Need advice!

[seanievisa]

Hey guys! Im new to these forums and fencing for that matter. Please dont yell at me for my terrible spelling, because I already know how bad it is... Anyways I have been fencing for 2 months or so here in Halifax Ns, and Im going to provincials on sunday! Its just at kings collage downtown so I thought I would go. My only goals in going to this competition is to get some experiance and come in at least second last. I really dont wanna be last place lol! Do any of you have any advice for me? Anything would be helpful! Ill let you guys know how i make out sunday night, please post some advice for me!

[oiuyt]

Relax and enjoy it. There'll be many other competitions in the future. Have fun.

-B :)

[seanievisa]

i guess your right, but i was wondering if there are anythings i should avoid doing...do many people use flicks in tournaments? In my club i find that most ppl that use them call is a hit but it landed flat...i wouldnt suspect that many ppl who use flicks have much sucess with them with electric gear...

[Pancakes]

If it's old timing, anyone decent at flicking will land plenty on you if you don't know how to defend. Fencing dry is a horrible, horrible way to prepare for a tournament, and provincials is a pretty high level tournament when you've only been fencing for a couple of months.

But as long as you've got all the gear, just enjoy your self and remember to LEARN. That's the most important thing at this stage.

[seanievisa]

My couch suggested that i go for experiance...also sience im 16 i only apply to the open catagory in this tournament for foil... So if its open then i have to fence ppl of ne age right?

[kalivor]

Yep, you'll have to fence people of any age. Though I wouldn't worry so much about that -- you'll probably find more easy older fencers than hard ones.

The key is to go, have fun, and not be worried because of who you're fencing against.

For instance: You fence your first bout against fencer A, and lose 5-0.
Fencer A goes up against fencer B, and loses 5-0 in about 12 seconds.

When *you* go up against fencer B, don't be worried about losing or sucking, or anything. Just play, have fun, and try to score as many hits as you can.

Do that, and you shouldn't have much trouble meeting your goals. A pair of sixteen-year-old legs will probably be enough to beat an opponent or two.

[Goldgar]

Plan to have a good time. Look at the field and set yourself reasonable expectations. For many people, in a first tournament, that means, "I hope to get at least one touch on everybody I fence." If the field is stronger, that might have to be modified to "I hope to get at least one touch on half the people I fence." Or maybe you'll look at them and tell yourself, "Hey, I should be able to beat some of these guys."

Not coming in last is always a good staring point. <g>

[Mr Epee]

Most importantly!

Take your time, and don't rush.

You need experience, and the more time you spend on the strip the more experience get.

The entry fee is the same whether your bouts last 15 seconds or go the whole 3 minutes. Get your monies worth.

[grotto]

Keep it simple, watch your opponents bell, and be on your legs. Most importantly have fun.

[Alain]

Hiya, and welcome to the forum

The most important thing - whatever level you're at and whoever you're fencing - is to enjoy yourself and have fun. In terms of the fencing itself: don't be intimidated, take each fight one hit at a time, and think about every hit. Be patient, move your feet... oh, and in case you hadn't already heard - ENJOY YOURSELF!!!

Good luck, and let us know how you get on

[ducdequenelles]

Don't feel humiliated if you get destroyed. I've been fencing less than a year and have attended three tournaments, at all of which I have been massacred in almost every bout. However, you might stand a chance in unrated or novice events. I just like to go for the experience of facing other fencers, meeting new people, and learning from my mistakes. I'm not concerned with winning at this point.

[seanievisa]

ok thx guys! its saturday night here and i fence tomorow morning so ill just ty to have fun! thx for the advice

[seanievisa]

just got back! i placed 13th out of 16! I only won 1 match in the pools agains a guy 5-3( i placed 15th in the pools) then i was against him in the DE and i beat him 15-7!!!! I went against a really good guy in the next match and lost bad 15-5. the guy i beat has been fencing for a year and a half and ive been fencing for 2 months, he charged in every time and it was parry reposte almost every time except the few times i attacked into preparation. all-in-all i think i did pretty good considering that i started in the hard pool to begin with. thx for the advice guys i had a great time at my first tournament!

[jokerjoe12]

great job. i hope i will be able to do that well in my first tornement.

[glowstix]

good job, dude...my first tournament i won my first DE 15-4 but then again i'd been fencing a year before making my debut; lost my second DE 15-6..hehehe. this was in foil actually...don't know what the heck i was thinking...now i'm one year into competition and addicted.

oh by the way, while i'm here i have just one more piece of advice:

SWITCH TO EPEE

(not to change the topic of the thread but...i couldn't resist )
hehehe

[RiseAndFall]

"I hope to get at least one touch on half the people I fence." Or maybe you'll look at them and tell yourself, "Hey, I should be able to beat some of these guys."

Yes, those are good reasonable goals. I just came back from the youth provincials (Ontario), and I was in a pool of people who had all been fencing at least 2 years (some 10ish). I've been fencing since september.
Anyway, I got at least a point in every bout except for against a guy who went on to totally destroy everyone no contest, so I feel damn proud. I had only one win, 5-4, but hey, I tried hard.

Really, just do your best. Make sure you warm up well, and stretch well. There's alot of new people at my club and a bunch of them forgot to do a good warmup. It showed when they fenced. Just have fun, and as your coach mentioned, just go into it looking for experience.

[oiuyt]

just got back! i placed 13th out of 16! I only won 1 match in the pools agains a guy 5-3( i placed 15th in the pools) then i was against him in the DE and i beat him 15-7!!!! I went against a really good guy in the next match and lost bad 15-5. the guy i beat has been fencing for a year and a half and ive been fencing for 2 months, he charged in every time and it was parry reposte almost every time except the few times i attacked into preparation. all-in-all i think i did pretty good considering that i started in the hard pool to begin with. thx for the advice guys i had a great time at my first tournament! ;)

Anyone else concerned about what this tableau looked like?

Seeded 15 of 16. Fenced another (presumably) low seeded opponent. Won. Final placement 13th. Something interesting going on with the format there....

-B :)

[oso97]

Either that or the pool results were REALLY screwy...

*Edit*
Wait, no yes, that DOES sound really odd. If you win in the round of 16, the lowest ranking you can have at the end is 8th...

[kalivor]

Anyone else concerned about what this tableau looked like?

Seeded 15 of 16. Fenced another (presumably) low seeded opponent. Won. Final placement 13th. Something interesting going on with the format there....

-B

I just assumed that one of those numbers was either a mistake or typo. I suppose that we'll be able to find out with more certainty, assuming that the final results are eventually posted here:

http://www.fencingnb.ca/members/results.html

[Goldgar]

just got back! i placed 13th out of 16!

Terrific!

(Heh, heh, we've got him now.)