I fenced Div2/3 foil. This is the first national level foil event that I have fenced in something like 3 or 4 years, since before the timings change. I fenced for fun, so I'm not going to lay out a full summary of every bout.

Div3:

Went 4-1 in my pool, seeded in the lower 32 because I had a small pool. Won my first two DE's, but they were high-energy fights. Lost my third to the guy I lost to in my pool. Final: middle of the lower 32.

Thoughts: The primary tool of people in the Div3 seemed to be a squirm with an counterattack. The guy I lost to was a tiny, fast kid wearing a full body chest protector. My stuff was bouncing off it like crazy. Haven't had much experience fencing people with them and that use them tactically like he did, and it showed. At least he lost the next bout.

Div 2:

Went 5-0 in my pool, seeded in the middle 16 because I had a small pool. Won my first three DE's, but they were high-energy fights. Lost to an Ohio State fencer; after having to fence yesterday and from my previous bouts, I was just plain out of energy. Couldn't put the point on to save my life. Final: high in the lower 16.

Thoughts: I fenced about 5 lefties in total. Most people did the squirm and counterattack in Div2, as well, though it was much more controlled and tactical, and therefore more predictable. Fencing this event was much easier than Div3 because people were actually thinking about their fencing/actions and therefore easier to dissect and trick and hit.

Final Thoughts:

• I have really bad shin splints. I should probably try and get rid of them somehow. Not sure whats causing them anymore, since my previous thoughts have been contradicted.
• I could always use more conditioning. I got pretty exhausted in Div2 (although, I was forced to fence all of my Div2 DE's back to back due to delays, given only the minimum standard time between all four of them).
• I did not come into this NAC expecting to flick like I could on the old timings, although I did practice it a bit as a feint (need to be able to finish the feint if you need to, of course) so I could finish to the body (which worked beautifully on the better fencers), because I do still have the old foil tendencies ingrained in me and I haven't done the training or had enough fencing time to get rid of them. Flicking turned out to be an invaluable tool against the squirmy counterattacking crowd. It was super useful.