anotheranon (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
anotheranon) wrote2006-08-31 11:17 pm
anotheranon) wrote2006-08-31 11:17 pm
Entry tags:
the sound of one ass being kicked
Fencing buddy B. and I had been talking back and forth about checking out fencing clubs other than our local/usual summer venue, and tonight we finally did.
Yow!
I visited the aforementioned Other Club about 5 years ago when I first started fencing. It was ok, but at the time it wasn't enough to convince me to go back.
Oh my, how that has changed! The people at this club were VERY good - talk about fast like freaks! - and used techniques that I've not seen before, such as keeping the point offline (i.e., not pointed at the opponent) until the last minute, and not using the back hand as a rudder (or at least, not that I could tell). They introduced us to an exercise in distance, in which no parries are allowed, and the object is to hit without being hit using distance alone. This was difficult (but good precisely because it was hard) and made me focus on the point of my blade in relation to my opponent to the absence of all else, something I almost never think about in normal bouting situations.
I was more than a little embarrassed at my sloppy footwork throughout, and while I realize I've been plateauing, I didn't know just how much until tonight - there were fencers who had only been doing this for 2 years who absolutely owned me on the strip. I really do need to get back into instruction - hell, I need to just get back into practicing my footwork!
But while I'm sure my shortcomings were obvious, there was no snobby attitude or anything but welcoming encouragement from the other fencers. I fenced several and all were impressive but gracious, and several pointed out what a good bargain it is for free fencing ($120/yr, though the rates on their site seem to be somewhat more).
Summary: intimidatingly good, and I mean that in the best of all possible ways - I saw things tonight that genuinely surprised me, and the whole experience provided a valuable "clue-bat" about what I could be doing to get better.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kiya, thank you for the recommendation and encouragement to check them out!
A short discussion with B. and A. afterwards and we decided that we'll definitely be hitting this Other Club again, if only during the winter break.
Next week B. and I are plotting to visit Yet Another Club, just for comparison's sake.
Yow!
I visited the aforementioned Other Club about 5 years ago when I first started fencing. It was ok, but at the time it wasn't enough to convince me to go back.
Oh my, how that has changed! The people at this club were VERY good - talk about fast like freaks! - and used techniques that I've not seen before, such as keeping the point offline (i.e., not pointed at the opponent) until the last minute, and not using the back hand as a rudder (or at least, not that I could tell). They introduced us to an exercise in distance, in which no parries are allowed, and the object is to hit without being hit using distance alone. This was difficult (but good precisely because it was hard) and made me focus on the point of my blade in relation to my opponent to the absence of all else, something I almost never think about in normal bouting situations.
I was more than a little embarrassed at my sloppy footwork throughout, and while I realize I've been plateauing, I didn't know just how much until tonight - there were fencers who had only been doing this for 2 years who absolutely owned me on the strip. I really do need to get back into instruction - hell, I need to just get back into practicing my footwork!
But while I'm sure my shortcomings were obvious, there was no snobby attitude or anything but welcoming encouragement from the other fencers. I fenced several and all were impressive but gracious, and several pointed out what a good bargain it is for free fencing ($120/yr, though the rates on their site seem to be somewhat more).
Summary: intimidatingly good, and I mean that in the best of all possible ways - I saw things tonight that genuinely surprised me, and the whole experience provided a valuable "clue-bat" about what I could be doing to get better.
kiya, thank you for the recommendation and encouragement to check them out!A short discussion with B. and A. afterwards and we decided that we'll definitely be hitting this Other Club again, if only during the winter break.
Next week B. and I are plotting to visit Yet Another Club, just for comparison's sake.
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