hey Fencing

 

https://goo.gl/Hx6zHZ

 

 

Matthew Cole

 

Change is HARD

A lot has happened since I last posted. I got married, and am helping raise my wife's son. I got promoted and a lateral move at work, so I have more responsibility and pressure.

What hasn't changed is all the problems I faced the last time I wrote about it. I re-earned my C in épée twice, but lost in the 8 of an A2 to fatigue. I don't mind getting my butt handed to me on a silver platter. It gives me a chance to learn, and stretch my experience that much further. But I can't keep losing because my body is failing me. I am getting older, but still.

I have a stationary bike, and I am committing to using it at least three times a week for 30min. it's not much, but it is more than what I am doing now.

About That New Season Plan

Well, if you have been keeping up - Portland wasn't pretty. I didn't fence badly, but there were too many points where I couldn't make an action come together. I literally see what the opportunity is, what will work, and I know what it takes to make it happen - but my body refused to execute.

Since then, work has gotten crazy, I am spending more time with my girl, and I find myself getting tired so easily. All that stress equalled less time at the club, less time working out in general, and yet another disappointing showing.

At the Colorado Divisional qualifiers, I had one goal - qualify for Nationals. Winning would have been nice, but qualifying  is all one must do at a qualifer. What that goal broke down to was a decent showing in pools, and winning two DEs. That's it. Nothing to it, right?

I nearly lost the first one. To a new fencer.

It has been so long since I competed, I was beating myself. Thankfully my coach was there to tell me that, and I won 15-14 by just sticking my arm out like I should have been the whole time.

The second DE was more difficult, but I fenced better. I had a solid two touch lead until I felt my legs just SLOOOOOOWWWW DOOOWWNNNN. It was horrible. Actions my opponent couldn't make work in the beginning worked beautifully now. My legs felt like dumb logs, and my sword hand cramped and throbbed as I struggled to keep my en garde credible.

Losing because of fatigue is the worst way to lose. There is no class you can take on fatigue, no pill. it's all on you - and the lack of discipline, training, determination, grit, TheRockness, all those qualities that seperates the badasses from the candyasses.

So, Nationals ain't gonna happen this year. Nor should it have happened, because the last thing I need is a beatdown with a four-digit pricetag (air, hotel, car, registration, food, obligatory rounds of booze with which to celebrate or drown my sorrows). I do have one more decent sized tournament this season, and I am determined to crush bones not my own.

More importantly, this is it. I am sick and tired of complaining about my body and my endurance. I love alcohol, but I can live without rich foods and such. I may not compete every weekend anymore - Colorado and its youth friendly schedule takes care of that - but I can still make the most of everytime I do. My new goal is to remake myself physically into something I can be proud of, so I can cherish each win, and lose with ablomb instead of with pity.

New Season, New Post

It has been a while since I posted. The good news is that I got 2nd place in the tournament I mentioned earlier. The bad news is that I still have a ways to go to gain back my endurance. My precision is returning, and I am able to manage the bout with my feet... for a while. At my age it is so easy to gain useless weight, but hard to get rid of it. I am limiting my red meat, and i am trying to work out in the club at least 2-3 nights a week. I have a tournament in Portland, OR in October and I think I have a chance to do really well. We will see.

Coletrain is slowly, BUT SURELY, coming back

A coworker and myself before fencing at DFC

So it has been over a year since I lasted posted. But there is a good reason! Soon after last year's post I was offered a great job here in Denver! Yay! But I would have to start right away. Boo! But I will be making more money sooner... Yay! But I was too close to the end to drop everything, so I had to continue all the activities below until I finished in June. BOOOO!!! But, money! YAAY!

Once June rolled around, things slowed down - and yes I have been able to compete more. And lordy, did I start sucking... Oh my. And it is not like everyone else is better - my body just refuses to do what is necessary to get touches. Things that my body could easily do two years ago.

Worse, I am in another ratings fiasco. If I don't renew this year, I drop down to a D and lose my eligibility to fence Div I events! I have competed in three events this year, and all I am doing is learning the true extent of how much I have lost by not competing. My strength is still there, but my timing and precision, as well as my tactical decision making are all rusted through.

However, I am fencing a tournament this Sunday at my home club - so wish me luck!!!!

Ugh, It Has Been A While...

Fencing at Akershus Festning - Oslo, Norway

Well, I kept my word... it has been a while. Graduate school, the second year, has been insane. Tons of classes, papers, presentations, exams, plus working 9+ hours a week as a TA and graduate assistant, and on top of all that - teaching fencing. In what little free time I get, I ski and enjoy the Colorado weather.

