My last three blog entries talk about things I have learned recently. The place where I put my learning to the test is at a tournament. Last Saturday, there was a small local tournament that allowed me to do exactly that.
There were 8 epeeists so we had one pool of 8. I employed the strategy of having a plan. Even if I had not scouted out any given opponent, I had some kind of plan in mind when the ref said, "Fence!"
Having a plan allowed me to fence with confidence. As suggested in my recent blog entry, not every plan was a good plan, but at least I had one. This allowed me to finish the pool with a 4-3 record, seeding me fourth.
This put me up against Scott in my DE. Scott and I had fenced an intense pool bout with me prevailing 5-3. Scott is a smart fencer. I knew that everything I used in the pool bout with him would be mentally cataloged and planned for. I approached the DE with new plans. Scott and I changed tactics several times during the bout as each one adapted to the other's game. In the end, he beat me 15-14 with about one minute left on the clock.
Could I have fenced better? Sure. Always. Am I happy with my fencing that day? Considering that it was far, FAR better than anything I had done at the NAC, I would say yes. After all, Scott is a C-rated fencer, and any day I can fence on a par with a C-rated fencer is a good day.
I am getting my game back on track. It's a journey, not a destination. It still has a ways to go, but, in the end, It's all... part of the plan...
04-02-2008 04:02 PM