Struggling in Practice

Right now I am in training for no tournament in particular, but Sectionals will be in Georgia extremely soon, and the Queen City ROC in Charlotte comes up in March.

At practice, when I am not coaching, giving lessons, etc. I end up fencing someone in a bout that if it were all on the line, I would beat 10/10 - but lately that ain't happening. I'm not getting blown out, but I am not absolutely dominating the person. Sure, my bodycord maybe having issues, as are my weapons, and last Saturday was my first day back after a high fever, but still. Epee fencing is the wrong sport for someone with a lot of pride, but I would almost rather take a touch in practice then needlessly put 100% into an attack and still fail. Then again, do I have enough gas in the tank to put 100% into every single attack against every opponent at the club 4-5 times a week? My ego is much happier finding a weak spot with a given fencer, exploiting it 5-15 times, and being done with it.

It's one thing if everyone is simply getting better, but I am not sure that's the case. Unless I take care of myself and push myself, I am bound to get slower - that's just life. Maybe I should go ahead and finish P90X before I let my pride get involved.

On To Nationals

The GA Division Championships were last weekend, and well - yeah. I decided to not compete in any individual events this time around. The nice reason is that I haven't been to practice because of work, and wasn't sure I'd do well. The not nice and other reason was that I had friends in town all week and I knew I would be hungover if not passed out by close of check-in at 8:30am. These two reasons are also why I haven't competed as much inside Georgia as in the past. National and out of region events get on my calendar well in advance of any planned shenanigans.

And I sucked royally in the team events. I gained some weight because I haven't been to the gym in two months, and work stress has made it worse. Plus I haven't been to two practices in a row in the same period - so my distance perception was in the trash. I have less than three weeks to turn both those problems around.

The first step will be eliminating the shenanigans until after Nationals. That won't be easy. The good news is after I return from Austin, you will be able to find me at Mr C's. It's convenient to many of the fencing clubs in ATL - see you there.

Beyond The Plateau

Where it not for my clubmate's generous gift for my birthday, I may be hitting a plateau. I have been reading a book on Italian fencing with the spada, and it has made a positive difference so far. Beyond that, I have been carousing WAY too much - and the scale has condemned me. The near term goal is still to earn a C07 before December 4th so I can fence the Atlanta Div I NAC. My performance at the C2 turned D1 event a couple weeks back proved I can fence at a C-Level, I just need to prove it at another tournament. I just hope time doesn't run out.

Oh No.... Sprinkle Some Fries On Those CUPCAKES!

Well, thanks to lots of alcohol, and the explosion of booze, food, and sweets that was birthday weekend 2007 - I have missed a few practices and I gained a bit of weight. Make that 12 lbs. Plus, I hit the treadmill and the weight room HARD last Sunday, and now I am sore as hell today. All this, and my fencing has suffered dramatically and I have my first tournament of the season in three days.

This is SNAFU barrelling towards FUBAR.

I stopped drinking for the week after the Falcons game last Sunday, and redoubled my efforts in practice - but I am worried about my endurance and my extension. My brain is making the right decisions - but my hand position and execution is screwing up the timing. Worse, I have a lecture on Thursday at Emory, so no practice before my first event first thing Saturday morning.



You might wanna wear a mask...


Right now, the plan is to work out today and get to bed relatively early, eat light tomorrow and work out before the lecture, and stay in Friday at all costs - even if it means inviting any paramours to my place. That, plus extension exercises at home will hopefully reverse the losses I have put on myself over the last few weeks.

Good lord wish me luck!

New Year - More Fencing

With my first competition of the new year coming up in Statesboro, I am pretty excited.

The last time I was in Statesboro I renewed my "E" and qualified for DivIII Nationals, so there is some good karma there. I have also been watching what I eat and trying to get on the treadmill more. Will Smith said in Reader's Digest that you meet your worst enemy on the treadmill - your lazy self. This is the guy that says that you have run enough, you are running too hard, and that three miles is just as good as five. Smith also said he uses the treadmill to learn about other people - and that he has nothing to fear from the kind of guy that commits himself to running five miles, but stops at three. I am not a Will Smith fan, but I want him to fear me - so I do everything I can to go the whole boat every time.

Another reason I am trying to slim down is a speed issue. I think my bladework is relatively solid - but while parry-ripostes aren't that common at the local level in epee, they still work extremely well if the speed is there. And I fear holiday meals, late nights at the bar, and brewskies watching football have slowed me down considerably. My ultimate goal weight is right around 215-220lbs - which is crazy to imagine that I would actually be almost svelte at that number. I guess I am a big guy.