Competitive fencing has unfortunately taken a back seat. I strip coach for my club, referee for the division - all of which pays more than competitive fencing for a poor graduate student. However I was able to compete once, so far this season... the Goering Open at Denver Fencing Center. The event ended as well as one could predict. I got my butt handed to me in my first pool bout by a mid level local fencer. Then I had it handed to me again in the second bout. After that dose of reality, I started remembering I used to be good at this and won the rest - ending the pool 4-2. After winning my first DE, I lost to the eventual winner - 15-12. Not bad for over a year off.

The good news for me and you is that I graduate in June... and once I start working full time, I will be able to afford to compete more often. Coletrain is coming back.

Fencing in Oslo

So, for the first time in ages I am missing Summer Nationals. It kinda sucks, except for the fact that I am working in Oslo as a marketing intern for the summer. Eventually I will post pictures of where I am fencing here, but there won't be any competition based posts until well into the 2012-2013 season. 

Colorado Updates

It feels awful. I have been present at three mens/mixed epee events (Colorado Cups and Georgia Games) without fencing them. The first was a mistake. I was supposed to be in Vail skiing for Race & Case, but there was a last minute change of plans - so I coached a fencer to the medal round. The second two I was refereeing - which paid well and helped me earn a higher referee rating.

Last season I competed almost every weekend trying to re-earn my B or get an A. I always fell short by a couple touches in the necessary round. This year, the few competitions I fenced were difficult - and I am trying to get better. I am lighter and in better shape than last season, but my timing is a bit off, and the events in Colorado are less top heavy.

After reviewing my top ten goals for my life (last updated in 2005) on there is the goal of becoming a champion fencer, what ever that might mean. I don't think I have it that goal yet, and while being in graduate school it is difficult for me to pursue. I suppose I can try practicing more at the apartment, but I also need to carve out more time to study. There is a conflict between one thing that is very important to me and costs money, and another thing that is very important to me and in which I have already sunk a huge investment. These things shouldn't be in conflict, but I really like sleep too.

Aside: How to Live Life Part I

In business school you get a chance to see how the men are separated from the mice. How smart people react to bad grades depends on: a)if they had ever gotten bad grades before, b) if they have ever had anything bad happen to them worse than bad grades. I am a pretty smart guy and a and b have both happened to me. So I have a lot more perspective than some of my peers, and I am gonna share that here.

1. Commitments matter

In school, fencing, life - commitments are like currency. You use them as you see fit, and if those commitments are broken you feel like you were robbed. You should never make commitments in haste and without deliberation, and if you do make a commitment you consider it like you would a contract. If you make commitments and don't keep them, you are like the guy who tries to buy a subway sandwich with monopoly money.

2. Solve someone else's problem once in a while

Here at DU you are asked to do community service as part of class. You are meant to use your business skills to help the organization be better - which is a nice way of saying solve someone else's problem. I apply the same principles to helping a sexy bartender figure out how to use her bachelor's degree. I am not wedded to the outcome, but I put all my mental faculties to the solution just the same.

Fencing Foil at South Denver

I am not a foil fencer. I don't look like one.

I don't act like one. But if I can't beat my high school aged foil students in a tournament, I am gonna be in trouble. I ended up in 6th place (out of 17) in an in house tournament. Mostly because I like to attack, am annoyed when I am parried, and my response is to drive forward rather than recover-retreat-counterparry-counterriposte.

Hangover Open in Denver

First off, I had a decent New Year's Eve/New Year's with my roommates and their awesome friends. I have kinda lost interest in the idea of NYE as a drunkfest hookup time, especially since it is so hard to get home on New Years whether you drive, look fruitlessly for a cab, or take the train. Halloween is much better suited as the pickup holiday.

Even so, my roommates and their friends loved shots of cognac, so I was pretty sauced the next afternoon when I fenced epee with the few enterprising adults and many in shape and well behaved high schoolers of the DFC Hangover Open epee event. I didn't fence badly, but I didn't fence crisply or precisely. Again, it looks like I know what I am doing, but for the last six months or so I have felt off my game.

It's weird, I spend most of my evenings in the fencing club, but only a tiny percentage of that time is devoted to my own training. I give private lessons, teach classes, work in the armory, referee tournaments, but not much actual practice for myself. I like to think of myself as a competitive fencer, but it seems I am doing less and less to justify that title.

No Joy in Kansas City

This was a tough one. I was slated to compete in Div I and Div II Men's Epee, with a new coach and new larger lungs fresh from Colorado. The only difference between this event and the last NAC is that I knew exactly what happened this time.

