American Fencing Magazine - 2nd quarter issue

[Craig]

Received my copy of American Fencing today and the editors are continuing to make good progress on the magazine. The regular columns are staying and the quality of the content is improving.

Comments on some of the articles (don't have the mag in front of me, so I'm just going from memory)

- Ivan Lee talking about new sabre timings: This is great advice from a top competitor. I think this section is one of the best additions to the magazine.

- Bukantz article: Wow. I had forgotten a lot of those changes, but the 1 meter rule was a real dog. For his next article, I guarantee that moving from touches against to touches for will be in the top 10 changes to improve presentation to spectators.

Tonight I'll go through and look at some of the articles again and maybe post some more (though I should be working on editing that sabre footage and find some touches the Ivan describes!)

So, what did you think of the magazine? I saw a letter to the editor from at least one Fencing.Net member.

Craig

[MyrddinsPrecint]

i'm suprised no one from Prise de Fer jumped on this topic.......

and, that brings me to my point-- there may have been at least one letter to the editor from us, but there was technically an article written by someone that has a fencing.net screenname......... even if he's never posted ever........

[mrbiggs]

I quite enjoyed Jeff Bukantz' article. Lots of neat, useful information. As opposed to...telling us about how much he hates the new timings. Maybe something along those lines would make a good thread...

[DJ Apostrophe]

Ash,

we didn't jump on it, as those who normally jump were off fencing...

and we figured people would see it anyway

-w

[wflaschka]

Originally Posted by mrbiggs

I quite enjoyed Jeff Bukantz' article. Lots of neat, useful information. As opposed to...telling us about how much he hates the new timings. Maybe something along those lines would make a good thread...

I'm starting to admire how Bukantz just keeps churning articles out. (And Dr. Byrnes for that matter, writing for year after year.) Watching Westbrook's Bronze medal bout on DVD is a trip -- all the meter warnings, the scoring touches against rather than for, the archaic judging, the fence to 10 but win by two to eleven -- we've come a long way.

But I liked Ivan Lee's page the best. He wasn't boosting or bemoaning the timings, he had a pragmatic approach about how to work within them. You can do this and this and this. Very worksmanlike, it seems like he knows his craft well enough not to be stuck when the tools change.

And about Prise de Fer -- I keep waiting for a picture of the club that shows all the hundreds of fencers. In every picture the place is empty. I want to see the people! The club does look awesome. When you need a break from fencing, you can go to the window and look at a waterfall! That is how every salle should be.

[DJ Apostrophe]

Walter... I'll try to get some pictures with fencers in them soon... like during our memorial day round robin tournaments... then you can see what its like with people in the room

-w

[Andrea]

...I will say this in a one time shameless, and bold statement to anyone - NCF, Gary and I are so proud of Nick and Andras for not just the black and white results at the end of a season - but for all of what is not written about in American Fencing. Andras will be going to OSU on a full fencing scholarship this fall and Nick still has 1 more year before college. Nick has worked at fencing (& school) for a lot of years to make all those teams this year in Linz. Something in Andras just clicked in October last year that had been peculating for years.
Jimmy Moody will be now fencing for PSU and Aly Rush for OSU.

What a long strange trip it has been...thanks.

46 Individual United States National Champions 1988-2005
7 United States National Team Champions 1995-2004
58 United States National Junior & Cadet World Championships and Pan American Team Positions 1988-2005
Over 800 United States USFA NATIONAL Competition Finalists (1st-8th Place) 1988-2005

www.ncfencers.org

[garyhayenga]

Originally Posted by Andrea

...I will say this in a one time shameless, and bold statement to anyone - NCF, Gary and I are so proud of Nick and Andras for not just the black and white results at the end of a season - but for all of what is not written about in American Fencing. Andras will be going to OSU on a full fencing scholarship this fall and Nick still has 1 more year before college. Nick has worked at fencing (& school) for a lot of years to make all those teams this year in Linz. Something in Andras just clicked in October last year that had been peculating for years.
Jimmy Moody will be now fencing for PSU and Aly Rush for OSU.

What a long strange trip it has been...thanks.

46 Individual United States National Champions 1988-2005
7 United States National Team Champions 1995-2004
58 United States National Junior & Cadet World Championships and Pan American Team Positions 1988-2005
Over 800 United States USFA NATIONAL Competition Finalists (1st-8th Place) 1988-2005

www.ncfencers.org

No shame in that.

gary hayenga

[Coup de Grace]

This is the best, most informative issue I have received in the last year. I like the Ivan Lee feature the most. I have an advantage of learning to fence the Sabre when the new timings were released. I have no history with the old timings. Ivan Lee's statements were reassuring to me that old fashioned technique is important these days.

[Esotamoc]

The Ivan Lee interview sounds interesting. As I dont live in the US, can someone please post the article?
cheers

[Damon Scaggs]

Originally Posted by Andrea

...I will say this in a one time shameless, and bold statement to anyone - NCF, Gary and I are so proud of Nick and Andras for not just the black and white results at the end of a season - but for all of what is not written about in American Fencing. Andras will be going to OSU on a full fencing scholarship this fall and Nick still has 1 more year before college. Nick has worked at fencing (& school) for a lot of years to make all those teams this year in Linz. Something in Andras just clicked in October last year that had been peculating for years.
Jimmy Moody will be now fencing for PSU and Aly Rush for OSU.

