A funny story

[Fencer X]

Fencer X wrote;

Enough complaining- Here's an amusing story
from todays' bouts.

Got in the Que, had to fence this little girl
, must've been maybe 11 or 12 years old.
WTH, figured small target- good to test point
control. Well, after I'd gotten a few touches
on her, she starts launching these absolutely
explosive fleche attacks- accompanied each
time, with this blood-curdling growl-scream-
shriek! Totally freaked me out! Couldn't have
been more than 4 feet tall, maybe 70 lbs.
Here I am, 5'10" 185lb., She's got this
attitude like, "I don't care how big you are-
I'm gonna take you out!!!" It was all at once
amusing & deadly serious.

I gotta tell you all, I *really* admire this
sort of competitive spirit. This is what
sport fencing is all about, right?

-Fencer X

[neevel]

I recall that one of the few blips of coverage that fencing at the '92 Olympics got on U.S. television was when NBC's sportscasters tabbed Women's Foil as having the 'best screams' of all the sports at the games .

Seriously, beware the small tenacious ones that aren't scared of size and push you down the strip like an agressive Cairn Terrier.

-Dave

[aussie]

Hi X,

you got to watch the little ones.

i once had a 12 year old girl restict me to 5-4 my win. i was older faster stronger, but i made the huge mistake to fence down to her. thats were she got me. i got caught up playing her game. i learnt a lot from that.

[attila]

Oh what fun. I don't know if in your classical salle you folks worked on hits to the back? Well. kids are a great opportunity for this kind of crazyness. Sometimes the little buggers lunge then turn their elbows down and completely cover the chest so the only thing you have to work with is the back.
Look out fencer X, this slippery ride will only take down the path to flicks.....

YEEEEHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

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"Kill the men, save the women, and by the gods, do not spill the wine"

[Stryder]

Andrus Horanyi (forgive the mispelling) is the baddest little mutha around!

I once saw him at the USAF academy go 14-15 with a ~26 year old fencer who was about 5'11" 200 lbs and quite a good fencer, too.

Horanyi could only work one action against him but he did it so well it amazed me.

He fleched, point low and out so it would get picked up. Then he placed his blade above and across both of his shoulders and ran further in. His opponent's flicks hit nothing but iron and Horanyi ran on by. (pausing only long enough to score the touch from this odd position)

Fearless little guy. Congrats to Andrea and Gary, their kids are great fencers.

------------------
www.geocities.com/strydermike

[Gav]

Yeah it can be fun, but also annoying. Last year I met this little kid in a poool round. He's was a little guy 1/2 my height. But he definately had ideas way above him. Everyone had cuffed him, including me. I was the last fight. After I won he wouldn't even shake my hand (or the rest of the pool), threw his mask off (a shiny new clear mask) and stomped off crying. I felt sorry him (for a fraction of a second) until the next round when he kept throwing tantrums all over the shop. Sometimes attitude should be tempered with a little humility.

[Peach]

Isn't there a rule saying you must be born in 1987 or earlier (i.e., be 13 or 14, I guess) to compete in an open event? I've been in a few events recently where that rule seemed to be broken. (Heck, I was in an open event not too long ago where nobody ever asked my classification and seeding was done by whatever. I think they doled out the three women to the three different pools, for instance, never mind that one was a B with national points, one a C, and one a D.)

Whenever I fence a young kid, I work to beat him or her but I don't waste my energy too much or overwhelm them; I just do what's necessary at the time. I'll win a pool bout by as large a margin as possible but a DE doesn't count for seeding and it's better not to tire myself out; so what if the kid takes advantage of my lack of intensity. But I won't insult the kid by pretending. I've seen people give touches away to kids and the kids know what's happening. They're not fooled.

I didn't encourage my daughter to fence open events for quite a while after many of her friends were doing it.

[Mergs]

Casidy Lutjien, at 11 was taking three of my 16 - 17 old MALE fencers apart by dropping into a low lunge, covering what little chest she had and remising like a singer sewing machine until she hit. Good to see them humbled that way! Didn't dare take her on myself!

I agree with Peach, when they are old enough to eat at the grownup table, they should be able do opens!

[Fencer X]

Fencer X wrote:

Yeah, you can just forget about attacking the
low lines on the munchkins <g> We were just
club bouting, so that's how this all came
about. I'm not that good of a fencer yet, So
I bout any able-bodied person that is will-
ing to go. "A" fencer, kid, senior, I don't
give a hoot- I just wanna fence!

BTW- *NO* more classical for me. After the
rec fencer tourney today, #16 of 31 ;^( I
see the intensity that sport competition
offers. Classical fencing gave me very
little, that helped me today. (Although many
fencers complemented me on my nice form,that
did *NOT* win any bouts for me.)I'll sign up
with USFA, when thier year starts, (august or
september)& work towards an "E"
Classification. I need many more bouts, many
more competitions. I'm just really glad I
was open-minded enough, to try it. I'd have
missed out on a lot of fun & good fencing!

-Fencer X

[neevel]

X--

That form _will_ help, once you combine it with the other elements-- distance, tempo, and development of your tactical thinking.
Good classical fencers have all of these attributes, too, (though in a manner optimized for their objectives), but classical pedagogy tends to stress perfection of form before really broaching these other subjects, whereas modern training methods are more integrative early on.

Use your form as a base from which to work. While modern competitive fencing doesn't treat form in a dogmatic or art-for-art's-sake manner as a few (but by no means all) classical approaches do, and is more encouraging of individual experimentation and variation, it's still a foundation.

For starters, Keep Those Steps Small!!! Use many small, quick, light steps to cover a given distance rather than a few big, slow ones-- especially when dealing with the fast young-uns. The more footwork tempos, the more opportunities to react, adjust, or take the initiative.

-Dave

[Gav]

In Scotland the rule is you must 13 or over (I think). The guy I was talking about was either really small for his age or else he came in under the limit. In any case if they are playing with the big boys they should learn to play by the big boys rules.