Getting out of the 8s

In fencing, 8 is not enough. In 4 of my last five events, I landed in 8th place. In one of them, I needed only to advance to the round of 4 to improve my rating. In the rest, I needed to make or win the final.

Also true of the last five events is my pool record has suffered. Early mornings, early afternoons - no matter the start I have been dropping two bouts instead of the one bout I used to drop earlier in the season.

Most of the reason for the losses is that I am rushing actions. However after reviewing myself on video, I find that my footwork gets sluggish as my actions get larger when I rush. So I think I am going faster, but I am really slower.

On the flip side, 8th place is a lot better than my results from last season. Again, after reviewing the tape - my point control has increased tremendously. Any point on the hand is available target to me, even on a flèche. My flicks are much cleaner, and I have a great parry-riposte against the flèche. All I need is to clean up my pool bouts and start beating people from my own club and I will have my A very soon.

As an aside, few people - including myself truly look good in a fencing uniform. Here is me at my best in my FIE uniform.



Ugh, I still remember my pants nearly falling down. I got the touch though!