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some notes on Saturday's competition
Nov. 16th, 2009 08:42 amIt was a very tough competition. What was originally scheduled to be a women's E1 turned into a mixed A2 when the men's and women's events were combined. I didn't go in expecting great things, and indeed, I lost every one of my pool bouts and my DE (and the only reason I got to the DE round was the low turnout).
But, but....
I must have had my head screwed on just right because I was able to see some of what the higher level fencers were doing. Usually I can't do that very well - I'm in "the zone" and fencing, or I'm analyzing - switching modes is something I'm working on and is one hell of a brain sprain. But Saturday the cogs and wheels seemed to be running smoothly.
The person I lost to in DE was also in my pool, an insanely fast B who defeated me in breathtakingly short order. But I kept moving, and every attack to my inside was followed by a quick retreat and parry 4. I was able to get 1 touch on him in pools and a tidy 4 in DE(!) So that's a bit of a feather in my cap :)
I stayed for the whole thing because it's not often I get to see many of these people compete. The higher level people are controlled, their movements tight and fast, their strategies patient, and there were several nail-bitingly close bouts. They have a variety of tricks up their sleeves so there were a lot of different things going on.
The venue was spacious but a bit warm and while the temperature didn't bother me the air was close and I was wheezing by the time I finished. I don't think I was the only one affected; both competitors in the final bout were all but staggering. Make no mistake, this is a HARD sport and 3 minutes can feel like eternity if you're in constant motion.
But, but....
I must have had my head screwed on just right because I was able to see some of what the higher level fencers were doing. Usually I can't do that very well - I'm in "the zone" and fencing, or I'm analyzing - switching modes is something I'm working on and is one hell of a brain sprain. But Saturday the cogs and wheels seemed to be running smoothly.
The person I lost to in DE was also in my pool, an insanely fast B who defeated me in breathtakingly short order. But I kept moving, and every attack to my inside was followed by a quick retreat and parry 4. I was able to get 1 touch on him in pools and a tidy 4 in DE(!) So that's a bit of a feather in my cap :)
I stayed for the whole thing because it's not often I get to see many of these people compete. The higher level people are controlled, their movements tight and fast, their strategies patient, and there were several nail-bitingly close bouts. They have a variety of tricks up their sleeves so there were a lot of different things going on.
The venue was spacious but a bit warm and while the temperature didn't bother me the air was close and I was wheezing by the time I finished. I don't think I was the only one affected; both competitors in the final bout were all but staggering. Make no mistake, this is a HARD sport and 3 minutes can feel like eternity if you're in constant motion.
