it's not entirely grim up north
Mar. 17th, 2011 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonThis past weekend was the 2nd leg of my March travel marathon, to Detroit for a North American Cup.
NACs happen several times a year and have a similar national scope and size as summer Nationals, but don't require a separate qualifying competition. As such, I'm eligible for more than one event and as I'm not sure if I'm going to SN this year, I thought I'd let this be my big fencing trip for 2011. For a variety of reasons NACs aren't always in the most glamorous locales, and this one was in Detroit.
I'd been told to expect the city to be a war zone, but was pleasantly (?) surprised to find that the convention center's neighborhood was more deserted than dangerous. There was the odd burnt out ruin, but most empty buildings were boarded up with big "For Lease" signs and what was still open was short staffed. It was kind of bleak and eerie, especially in the cold, early hours that I was going from hotel to venue, but not scary.
Having said this, customer service was excellent everywhere. Everyone from the hotel staff to the helpful, enthusiastic volunteers wished me good luck and asked how I did each day. The waiters were attentive. Even the cabbies were great - one held on to and delivered my notebook and mini-video camera to the venue as soon as I noticed it was missing. The event itself was well run, at least on the days I was there - things started on time and the refereeing was good. High energy it ain't, but I wouldn't be averse to attending if Detroit hosts another one.
My fencing was ok - far better than it was at my last big event. Division II was rough due to a combination of it being my first day, not enough sleep, and fencing my opponents blades instead of focusing on the target. To be fair, the competition was stiff and I was pleased to win one bout in pools. Everyone went to the direct elimination round (unusual - at large competitions they usually only promote the top 80% - maybe those happy refs wanted to be there all day?) and I lost mine 15-6, but it was frustrating: had I been smarter, I might have evened up the score a little, but had she been smarter (kept doing same thing over and over) I wouldn't have stood a chance.
Division III was much better: my mind was online, I focused on the target, and Badger strip coached me. My biggest stupidity was getting too close with my point at the opponent's head (which is not a target, and opens up MY target - d'oh!), but I was as patient as I could be and won 2 in pools.
My patience, or at least, my energy, ran out in DEs. My opponent was playing the same defensive game I was, but had more endurance. I had the lead but then started to run out of air and rushed things, foolishly diving in for attacks for which I was not prepared and losing by one (ouch!) touch.
To work on: stamina. doGdammit, I need to do cardio, which I find boring and physically unpleasant. And, finally drilling into my thick skull not to get close unless I mean business, because this nonsense with holding my blade aloft (what am I thinking? Trying to avoid my opponent's parry because I don't trust my attack otherwise?) while closing in simply does not work.
It occurs to me that I've been to 4 cities in the past 2 months, and while for some that's life, it's unusual for me and I'm rather looking forward staying put for the next few weeks. This weekend: sewing and a deep tissue massage.
NACs happen several times a year and have a similar national scope and size as summer Nationals, but don't require a separate qualifying competition. As such, I'm eligible for more than one event and as I'm not sure if I'm going to SN this year, I thought I'd let this be my big fencing trip for 2011. For a variety of reasons NACs aren't always in the most glamorous locales, and this one was in Detroit.
I'd been told to expect the city to be a war zone, but was pleasantly (?) surprised to find that the convention center's neighborhood was more deserted than dangerous. There was the odd burnt out ruin, but most empty buildings were boarded up with big "For Lease" signs and what was still open was short staffed. It was kind of bleak and eerie, especially in the cold, early hours that I was going from hotel to venue, but not scary.
Having said this, customer service was excellent everywhere. Everyone from the hotel staff to the helpful, enthusiastic volunteers wished me good luck and asked how I did each day. The waiters were attentive. Even the cabbies were great - one held on to and delivered my notebook and mini-video camera to the venue as soon as I noticed it was missing. The event itself was well run, at least on the days I was there - things started on time and the refereeing was good. High energy it ain't, but I wouldn't be averse to attending if Detroit hosts another one.
My fencing was ok - far better than it was at my last big event. Division II was rough due to a combination of it being my first day, not enough sleep, and fencing my opponents blades instead of focusing on the target. To be fair, the competition was stiff and I was pleased to win one bout in pools. Everyone went to the direct elimination round (unusual - at large competitions they usually only promote the top 80% - maybe those happy refs wanted to be there all day?) and I lost mine 15-6, but it was frustrating: had I been smarter, I might have evened up the score a little, but had she been smarter (kept doing same thing over and over) I wouldn't have stood a chance.
Division III was much better: my mind was online, I focused on the target, and Badger strip coached me. My biggest stupidity was getting too close with my point at the opponent's head (which is not a target, and opens up MY target - d'oh!), but I was as patient as I could be and won 2 in pools.
My patience, or at least, my energy, ran out in DEs. My opponent was playing the same defensive game I was, but had more endurance. I had the lead but then started to run out of air and rushed things, foolishly diving in for attacks for which I was not prepared and losing by one (ouch!) touch.
To work on: stamina. doGdammit, I need to do cardio, which I find boring and physically unpleasant. And, finally drilling into my thick skull not to get close unless I mean business, because this nonsense with holding my blade aloft (what am I thinking? Trying to avoid my opponent's parry because I don't trust my attack otherwise?) while closing in simply does not work.
It occurs to me that I've been to 4 cities in the past 2 months, and while for some that's life, it's unusual for me and I'm rather looking forward staying put for the next few weeks. This weekend: sewing and a deep tissue massage.