On Saturday, I got to the venue early - stretched, warmed up, and wasn't hitting anything in practice bouts. My first bout in the event I won 5-4 with some slippery dodges paired with counterattacks. Apparently in the other bouts I lost touches because I would retreat with the parry, and retreat again with the riposte. Apparently I lost my bulldog freight train edge.

On Monday, I got to the venue early - stretched, warmed up, and was hitting a lot more, but was having trouble avoiding being hit. In the event my bouts were mostly even - 5-4, 5-3, 5-3, 4-5, 4-5 - and I lost in DEs to some kid who was fast but not interesting. My first thought after the embarrassment subsided was "I used to be good at this."

Unfortunately, even though I work part-time in a fencing club, I have not trained as much as I have in the past. I also work as an accounting TA and am a fulltime MBA student. While dropping an average of 2lbs a week is extremely good for my current and future help, it might be affecting my fencing as well. The point being - I really don't have time to fully prep for success at an NAC with all this going on, so I am going to walk away from them for a while. Next season (2011-2012) I will be traveling for school and interviewing for full time jobs, as well as trying to graduate - the incentive to spend $500+ for another NAC without some probability of success is insane.

I will still fence locals, and I may travel to tournaments like the Remenyk Open in Chicago or even Georgia Games in Atlanta, but I am done with huge fees for a while.

First Colorado Cup... Wow

Blaming the slippery floors would be acceptable. I was the only person new to the division that day, and some of the more experienced folks were skating their way to touches. I know how to attack in prime, I teach fencers how to do it and refs how to card for turning the back when it is done incorrectly. Still, every time I tried I did an involuntary pirouette (I think?) and turned my back and slid into my opponent. It sucked.

I don't like losing. I hate losing to people I can and have beat. I loath losing to people I can beat in front of people I know. In order to keep my composure and sanity, I just started cracking jokes and not caring - hoping I could bring it back in the DEs. Facing one of my new students put the end to that plan.

Nothing is appreciably different between this year and last - similar financial pressures are present, my diet is about the same, and I am fencing the same number of tournaments (3) in the fall portion of the local season. The only thing is that there is no familiarity between opponents and I am not practicing five nights a week minimum like I did in the past. The coach at SDFA says I look like I know what I am doing, I just come off as REALLY rusty.

The crappy thing is that there are no local tournaments between now and the North American Cup in Kansas City. I have two events there, Division I and Division II. My stretch goals are top 32 in Div I, and a medal in Div II. The first one is looking pretty far out of reach, and the second is possible but difficult. The only thing I can do is practice my butt off between now and then.

Umm, That Sucked.

There are no excuses. I could breathe, the level of difficulty wasn't too high, and I wasn't exhausted at the end. I just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with two years fair warning and a sawed off shotgun.

Maybe I need to actually practice more - but my point control was anything but controlled. I could hit on the flèche, but nothing else. No parry riposte, no direct attacks in time, no counter time, no just f'ing hit the guy he's just standing there touches. The worst is that the NAC in Kansas City is coming up fast and I didn't spend $200 to get my ass kicked in my home state.

Between now and then I will work on point control with the wall and anyone who is wearing a maks. Good thing it is Halloween. ;-)

Falcon Open this Weekend

Saturday I return to Colorado Springs and glory. I can breathe, I am faster, I am ready.

Flying High and I Can't Breathe!!!

The first time I visited the United States Air Force Academy I was about 13 years old. I remember the beauty of the landscape, and the fact that the only interesting building to my young eyes was the famous chapel. My father was a radar operator in the Air Force on the DEW line - and once upon a time I entertained notions of trying to get an appointment as a cadet there.

Even so, I never dreamed I would fence there.

My second full week in Colorado I was convinced to compete in the 2011 Nick Toth Open. Never mind I still haven't gotten used to the altitude here. Even after work on the treadmill, weights, fencing practice, and pretty much walking everywhere - my lungs and my blood supply were still struggling to deal with the thin air and lack of oxygen. However, I never back down from a challenge - especially if someone calls me chicken.

The first bout was difficult - not because my opponent was so skilled, but I had trouble reacting significantly to two tempo actions. A well timed counter-attack got me the victory with a 5-4 score. In another bout, I was up 4-1, but I completely ran out of gas. My opponent went on a run, and only a well timed stop hit gave me a 5-4 win. My final pool record was 4-2, with three victories won with a 5-4 score. I didn't care at that point, I thought I was gonna get my butt handed to me.

I started caring a lot more when I saw the seeding after pools. There were 49 fencers seeded into a table of 64 - and there were fencers with better indicators but a 4-2 record with Byes into the round of 32. I won my first DE without too much trouble, but I faced the USAFA coach's son in the 32. I did ok, but I never had the lead.