What a long strange trip it has been...thanks.

46 Individual United States National Champions 1988-2005
7 United States National Team Champions 1995-2004
58 United States National Junior & Cadet World Championships and Pan American Team Positions 1988-2005
Over 800 United States USFA NATIONAL Competition Finalists (1st-8th Place) 1988-2005

www.ncfencers.org

Andrea,

It's only proper that you should be proud of the many distinguished accomplishments of your students. They aren't just limited to Nick and Andras as it plainly shown by your accounting of medals and teams. I'd like to take it a step further and say you should be proud of the people your students are becoming. My experience with NCF fencers is that they compete with ferocity within the rules and don't complain about things they can't control. Put simply they are good people and an excellent role model for the people coming new to the sport. I'm sure you and Gary have had some influence in this area as well and you should be proud of that. Andras is going to receive an excellent education at a good school partly because of what has happened at NCF. In twenty years, when the medals have been forgotten and nobody remembers who placed where, the good character of these students will continute to have a positive impact on their families and community. It is here where the true benefits come from sports in general and fencing in particular. Job well done Andrea and Gary!


Damon

[oiuyt]

I think my favorite part was the results listings. :eyeroll:

The weak RYC, fine, I guess, it WAS an RYC. But a local open event where of the 5 contested events none of them got more than 24 entrants, and 3 of the 5 were single digit numbers of fencers? And this is in our national magazine? Ok, I get that the editor can't include information that isn't submitted. I'd rather see something else occupy that half page rather than basically meaningless results. Pretty much ANYTHING else.

-B :)
*who really does read cover-to-cover on the first day he receives the magazine every time*

[darius]

The weak RYC, fine, I guess, it WAS an RYC. But a local open event where of the 5 contested events none of them got more than 24 entrants, and 3 of the 5 were single digit numbers of fencers? And this is in our national magazine?

And here I thought we were making progress from the USFA's insensitive position of not caring about the hoi polloi and focusing solely on elite athletes. You insensitive clod!

I guarantee you Scott Sugimoto liked Joe Streb's letter to the editor.

darius

[oiuyt]

I think it's cute that Dr. Streb thinks that the increased enforcement of the rules is coming from the referees rather than from the FIE. The FIE has been asking for increased enforcement at the international level, which has resulted in the FOC asking US referees for increased enforcement at the NAC and local levels. Trust me, refs don't like giving out yellow cards just to get all the attention. :eyeroll:

If we're going that route, let's publish the results from some dry foil novice event held in East Podunk. Might as well publish the names of all 6 competitors (in each of the sabre events) rather than merely the 4 "elites" (in each) that earned medals. :) I just think that most of what is in our national magazine should be at least somewhat relevant/interesting to a significant percentage of our nation-wide membership. Division newsletters are a better venue for divisional results. The Open events were held opposite JO's. I'd prefer to see the JO finalists to other results from that weekend...

-B :)

[Army Fencer]

Overall, it was a very good issue, though I think I could have done without the comparison between NASA and fencing.

[Inquartata]

I must agree with oiuyt on one point. They aren't going to post the results from NACs or Nationals anymore, but RYCs are somehow "special" enough to warrant space? Find some other filler material, folks.

[edew]

The rationale, I think, is that kids love to see their name in the magazine, and it means that much more to them whereas adults really don't care one way or another.

[CaptCosmo1]

Originally Posted by Andrea

...I will say this in a one time shameless, and bold statement to anyone - NCF, Gary and I are so proud of Nick and Andras for not just the black and white results at the end of a season - but for all of what is not written about in American Fencing. Andras will be going to OSU on a full fencing scholarship this fall and Nick still has 1 more year before college. Nick has worked at fencing (& school) for a lot of years to make all those teams this year in Linz. Something in Andras just clicked in October last year that had been peculating for years.
Jimmy Moody will be now fencing for PSU and Aly Rush for OSU.
www.ncfencers.org

I attended fencing camp in Hungary in 2002 and met Andras there. He was quiet, focused, and quite good. Naturally he was in the A foil group, was one of the youngest, and was one of the few from the US. I asked him how he did after a pool's worth of bouts. He matter-of-factly stated he won all his bouts and averaged 1 touch against. I bruised my chin when it hit the floor.

It was a treat to see him and Nick at last year's Nationals in Charlotte. Congrats on such a strong program.

Cheers,
Cosmo

[Araznal]

Hi, just joined and just got the USFA magazine. Here's what I like and what I don't like.

Like:
Great fencers giving their opinions (best addition ever since I started to get the magazine two and a half years ago)
Jeff Bukantz (even the ranting on the timings sounds fascinating)
The sports medicine and sports science sections (forgot the authors)
Athlete spotlight

DISlike:
So many ads for equipment that is below my standards for quality (unavoidable, I suppose)
Parent's Page (just seems irrelevant in a fencing magazine, probably because I just finished with the whole college process)
The featured articles are always disappointing

I have to say, though, that the publication has improved by great leaps and bounds and there's no sign of it getting worse.

[telkanuru]

I thought Bukantz's rantings on the new timings was tedious.

I also thought that the PdF article was poorly written by my roomate...