Do you 'blog about fencing? (Public or otherwise)

[Victor]

Just curious about others' experiences in journal-keeping.

I've kept an informal diary of sorts for several years now, starting on paper, and then moving to my Pocket PC, and finally dabbling with online programs to keep my thoughts in order. I try to keep it focused on my fencing activities, although various other emotional bits keep sneaking in -- a bad day at the office, for example, can screw up my focus during a lesson later that night. The structure of the journal has changed from time to time as well, ranging from dry stats to humorous observations to logs of my workout schedules.

I've never let anyone else read these notes, though. For a few reasons: 1. My insights don't seem any more worthy than the next guy's. 2. When I re-read what I've written, it seems like I whine a lot. 3. I have a hard time deciding who my "audience" would be, and thus which "voice" I should use for consistency. 4. I see this happen online many times (even here, perhaps?) and I really resent the way strangers feel it's so frippin' important for them to anonymously insult others just to boost their own egos.

On the rare occasions I do peruse my earlier notes, I discover that, yes, I have improved ... although it sounds as though my anxieties never really change. So I'm not sure if the journaling process has been productive overall.

Anyway. That's my take on (we)blogs. I was wondering if anyone else here has successfully combined his or her private fencing efforts with the public 'blog environment.

[Mr Epee]

Way to go, Doogie!

[glowstix]

yeah, i keep my online journal; most of it private since it probably contains stuff thats not that interesting to others and stuff that i simply don't think others need to know about..

when you keep a journal and look back at it several weeks/months after you get a good picture of how you evolve over time. maybe some of the stuff you've written doesn't work anymore or your views changed or you simply improved. it also helps to keep track of your progess along the way, the mistakes you made and how you overcame them..

[kalivor]

Yeah. I blog. Maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the posts are fencing-related. I don't really use it as a log, though, just a place to write thoughts that others might find interesting -- and given that over half the people who read it (that I know of) also fence, my fencing thoughts are included.

Now that I think about it, they would be included anyways. I don't care much about my readership.

[swordwench]

(Though you'd never know it by my postings here...) I'm a very private person. I started to keep a notebook for tournaments and sometime practices - things that had happened, how bouts had gone, what I needed to work on, etc. But I've also always liked to keep a journal for personal clarity and catharsis. I prefer a notebook, but at this stage of my life I don't necessarily want it lying around to be read by anyone. The fear of exposing your innermost thoughts to others can severely limit what you're comfortable writing about, so whatever you do write is stitled and incomplete. Then you are no longer being true to yourself, so why the thell are you writing it? For some of us, not venting at all is dangerous, as we're at risk of simply imploding someday. Writing is a cheap way of venting. Therapy can be very expensive.

So I now have a journal online, where some is marked private, but most is not. I've never told anyone else my username, though, so it may as well all be private. At least there I can feel free to unburden my soul - provided I clear my history. The funny thing is, I noticed along the way that almost every entry contained some reference to fencing. Either about something that had happened at practice, or random musings on my own pathetic fencing, or my obsession with the sport, or how particularly desirable someone at fencing may have seemed even though it might have just been my twisted and hormonally-charged imagination, or how I'd rather be fencing right then than typing in my blog... Come to think of it, I'm way behind on my entries... And I really need to fence tonight...

[Zilverzmurfen]

Not more than I (occasionally) write in my f.net journal.


I sometimes write notes about certain things, either how I feel about something (or someone), particular things that may have happened or just how life seems at that point. I don't 'publish' it anywhere though, I just save it to my HDD for later amusement...

[Katman]

I have an online journal elsewhere that fencing sometimes gravitates into. I usually don't keep any serious notes about my fencing anywhere, which I'd like to change soon.

[ThatReallyHurt]

My only real journal is here on the forum. I do, however, keep some video and photos so I can see what's changing or what I need to improve on. I find it helps quite a bit.

I also keep all the fencing paperwork and stuff I get in one pile. Some day I'll tidy it up. My kit is all hung up nicely, though - don't want anything to happen to my beloved fencing pants.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

i have a paper journal that goes with me for info on specific bouts, i then tape in the printed out official results. i then synthesize this into something more generalized and more socially oriented for here, and then i water it down into something for my normal livejournal.

IE

paper journal: "arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! arm out---- too fast---- what w said good, better than brn"

f.net: "I kept leaving my arm out to get counterattacked and i need to slow down, but i got some good advice. Incidentally, something really funny happened...."

LJ: "I'm so tired from fencing yesterday. but i did better than last time."