tommorrow is near, as is the comp.

[Pelle]

hey just letting everyone know that i have my pizza competition tommorrow (ignore the stupid name) with over 130 people in it! i start at 12:00. what do you reccomend eating/doing the night before and morning before a comp. i found last night at lessons i was rather sluggish and didn;t win any matchs , even against those i normally waste. this is a trend for me it seems where if i think too much i lose. whats going on. my theory is that im learning new things that aren't neccisary and thus hindering my ability to react. example i now frequently hold my blade in a coupe position while advancing for an attack. (is this a mistake?) i also jump slightly one some lunges to bring my blade of any parry used in foil, (as the sabre overhead one whose name escapes me would be the only parry able to block). and i now over lunge occaisionally and bring my knee to the ground almost to duck under a parry of just suprise them. are these moves to risky? help please!

and wish me luck!

[HillBilly]

good luck.

Win me some pizza.

[jBirch]

Depends on your body type but generally...

Night Before:

5pm. Carb Load. Eat a schwack of pasta, some salad and some chicken. If you are old enough, have a glass of beer/wine. NO COFFEE OR TEA! Do the dishes. Lay out your clothes for tomorrow. Wash anything that needs to be washed.

6-9pm. Go outside. Go for a walk, jog, cycle, swim. Something. Don't push yourself, just make sure that it's outside for at least 30mins. Watch TV.

9pm. Have another glass of wine/beer. Have sex if you are able to. Otherwise, watch TV. NO COFFEE, TEA or HOT CHOCOLATE!

9:30-10pm. In bed. Sleeping.

Day of the comp.
6am. Up. Go for a 1/2 hr walk/light jog outside. NO COFFEE!!!

6:30am. Breakfast. Fruit. Eggs. Porridge. No Bacon. No Count Chocula. Lots of juice. No citrus juice (orange juice, grapefruit juice, etc...). No milk.
Take your time eating breakfast. NO COFFEE! Make it substantial but don't gorge.

7:30 am. Pack your stuff. Make sure you have all of your gear. Make sure you take a water bottle and some fruit snacks.

7:30 - 9:30. Shower. Take a dump. Watch cartoons. Play video games. Relax. Slack time for whatever you forgot.

9:30-10:30 am. Light practice. 30mins of meditation. Point control drills (you're fencing foil, right?). Visualisation. Slow footwork. Relax.

10:30-11:00 am. Travel to venue. Register. Check in. Find out who's in your pool. Relax. Assumes 20 minute travel time. Make watching TV shorter if you have a longer drive to the comp.

11-12. Find a good spot to huck your gear. Help set up. Watch. Watch the referees. Watch the other competitors. Who's nervous? Who's pumped? Who's tired? How are the refs calling the actions? How is everything going? Are they late? Early? Spend any down time checking your gear and making sure it's in top shape. If anything (it happens) has happened since you packed it this morning, fix it. Fill out your fencing journal. Talk to the other members from your class. Swap gossip. Relax. If you've got a while and nothing to do and no one to talk to, point work. Slow footwork. Visualisation. Eat an orange or a lemon. Eat a power bar or a granola bar. Drink some water.

12-fencing time: Visualisation. Relax. Fencing stretching (no static stretching). Light jogging. Blade movements. Eat an orange or a lemon. Take a leak. Drink some water.

Pools: Watch. Learn. Adapt to your opponents. Adapt to your refs. Drink lots of water/gatorade. Eat an orange or a lemon if you find yourself getting tired. Focus on learning about your opponents. Get the point. Try some light experiments in the bout but try not to lose.

Between pools and DEs: Eat a granola bar/energy bar. Eat a lemon or an orange. Drink gatorade or water. Take a leak.

DE: Apply what you learned. Focus on HITTING THE TARGET! Get the next point. Forget about anything but getting the next point. Just HIT THE TARGET!!!!!!!!

After fencing: static stretching. Meditation/visualisation. Find your buddies and hang out. Go drinking. Beer and potato chips. Chocolate milk and tuna. Sleep. Admire your medals. Fill out your fencing journal. Shower.

******

Now is not the time to be learning new stuff. Don't try anything you're not confident in unless you are facing a problem that you don't know how to handle and the new thing might help. Just reaffirm your basics, relax and ...

HIT THE TARGET!!!

*grin*

Have fun and good luck!

[HillBilly]

Have sex if you are able to. Otherwise, watch TV.

Does Mastrubation (sp.) count? I've heard it helps you relax, would it help?

TV is an acceptable alternative to sex??

[Alain]

If it's just the night before, then I suggest chilling out. Don't be worried about how you've been fencing recently, it doesn't matter, what count's is how you fence on the day!

When at competitions, you need to find just the right level of 'botheredness' - you need to want to win, whilst at the same time being relaxed and focused on the next fight.

The most important thing is that you enjoy your day; beating people helps, obviously, but (from experience) if you're not enjoying your day then you shouldn't be there in the first place!

Basically: chill out, get some sleep, and then kick arse!

Best of luck / bonne chance !

