ghosts of gymnasiums past

[anotheranon]

Sundays at fencing club have been intimidating of late.

This is because a group of the Big Scary People - high-rated fencers who move like greased lightning and are six moves ahead of things Ordinary Mortals (meaning me) haven't even thought of yet - have been coming for the past few weeks. There are about 4-6 of them and they show up early, and if I'm there before noon it's either grit my teeth and cycle in or repetitive footwork/target practice until other Mortals show up.

The Big Scary People (BSP) aren't scary socially - as near as I can tell they are all friendly chaps and don't have superiority complexes over their considerable abilities. When I get the nerve to approach they don't refuse to fence with me, even though I don't pose much of a challenge.

It's just that my lizard brain still remembers humiliating high school phys ed, in which "natural athletes" bullied or simply bulldozed over apathetic bookworms like me. The teachers/coaches didn't seem to notice, or if they did, they didn't mind, which in retrospect makes sense, I suppose - what teacher wouldn't rather teach kids who are clearly enthusiastic about and good at the subject matter? The administration was another matter - school athletes got a pass for some of their less savory behavior, perhaps because team sports brought in money, and they were perceived as team players in a way that solitary bookworms were not :P

I need to remember that we are not children at club and I'm not just a bookworm anymore. I did cycle in yesterday and took my knocks and delivered a precious few of my own. There are still a couple who I think we'd be wasting each others time (I'd be little better than a moving target to them, and I can't even see what they're doing), but one of the ways I can improve is to play with the big kids.

Comments

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Who knows..some of the BSP:s might not have been natural athletes either, but gained their excellence after school years and through practice and long experience.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

If/when I ever get to know them better, that *would* be an interesting discussion to have! I know at least a few of them have been fencing for years, but it would be interesting to discover their first impressions of the sport and how long it took them to get good, and how long it took them to feel like they were doing well.

I'm recently unlearning the whole notion of "natural talent". While I can accept that there are people who can pick up one activity or another with ease, I'm more persuaded that real talent is the product of years of diligent, mindful practice.

[tommdroid.livejournal.com]

My lizard brain got a very long memory. I got the image of myself as totally incometent in those subject matters. Which is illogical as I've been good at swimming and riding and hiking and whatnot. But we only got to do with stuff like football that really is awkwards for me. Still now my first instinct is to back off and not make a fool of myself when I'm faced with new fun opportunities. Sometimes I fight them, like when I took up TaekWonDo. You are not alone out here. :-)

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Team Sports Played With Balls(TM) were the focus of most of my childhood phys ed and like you I felt very uncomfortable. Much of the reason was that it was my teammates - not the other team - who gave me a hard time, partly for not being very good and partly because I didn't feel the need to win at all costs.

IMHO one on one sports (like fencing, TaeKwonDo and most martial arts) are better because I can learn at my own pace and win or lose without pressure from others.