Even though I had reason to be apprehensive - I remember the old saying: the danger is not setting your goals high and falling short, but setting your goals low and achieving them.

Ouch!

The new fencing season has officially begun, and the Georgia Division has started posting tournaments, starting at Atlanta FC. You will probably see more postings from me soon.

However, I do feel compelled to write about a recent problem of mine.



Really.

My future family has only been in danger about three times in the last six years, and even then it was nothing too serious. This year, I am getting nailed every other week. This last time I have resolved to wear a cup.

The trend started in TN a few months back, when a kid who seemed really upset I was going to beat him 5-0 decided to get a little revenge hit after my beautiful parry-riposte. The director was a beginner, and didn't think to card him - and I was in too much pain to demand it. My poor boy (Señor Izquierda) was in pain for two weeks. Funny, the kids coach actually said to me BEFORE the bout that he thought it was insane that men refused to wear cups for fencing. I happened to mention I rarely got hit there.

A few weeks later, I fenced a kid (one of my students) in class, he attacks and hits the floor with his feint. I stop for the light, and he stabs Don Derecha. I go down like a ton of bricks, and lay there for five minutes waiting for the pain to subside and everything to reinflate. I finished the bout (I won), and called it a night.

Tonight, I am fencing another kid, and I attack, he does a parry-riposte but doesn't close the line. I finish with a remise, and he manages to hit the Señor and the Don. After sitting on my honches, I started fencing from a low tierce on guard with the bell guard protecting my guys, and beat him and everyone else that way.

I know it is ultimately my fault, but I can't understand the increasing frequency. I will just have to deal with the extra equipment from now on.

Summer Nationals Report

I hate Reno. Ever since I fenced there for an NAC back in 2005 (ish), I didn't like the place. Gambling without excitement, resort hotels without glitz, and food without taste. Reno is Vegas if Vegas was awful. But with some persuasion I fenced team for my home club. While there I noticed some things.

1.) The kiddie fencers (ages 8-13) are really good. Years ago, even at Nationals it was basically whack-a-mole in all three weapons. No more. Some of those kids might embarrass some adults in the Georgia Division.

2.) Mental toughness, not technical strength, seems to rule the day. I still haven't seen anyone beat with superior blade work - just a willingness to risk it all.

3.) Holding off an opposing fencer in team is a lot harder than it looks. It is not often I get smoked like a cigar, but yeah that happened. Worst bout ever. Next time as captain I won't be so swift to sub myself into the match.

4.) The old school guys and gals still make a big deal about who they acknowledge and who they don't. Doesn't matter if you've had a conversation, shared a drink, or the guy sat on your certification board - if you haven't been around for 20 years you get no head nod, much less a handshake.

5.) Fencing still captures the imagination. Whether you've fenced for years, or only seen it in car commercials - it gets your attention. Random folks watched me give a lesson in the hallway, fencers got stopped in elevators by older gamblers - it excites and still has potential to grow.

6.) Pork Stew at the Grand Sierra Resort Buffet. It is good. I turned down chili for this stuff, and I love chili. Best thing I ate the entire trip. Meaty, hearty, with large crisp vegetables and chunks of pork loin. Get it, and get some more.

7.) One more note on food. If you won't eat it after it sat in a room temperature kitchen overnight, you shouldn't eat it before you fence. A lot of my club mates went down with stomach problems after sampling the seafood. Not worth it.

Coletrain, What Do All These Letters F'ing Mean?

Some of my friends who enjoy my writing, but are not fencing aficionados asked for a primer on how ratings and classifications work. Rather than show a event classification chart and have my friends learn not to ask questions and bore the folks who know - I am going to explain in my own superior way how this actually works.






Ratings or classifications officially are used to help seed fencers into pool a in tournaments around the United States. You earn a rating by ended up in a certain place at a tournament with a given strength (measured by the number and variety of fencers with these given ratings). Since fencing is most often done in a tournament format with one winner - many fencers consider renewing or earning ratings as an acceptable consolation for a medal.

Earning a rating in fencing therefore depends on three factors: 2)how well you did, 3) how good is everyone else, 4) how well THEY did. For example, if you are in small event and you kicked ass, great! If the three best guys you didn't fence in direct elimination had an awful day - you might not get a rating. And you will be very angry. If you ever see a picture from a local tournament with an angry teenager with a gold medal around his neck - well, you know why.





