NAC E: the short version
Mar. 5th, 2009 08:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonOr, rather, a more coherent summation of my many Tweets:
In terms of touches made and bouts won, it was a wash. I handily lost EVERY SINGLE BOUT I was in, including direct elimination (I would not have made it to DE except evidently everyone "goes up" at these events. Didn't know that).
However, I did learn WHY this was: it all traces back to my footwork. I need more space in which to do things, which I can't get unless I can move the caboose with all speed. I need to completely lunge, but I can't do that with confidence if I feel unsteady or can't recover well. If I do nothing in the next 3 months but improve my footwork, I'll still be ahead of the curve.
Greatest triumph - I am not completely demoralized. I came, I saw, I learned.
The venue: part of the complex built for the 1996 Olympic Games, the facility was new and shining, but very empty (Feb-Mar = Atlanta's off-season?). Not as close as advertised to either hotel or public transportation, it was a long walk (inside, at least) each day. The room was a cement block (no windows) and an echo chamber, but it was the nicest fencing set up I'd ever seen - steel strips, separate registration area, lots of vendors, first aid station.
I'd thought to go look around in the Centennial Park for the commemorative brick my dad bought the family 'way back in '96 after my Oh My doG Early(TM) bout on Sunday but it snowed. In Atlanta. First time in years and I was there for it - it was surreal.
The city itself: also surreal, even though I spent many happy years in my teens/early 20s in the clubs and concert halls. The entire area we stayed was built after I moved, so it was completely unfamiliar. Badger did foodie reconnaissance online and found some phenomenal restaurants. Still not pedestrian-friendly, but the Marta (subway) system makes a lot more sense now!
The aftermath: I'm still sore, less from the event itself and more from sleeping in not my bed, folding myself into tiny airplane seats and dragging around my infernal hard travel case.
The next move: new shoes, lesson tomorrow, and more footwork on non-practice days. National qualifiers are the weekend after next (!), and despite prior commitments I intend to honor for that weekend I could probably participate, though I rather doubt that I'd qualify! Competing in other cities is daunting, I confess less for the competition itself and more for the getting there. Yes, I am a hobbit at heart :P
In terms of touches made and bouts won, it was a wash. I handily lost EVERY SINGLE BOUT I was in, including direct elimination (I would not have made it to DE except evidently everyone "goes up" at these events. Didn't know that).
However, I did learn WHY this was: it all traces back to my footwork. I need more space in which to do things, which I can't get unless I can move the caboose with all speed. I need to completely lunge, but I can't do that with confidence if I feel unsteady or can't recover well. If I do nothing in the next 3 months but improve my footwork, I'll still be ahead of the curve.
Greatest triumph - I am not completely demoralized. I came, I saw, I learned.
The venue: part of the complex built for the 1996 Olympic Games, the facility was new and shining, but very empty (Feb-Mar = Atlanta's off-season?). Not as close as advertised to either hotel or public transportation, it was a long walk (inside, at least) each day. The room was a cement block (no windows) and an echo chamber, but it was the nicest fencing set up I'd ever seen - steel strips, separate registration area, lots of vendors, first aid station.
I'd thought to go look around in the Centennial Park for the commemorative brick my dad bought the family 'way back in '96 after my Oh My doG Early(TM) bout on Sunday but it snowed. In Atlanta. First time in years and I was there for it - it was surreal.
The city itself: also surreal, even though I spent many happy years in my teens/early 20s in the clubs and concert halls. The entire area we stayed was built after I moved, so it was completely unfamiliar. Badger did foodie reconnaissance online and found some phenomenal restaurants. Still not pedestrian-friendly, but the Marta (subway) system makes a lot more sense now!
The aftermath: I'm still sore, less from the event itself and more from sleeping in not my bed, folding myself into tiny airplane seats and dragging around my infernal hard travel case.
The next move: new shoes, lesson tomorrow, and more footwork on non-practice days. National qualifiers are the weekend after next (!), and despite prior commitments I intend to honor for that weekend I could probably participate, though I rather doubt that I'd qualify! Competing in other cities is daunting, I confess less for the competition itself and more for the getting there. Yes, I am a hobbit at heart :P
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 02:47 am (UTC)Still not pedestrian-friendly, but the Marta (subway) system makes a lot more sense now!
I've never been to Atlanta, just been stuck in the airport. I wonder how Marta compares to the DC Metro.
Yes, I am a hobbit at heart :P
Nothing wrong with that!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 02:51 am (UTC)The Atlanta Marta is not as good as DC's metro - if nothing else, they're still having growing pains and there are long waits for trains. However, it used to go seemingly nonsensical places - a station every few blocks regardless of anything being there. Now it seems like there's some direction, and they've finally extended it into the northern 'burbs.
The hobbit at heart thing - don't get me wrong, I do love to travel, I just hate the luggage!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 02:57 am (UTC)Have a great weekend!