Comments (11)

By kilax, February 24, 2009 5:28 am

Now I match my husband.

Battle wounds! I love bruises!!!

The giggling instigator was absent from fencing, and Steven was with a group of guys with smaller egos, giving actual constructive criticism to one another, so this week went much better.

I was in a group with three other women, and Tony, one of the experienced players. He beat everyone, 5-0. All along, I’ve been wondering why people are apologizing to one another when they stab them. I mean, that’s the game, right? How much could it hurt? Well, Tony hit me so hard on my right arm that he immediately apologized, and I immediately felt a stinging pain, like I couldn’t keep going. But he had to score one more point to beat me. Ha. He lunged so hard at me when he hit me, his sword bent into a huge curve. There was so much force behind the hit… I want to hit like that!

I almost redeemed myself against Tony in the final match, 5-4, but that was definitely luck. I felt a bit off tonight. I want to spend more time practicing the basics, but our instructor just wants us to fence in little tournaments against one another. And I didn’t see the instructor giving any feedback last night. I am not sure what he was doing. Tony gave me some good pointers though – protect my arm behind my bell guard, keep my right foot pointed forward, always have your sword straight out in front of you, etc.

Are you sick of reading about fencing? Well, you’re in luck – we don’t have fencing class next Monday! So you all get a break. Sorry, no break from running posts though. That is just my life.

Since we don’t have class, I am going to practice with Data next week. Maybe that will help him release some of his pent-up energy.

En garde Data! Muah ha ha!

Comments (7)

By kilax, February 21, 2009 11:25 pm

We had our fourth fencing class last Monday. The professor was gone, so we just did a full hour and a half of open fencing. We were split into two groups – men and women.

Steven and I both noticed distinct characteristics about our groups that annoyed us a bit. Of the 6 women in my group, 3 were not taking the class very seriously. Yes, I am there to have fun, but they were giggling and calling out at each other while they were fencing. Then, when they would judge, they wouldn’t really pay attention to what was going on. When one fencer hits the other, the judge is supposed to say “halt.” Well, if you are screwing around, you might forget to do that. And as amateur fencers, we are just going to keep going, because we are not sure if we are getting direct hits or not. So… that was frustrating.

But, while fencing the other giggling women, I was able to pick up on some things I need to improve on – mainly my focus. A lot of people are still just blindly jabbing at one another, not strategizing much, or even paying attention to the opponent’s moves. I realized this early on, and spent the rest of the night really focusing on what my opponent was doing, rather than just trying to move in fast and stab them.

Steven had a different annoyance than I did. Apparently, some of this fellow male fencers have an inflated ego, and spent all of their time between matches talking up their “skills” and “style.” These students are at the same level as us – beginners, only four classes. So the only word that could describe their style would be “sloppy.” Of course, that is just talk, but it was still annoying Steven a bit (I know it would bother ME).

And apparently, some of the men are being very competitive, and making it a lot less fun. Fencing is a “gentleman’s sport” – you’re expected to show courtesy to your fellow fencer – saluting them with your sword, shaking their hand, etc. Well, everyone is doing that (I think), but some people are letting the wining get to their heads. Steven said one advanced player beat another advanced player and was doing fist pumps in the air for almost a minute. Just being around him made Steven feel uncomfortable because he knew this guy was so full of himself.

I understand competition. I understand wanting to win. I do have a tendency to turn into a competitive ass from time to time. But some people just take it TOO FAR. They make EVERYTHING into a competition. Everything in life. You know these people. You’re talking to them about a goal or accomplishment you made, and all of a sudden, it becomes a competition about how they compare to you. I find this petty. And pointless.

Anyway, on Monday night, Steven wasn’t really feeling up to fencing class because he was so sore from skiing (he still has bruises covering most of his legs!). I tried to be encouraging, telling him just to take it easy and focus on the footwork and moves the professor taught us.

After class, he came up to me and showed me this:

A photo of Steven’s arm the night he got hit.

So, besides the bruises from skiing, he now has some new ones from fencing – this huge scrape on his arm, as well as another inside his elbow, and more bruises on his legs. He looks like he got into a serious fight. Or something.

Comments (11)

By kilax, February 10, 2009 5:31 am

“Some people get overly excited because they are about to get stabbed, and that’s all they can think about. But don’t get sloppy!” – another quote from our professor.

I’m surprised – Fencing is becoming addictive! Last night was the first time we got to properly fence one another. We’re doing electric Épée Fencing. In Épée, you can hit your opponent anywhere on the body, but only with the end of your sword (well, your “épée”, but we’ll call it sword). Épée is the slowest of the three kinds of fencing because these two factors require more time and concentration… making it perfect for beginners! It’s called “electric” because an electric cord is plugged into the sword, and registers each hit made by the push-button on the end of the sword on a scoreboard.

Take that, imaginary opponent!

I was feeling really clumsy and anxious last week, but felt a lot more focused tonight during my warm-up with Steven. The professor must have noticed – he asked me and Steven and to demonstrate a fancy move to the class! After class, he even told me he liked “our style.” Heh.

I think we have two VERY different styles. Steven is focused and calculated. He is very deliberate in his steps. I just go for it. I’m very aggressive and fast, and definitely sloppy. I think we could learn a bit from each other.

We both did well against (read: beat) our opponents. A male opponent of mine jokingly said, “You must have some hidden maliciousness!” (This is the same guy who was joking that there should be “drunk fencing,” but also made a very nice hit on my right-handed ring finger. I’ll take a photo when the bruise shows up.) And one guy was teasing Steven that everyone else gets to fence and go home and forget about it, but Steven has to go home with his opponent. Ha. Steven and I still haven’t fenced. He’d kick my butt, surely.

I was suprised by the adrenaline rush I got when I got up in front of the class to fence. My legs and hands were shaking! It took me awhile to calm down afterward. It’s fun. You just want to keep going and going. I can’t wait until the next class!