[glowstix]

most of what birch said i'd agree. on the day before, however, i do not recommend light exercise, then alchohol afterwards. light exercise is cool, but if you just carb loaded at 5pm, some of it will be consumed. if you do exercise, make sure to carb load afterwards as well and stay away from alchohol. in some people alchohol prevents sleep, this i know from experience and research.

do try to get to bed early. unlike me, last weekend, i didn't sleep (insomnia) then drove the morning of the tournament and was dead tired and grouchy before my pools.

i would avoid sexual activity, clubbing/partying of any kind the night before. just chill, watch a fencing dvd and get in that frame of mind.

do weapons/equipment checks the day before. you don't need a yellow card before you even hear "en guarde". also, as others have said, get your clothes and other non fencing stuff ready (drinks/powerbars/dry clothes/etc..).

if you can manage, eat a lot for breakfast (quality food, not the waffle house/dennys crap). eat and drink continuously throughout (bites of powerbars, not too much and gatorade/water...stay hydrated). since you said its a big event, there will be waiting around and people in your way, stress, etc...

and lastly, be alert. i got black carded for missing my first DE, the venue was so huge, but luckily they gave me a break.

good luck

[LUDICROUS]

Download/acquire/listen to The Trooper by Iron Maiden in the morning with the volume up as high! It'll get you fired up .

Im sure you have your own songs for that, but hey.

EDIT: FLASH OF THE BLADES! Duh. That song rocks

[bjacobs]

Most athletes I know (fencers and otherwise) think it's a bad idea for a guy to have any sort of sexual release the night before any serious athletic event. I've heard mixed opinions as to what works best for women; some people think that women should make every effort to have sex the night before a competition.

The above are in no way scientific facts. Just what I've heard from people and pretty much agree with.

[SouthPaw]

If it helps at all, I have pretty regularly done really crappy in fencing practice just prior to tournaments that I do really well in. Don't let it get you down. You're getting your crappy fencing out of the way before the tournament, rather than at it =p

[jBirch]

Most athletes I know (fencers and otherwise) think it's a bad idea for a guy to have any sort of sexual release the night before any serious athletic event. I've heard mixed opinions as to what works best for women; some people think that women should make every effort to have sex the night before a competition.

The above are in no way scientific facts. Just what I've heard from people and pretty much agree with.

The issue of sex before a comp, I think, is a personal one. Basically my advice is to do stuff the night before that makes sure you have a very good night's sleep. The glass of wine after coming in from the cold outside tends to put people in the sleepy mindset. Some sex just clinches it. The glass of wine/beer also tends to unwind the nerves a bit, which I found were particularly bad during the closing your eyes time before sleep. If it works the opposite in you, by all means, abstain.

The exercise level the night before is a personal thing. Some people jog at least twice a day and this is the time you want to do that if you are that type of person. Some joggers think it wise to skip their evening jog the night before a comp to make sure they have the maximum energy for the next day and end up restless all night long as the extra energy hasn't been released. My advice is to make sure you go outside in the cold and move around, again, to give you the best chance of turning off your brain and getting a good night's sleep. Some people find it hard to go to bed early, as they're all keyed up for the next day. So a light workout, while it will consume some of the calories you just sucked up, will also make you sleep better. That's why it should be light and outside. The only other thing to mention is to make sure that it's at least 3 hours between eating and going to bed. You'll sleep horribly if you don't.

If you have no problems falling asleep then by all means abstain from sex, drink and alchohol. A carb load, good night's sleep, good breakfast, plenty of water and lots of healthy snacks during the day are pretty much all the keys to a high energy level during the comp. Everything else is to get your mind on the matter. Some athletes find the extra testosterone is a boon in their sport, especially those with a lot of physical contact (hockey, wrestling, football, that kind of stuff). In fencing it tends to make us jumpy and our point control go to hell. Your call though.

I did forget to add the equipment check the night before. Good call on whomever picked that up. Make sure you pack the morning of though, during that 2 hr downtime. That way you're not worrying about whether you forgot something or not all night long.

At any rate, this is just some first-time advice. Everyone has their own routine that works for them. The basic idea is to get some sleep, get up and be prepared the next day.

Take it easy.

[Pelle]

well i had my two events today and man am i pooped! first i fenced under 17 which is all competitive class except me (beginner) and i lost as soon as DE began but one two pool bouts, im pleased with this. then i fenced adult rec. which was more my speed and i came 4th! i nearly got silver as i was leading 13-8 but my oppenant (and kudos to him) came up and brought the score to 14-14 and after many off targets, failed infighting and double touches he won. im only slightly disapointed that i lost silver by one point and thus was stripped of a chance of getting a metal. but it was only for fun i think i will enter the competitive class here and train harder as there is another comp in feb, and one in march, then the perhapes nationals in may! tho 4th does not sound as nice as bronze or silver my coach was quite pleased with my effort and results.

[glowstix]

good job. you'll get your medals. its just a matter of time. i remember when i first competed and everyone i knew was getting medals and i felt left out. next tournament i finished with bronze!! next two after that were silvers. its only a matter of time. its all about fun.

[Point_Left]

there is another comp in feb...

The Jujie Luan Open? Or is this an in house tourney? If it is the open, I'll see you there! Unless they have the sabreurs and foilists on different days...

Congrats on your performance, and good luck in the future!

[Pelle]

The Jujie Luan Open? Or is this an in house tourney? If it is the open, I'll see you there! Unless they have the sabreurs and foilists on different days...

Congrats on your performance, and good luck in the future!

ya the jujie luan open! what do u know about it, have you been there before? do u live in edmonton?

[Point_Left]

Yes, I live in Edmonton during the school year. I'm an Uof A student. I know the open is the first week of Feb, but I havn't competed in it before. This is my first year of competition.

[Zilverzmurfen]

i nearly got silver as i was leading 13-8 but my oppenant (and kudos to him) came up and brought the score to 14-14 and after many off targets, failed infighting and double touches he won.

Keep the spirit and next time the silver (or should I say zilver?! ) may be yours!

[mackillian]

That's just awesome.

[Pelle]

I'd like to make a correction, it turns out i got bronze in the competition. i left before i could be given the medal and my coach gave it to me today. Horray!

[Zilverzmurfen]

i got bronze in the competition.

Congrats!