In fact, more than any other sport - fencing rewards the people who on paper are supposed to win. Top seeds get the easiest pools, bottom seeds are fed to the lions. Therefore the top seed theoretically should be the top seed at the start of the direct elimination round AND have the easiest path to the final. If you are the top seed and you lose to the young upstart in the round of 16, you could bring down the whole tournament rating - and everyone will hate you. Seriously. Bad things will be said about you. You might get a reputation as the "pretty" one instead of the "good" one.






So, let's say you come into some money and you decide to outfit yourself and your five best college buddies in fencing kit and want to have a tournament. If the local USA Fencing Division board allows it, you can have an event! If you win, CONGRATS you are a brand new E rated fencer! So an E is a guy who can beat a roomful of rank beginners. Don't laugh, that is a tougher accomplishment than you might think. Even so, I wouldn't brag about earning it if you have been in the sport for more than six years.

Every E wants to be a D. Desperately. if you are a D, you theoretically become the top rated fencer in every National Division III (aka D and Under) tournament you enter. There are two common ways to earn a D: win a D rated event, or place highly in a much stronger A or B rated event.

The first option means beating everyone who is around your ability level in your DE path and getting the gold. And if these events didn't last all day, it might be the easier option. Plus, when new ratings are on the line, fencers tend to do a LOT better.

The second option basically means you beat most of the people in your pool, but got knocked out of DEs early. Now this is supposed to be the harder option; if your opponents got a good night's rest, didn't go out drinking, aren't sick, etc. If you are patient and focused, you might pick up touches at 9am that you'd never get at noon.

D, as you might have guessed, is for Desperate. Every D is dying to be a C. A C rated fencer is (or supposed to be) the top seeded fencer in National Division II (C and Under) competition. Cs, for now anyway, are also eligible for National Division I (C and above) competition. Div I is where the big boys play - current and former Olympians and National Champions, folks who take the sport extremely seriously. The C rating is the sweet spot. You can still beat up on Unrated fencers, and you can play with the big boys. Plus it is a rating where many fencers begin to acknowledge you as "good." You earn a C by entering a C rated competition and winning, or by losing in the quarterfinals of a large A rated tournament.

All Cs want to be As. Those who try and fail become Bs. The B is the middle child of fencing ratings. You aren't considered as good as an A, but you are barred from Div II competition. Many fencers that I have known dropped the sport after earning a B. In Georgia foil competition, many folks win a B rated tournament to become a B fencer. In Epee, one earns a B by losing either in the semifinal or final round of a large A rated event.

Everyone wants an A. On their term paper in college, on their performance evaluation (Acceptable) at work, and on the window of the restaurant they are dining. Fencing is no different. If you are an A fencer than you have won a large competition filled with strong fencers who also fenced well, or you did really well at a gigantic competition filled with badasses. In the Southeast, A fencers often get to fence for free in local tournaments, and are often courted into competing. Again, they get the easiest pools and the best path to allow them to renew their A rating. Plus they can brag to friends about being an A fencer - and those friends have a vague clue what that means.





Now these ratings only last four years or so. I for example am a B2007, so unless I find and win a tournament before July 31,2011 - I will become a C2011. Which isn't too bad, since in large tournaments the seeding is about the same. When I get my A this year, I will be an A2011 which would put mr at the top seed of local competition.

A Brief Aside

Since I was a small boy, it has always been my dream to fence. The idea of using swords in conventional sport fascinated me in a way basketball, baseball, or soccer never could. Fencing actually became my bridge from being primarily an intellectual to an average sports fan - and I am the better for it.

Both in Minnesota and in Georgia, fencing allowed me to be a part of a community outside of work and the bar scene. I gained friends as a beginner, and I gained respect as my fencing improved and I learned to referee and coach. My social network grew, and people became attached to me as I became attached to them.

Being disconnected, especially when things go wrong is a sorrowful thing. When I took a spill after a night out, I was admonished by no less than 15 people - most of them from the fencing community. When one of my neighbors, who decided to drink himself into oblivion after a night out, died outside his home - only myself and another man were there to watch over him as emergency services arrived. I only met him for the first time the evening before.

Futilely trying to save a man's life tugs at one's heart. Being the only one who cares digs into one's soul. While only he and God know what demons led him to his fate, what I do know is that he had few connections to this life. Even in my darkest hours, there was always someone God had sent to pull me back into the light. A family member, a friend, a frater, a fencer, a pretty girl who thought I was handsome too; there was always someone to pull me from the brink - and chastise me for getting too close.

If you find yourself reading this - click on some ads and then call or meet someone you are close to in your life. If you don't have someone, meet someone. We all have to die, but we shouldn't have to die alone.