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Fencing started again today. I'm on day two of a nasty headache, so I almost didn't go -- but this was going to be the first session after the beginners course and I needed to know how things would work now (the club is not exactly a star in keeping people informed). Also, next week I'll be on holiday, so starting third week in, when everyone's well settled would be difficult enough for me to consider giving up so I took some meds and dragged myself on.
I was happy to see that all of the other beginners were there (the ones who stayed till the end of the course as we had a couple of drop outs). That immediately made me feel better. At least they are at approximately my skill level... We are now part of the general "intermediate" group, which includes the previous beginners course as well as some fairly serious young fencers.
Kate (the epee coach) did the warm up, which was lucky. She does a lot of footwork exercises and not so much running... I got out of shape over the summer (though that's not exactly true as it implies I was in shape before...) Anyway, I'm sure my legs will be sore tomorrow but at least I didn't collapse already during the warm up.
Then we were told to decide which weapon we want to practice. Most of us have already decided, but some were still hesitant. I'd have liked to stay with Kate as coach but she does epee, so no such luck. I went with foil, which is under Nick, the head coach, who went to the Rio Olympics with Team GB. We had a small group, only seven on foil (five or six on epee and three or four on sabre). I think that's about half of the total number for the adults.
The session was spit into a lesson, followed by free fencing, and then electric fencing at the end. My actual fencing was... desperate. I forgot the little I'd managed to learn; mostly I just waved my foil, channeling a windmill facing Don Quixote. Frankly, it was rather pathetic. I also managed to bruise my opponent by scoring some off-target hits on her legs (we don't have breeches, just upper body protection because you are not supposed to hit the legs!) So yeah, mixed feelings. I enjoyed myself and I'm glad I went, but darn, I do need to get better. But how to practice on my own? Footwork or lunges I can do, but for the actual fighting I need an opponent... I know, that's what the sessions are for, but it's only once week and not very long so it's not enough to make real progress. It'd like to reach some minimal level where I could actually bout without total embarrassment.... Need to brainstorm some strategies!
I was happy to see that all of the other beginners were there (the ones who stayed till the end of the course as we had a couple of drop outs). That immediately made me feel better. At least they are at approximately my skill level... We are now part of the general "intermediate" group, which includes the previous beginners course as well as some fairly serious young fencers.
Kate (the epee coach) did the warm up, which was lucky. She does a lot of footwork exercises and not so much running... I got out of shape over the summer (though that's not exactly true as it implies I was in shape before...) Anyway, I'm sure my legs will be sore tomorrow but at least I didn't collapse already during the warm up.
Then we were told to decide which weapon we want to practice. Most of us have already decided, but some were still hesitant. I'd have liked to stay with Kate as coach but she does epee, so no such luck. I went with foil, which is under Nick, the head coach, who went to the Rio Olympics with Team GB. We had a small group, only seven on foil (five or six on epee and three or four on sabre). I think that's about half of the total number for the adults.
The session was spit into a lesson, followed by free fencing, and then electric fencing at the end. My actual fencing was... desperate. I forgot the little I'd managed to learn; mostly I just waved my foil, channeling a windmill facing Don Quixote. Frankly, it was rather pathetic. I also managed to bruise my opponent by scoring some off-target hits on her legs (we don't have breeches, just upper body protection because you are not supposed to hit the legs!) So yeah, mixed feelings. I enjoyed myself and I'm glad I went, but darn, I do need to get better. But how to practice on my own? Footwork or lunges I can do, but for the actual fighting I need an opponent... I know, that's what the sessions are for, but it's only once week and not very long so it's not enough to make real progress. It'd like to reach some minimal level where I could actually bout without total embarrassment.... Need to brainstorm some strategies!
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