short story vs. long narrative

[anotheranon]

Another competition, another deconstruction:

Did something very stupid in pools - I let the fact that I lost my first 3 bouts pinch my ego hard enough to affect my 4th bout. I did win, but was panting like a dog and rushing things it bugged me so that I was doing poorly. Need to remember what belfebe said - no single competition is a referendum on my worth as a fencer or a person. I lost, so what - get over it, do the next thing.

I did much better in direct elimination, which is an ongoing thing - it's easier to figure out what my opponent's doing when I have 15 touches to play with rather than 5. I made it through the first DE (a first, I think?) to the pool of 16, where I finally struck out but not before rattling the cage of a rather stressed teenage fencer. I kinda felt sorry for her because she didn't seem to be having much fun, but I didn't feel enough pity not to use her frazzledness against her ;)

Other observations - fencing is not only becoming my primary physical outlet but also my main social one, which I'm not exactly happy about. My fencing buds are very cool but I do have friends who don't fence, have no interest fencing and I do miss them. Also I fear in conversation I'm turning into to something of a broken record about my latest practices and competitions, which I admit are of little interest to anyone who doesn't fence. I need to work on this - like drag my lazy carcass further into the cold than the 5 minutes it takes to get to club!

Comments

[tommdroid.livejournal.com]

On the first part I say "Well put".

On the second part I say "well done! No mercy!"

On the third part I say "Hmmm...". It would be very convenient if all one's friends got the same obsession, and all at the same time. I guess I'm easily entertained because I like to read and I find interest as long as I sense there is some passion in it...(not absolutely all things, but alot of things, fencing included). Balance is probably I good thing, but it is so hard when getting into something that is so very fun.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

There is a lot of passion in my fencing :) Also a lot of serenity - it's a kind of meditation for me - making order out of chaos, and keeping my cool under pressure.

What I just said to zen4me above applies - I need some balance, because I have too many friends and interests to narrow-focus on just one.