Anger on the piste

[Lotan]

Good day everyone,

Do you ever fence in anger? If so, do you find that it throws you off, or actually improves your performace? The source of your discontent may be the conditions of the bout, an aspect of your opponent's personaity, or life in general, it makes little difference (or does it?).

Much obliged for replies

[Lotan]

post script,

please forgive my misplelling of "personality"

[Soldier]

I always shut off when I fenced. No anger, no...nothing. No thoughts, even. I would have to stop for a minute after a touch, and try to remember what I just did to get that touch.

I think of in The Last Samurai - "Too many mind."

[Wraith]

There's one guy in my club that always fences angry. It makes him faster, but he loses control. I do my best to never fence in anger. I did it once, and fenced better, but while I was angry, fencing wasn't fun. For me, fencing isn't worth it if it isn't fun.

[Schiavona]

Some people think emotitions get in the way of fencing. I'm not one of them. When I started fencing I had a rather LARGE anger problem. Instead of supressing my anger, my coach had me use it. He said that emotition is the gas that drives your engine and to remember that a car dosen't drive YOU, you drive the car!

I've gotten much better since then. Really.........Well mostly

[Lotan]

Thank you for your kind responses. They were in keeping with the prevailing sentiment of my clubmates, as well as my own observations. To wit; anger in itself seems to exert a controlling hold over its subjects, and it's quite impossible to achieve mastery over oneself under those circumstances. On a personal level, I cannot fence at an optimum level if my mind is anything less than totally clear (though, with my luck, I'll be beaten into the ground by an irate competitor at my next competition, blowing all of my high-minded theories completely out of the water .

thus endeth the sermon

[telkanuru]

Originally Posted by Schiavona

Some people think emotitions get in the way of fencing. I'm not one of them. When I started fencing I had a rather LARGE anger problem. Instead of supressing my anger, my coach had me use it. He said that emotition is the gas that drives your engine and to remember that a car dosen't drive YOU, you drive the car!

I've gotten much better since then. Really.........Well mostly

*resists making bad Yoda references*

I found anger or any emotion whatsoever on the piste makes me lose. I normally release tension with a yell once in a while at the end of a touch. Does a world of good.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Do not think angry thoughts while fencing, be the anger, and feel the dark hadou coarsing through your veins... put power and emotion into every move you make, but make sure that you are the one making the move, not the anger.

[prototoast]

I think this thread is getting into Peter Westbrook territory.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Yeah, I read his book, and it changed my life

[ShadowHuntr]

i generally save my anger for after bouts when i lose and trust me i am not in short supply. especially as of late.

[Schiavona]

[quote=telkanuru]*resists making bad Yoda references*

QUOTE]

My coach's advice on my anger problems was before Star Wars was made. I know it may be hard to believe but there was life before Star Wars!

[telkanuru]

I will hear no more of your blasphemies!

But if it works for you

[neevel]

For each person, there's a certain optimal level of emotional arousal which lets you fence your best. Too much below that level, and you're kind of phoning it in, to much above that level and you stop thinking rationally.

What that optimal level is differs from person to person. For some, anything beyond total calmness is too much. Stafano Cerioni, OTOH, at times seemed to fence better the closer he got to a state of complete apoplexy. If you're having a low-energy sort of day on strip, a little burst of anger at the situation can be just the kick you need to get you focused and moving. The trick is to know how to limit is so you don't let the anger completely take over and make you get stupid.

[Iwant2bafencer]

There are times when I've done sports angry. I lose my focus though. Granted it may make me stronger or faster, but that's when you start making mistakes. I also clear my mind. For any of you who've seen 'For Love of the Game' with Kevin, you'll understand. "Clear the mechanism." I didn't use those exact words before the show came out, but I do the exact same thing. If it's softball and I'm batting, there's nothing but me, the pitcher, the catcher, and the ball. The same if I'm catching. If it's soccer it's me, the ball, the goal and the keeper. Fencing it's me and my opponent. That's it. There's no crowd, no one and nothing else. Ok, I'm done blabing now.

[Sabresque]

I need to make myself angry to fence. Anger makes me completely intense. there IS a line that I mustn't cross, and I see that as the line between angry and upset. I'll admit, I do fence more intensely when I intensely dislike someone.

On the subject of star wars: A teammate of mine and I were doing some parry drills with a former world championand no matter what we did we couldn't parry his cuts. He would just find the touch each time. Eventually, my teammate got frustrated (as I was), and asked "I don't understand, how am I supposed to do this??" and our dear assistant coach went "use the force". I'm still not sure whether he was completely serious or not.

[Maeve_Mari]

Originally Posted by Lotan

Thank you for your kind responses. They were in keeping with the prevailing sentiment of my clubmates, as well as my own observations. To wit; anger in itself seems to exert a controlling hold over its subjects, and it's quite impossible to achieve mastery over oneself under those circumstances. On a personal level, I cannot fence at an optimum level if my mind is anything less than totally clear (though, with my luck, I'll be beaten into the ground by an irate competitor at my next competition, blowing all of my high-minded theories completely out of the water .

thus endeth the sermon

Ohhhh, not quite so easy.
Sermans don't just end here Lotan. There has to be some passage quotes, an insulting comment about one's mother's fencing style, and then finally an interpretation of the rules that is incoherent, yet indisputable before this serman can endeth.

[Schiavona]

Originally Posted by neevel

For each person, there's a certain optimal level of emotional arousal which lets you fence your best. Too much below that level, and you're kind of phoning it in, to much above that level and you stop thinking rationally.

What that optimal level is differs from person to person. For some, anything beyond total calmness is too much. Stafano Cerioni, OTOH, at times seemed to fence better the closer he got to a state of complete apoplexy. If you're having a low-energy sort of day on strip, a little burst of anger at the situation can be just the kick you need to get you focused and moving. The trick is to know how to limit is so you don't let the anger completely take over and make you get stupid.

Neevel is describing exactly what I needed to fence-in tournaments! My early fencing days were before the D.E. ladders so it was pools, pools and more pools.......boy did you get tired! It was not uncommon, though very amusing, to see people fall asleep at dinner after the tournament.

In non-tournament fencing, my uncontrolled anger just got in the way of fencing. Fencing and Zen saved me big$ on therapy

[Peach]

I've won a tournament or two because I got angry. Last night I got angry at a teammate and didn't let her get a touch after that. I'd prefer not to fence that way, however, because it's annoying.

Frustration and self-pity are far more injurious to my fencing than anger.

[Whack]

I get mad at myself on the strip not at the other fencers but many times people think I am mad at the others for fencing well. i am mad because i'm not quick enouhgh or good enough to get the touch and they are.