.
