Less Foolish in Newberry

First off, Homewood Suites rocks. A two bedroom king/queen has four beds (including fold out sofa) for just under $200. It's a great deal for 4 adults, and the room is gorgeous and comfortable to boot. Thanks Homewood Suites-Gainesville!

Fencing threatened to look the same today as yesterday. My left contact lens popped out before we reached the venue, and my left spectacle lens popped out in the middle of my third bout. I ended up 2-2 in yet another 5 person pool, the Bain of imperfect fencers.

DEs worked out a bit better. I faced the 21st seed out of 22, a small kid who didn't believe in remises. Knowing that I had much stiffer competition after him, I tried to fence him as strong and conservatively as possible. We ended up 14-2 after running out of time.

The next DE was against the 5th seed, and based on his attitude you would have thought he was an A. His fencing was a different matter. Attacking in distance and not landing is deadly in all three weapons, but he just wouldn't stop. Aside from a few attacks to keep him honest, most of my touches were easy counterattacks. I know I have a date with P90X and some situps, but do I really look that slow?

The following DE was against my club mate, the same one who beat me 15-9 in Statesboro, and won the event. Winning was the only option, but experience and history were trying to dissuade me. I got down 3 early in the bout, but I managed to bring it back to 11-11 by the second break. Sure, the event was an A1, so I wouldn't renew my B with a win, but I still wanted it. At 14-12, I figured hitting the hand would bring me to 15, and I saw his hand enough under his bell guard to get me to believe it. Unfortunately, I didn't count on not being able to fight for touches after the action got ugly, and I lost 14-15. A loss, but a significant improvement.

I am still annoyed that I lost, and that the event fell from an A2 to an A1, but my fencing (at least in DEs) is both consistent and showing slight improvement with every encounter. Plus, I am still continuing the tradition of getting knocked out of the direct elimination round by a current or past member of my club.