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the Force was with me
Jun. 9th, 2007 10:29 pmI think my first competition went rather well :)
I did not expect to be able to do much of anything, yet I scored points against fencers I'd never fenced before and even won one of my bouts. I did make it into the direct elimination by a hair, and though I was quickly eliminated, hey - I DID make it in!
I won't do a blow-by-blow, but things I did notice:
I was a lot more nervous than I thought I'd be, but it was mostly about signing in, being where I needed to be and remembering to do all the sportsmanlike things (saluting, shaking hands). Once I'm on the strip I'm just fencing and there's nothing else there. This is something of an accomplishment as I'm still learning to "be in the moment".
I expected to be ground to a dull, tiny nub by the end of the day, but it turned out that there's a fair amount of waiting built in. In pools it worked out so that I was only fencing every other bout, then every third, until we'd all fenced each other. Not sure how D E would have worked out had I not lost my first bout there, but I don't remember seeing anyone fencing 2 bouts in a row.
It is more fun with friends :) 4 of us were competing today, and B. and M. came along though they weren't. D. came along for moral support and he was fantastic in this capacity :) L. offered some useful advice during my D E which got me more points against my opponent than I would have had otherwise :) Everyone cheered everyone else on (there was even a "Go [my club]!" sign - thanks for bringing that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kiya)!
B. also went all out, hosting breakfast beforehand(!) driving us to and from and hosting dinner(!!) afterwards. Though I usually like to go it alone if I'm unsure of myself, the moral support and guidance were great, so I might need to reconsider that :)
I think I will likely do this again, though I don't know when, and I think I will make a greater effort to learn all of the correct terminology so I can effectively communicate with the coach enough to make private lessons worthwhile :)
Right now, I think I'm going to rest. I'm not wasted but I am sore and tired and my lower back has been doing this pinchy thing for a few days now.
I did not expect to be able to do much of anything, yet I scored points against fencers I'd never fenced before and even won one of my bouts. I did make it into the direct elimination by a hair, and though I was quickly eliminated, hey - I DID make it in!
I won't do a blow-by-blow, but things I did notice:
I was a lot more nervous than I thought I'd be, but it was mostly about signing in, being where I needed to be and remembering to do all the sportsmanlike things (saluting, shaking hands). Once I'm on the strip I'm just fencing and there's nothing else there. This is something of an accomplishment as I'm still learning to "be in the moment".
I expected to be ground to a dull, tiny nub by the end of the day, but it turned out that there's a fair amount of waiting built in. In pools it worked out so that I was only fencing every other bout, then every third, until we'd all fenced each other. Not sure how D E would have worked out had I not lost my first bout there, but I don't remember seeing anyone fencing 2 bouts in a row.
It is more fun with friends :) 4 of us were competing today, and B. and M. came along though they weren't. D. came along for moral support and he was fantastic in this capacity :) L. offered some useful advice during my D E which got me more points against my opponent than I would have had otherwise :) Everyone cheered everyone else on (there was even a "Go [my club]!" sign - thanks for bringing that
kiya)!B. also went all out, hosting breakfast beforehand(!) driving us to and from and hosting dinner(!!) afterwards. Though I usually like to go it alone if I'm unsure of myself, the moral support and guidance were great, so I might need to reconsider that :)
I think I will likely do this again, though I don't know when, and I think I will make a greater effort to learn all of the correct terminology so I can effectively communicate with the coach enough to make private lessons worthwhile :)
Right now, I think I'm going to rest. I'm not wasted but I am sore and tired and my lower back has been doing this pinchy thing for a few days now.
