Ahoy, Blue-Coats!
It's that time of the year! Things have been a little quiet these few weeks between Summer Nationals and first local events. We all miss the cracker and cheese breakfast and 16-hrs long leg-strengthening sessions. Perhaps you haven't been keeping up with your referee hand signal exercise and feeling a little weak on the shoulders? Tsk! Tsk! I know, I know. Nobody seems to be holding events, and what advanced fencers we might have at local clubs all went away for summer camps. So what are we to do in these idle weeks? Prepare for the season, of course! It's the perfect time of the year to sharpen up our mind and body!
In these times of great confusion, the fencing community looks onto the referees for some semblence of assurance and guidance. There's even a religious cult allegedly being developed around the unpredictable behavior of scoring boxes. Lights don't come on when they are supposed to, and sometimes valid light comes on all by itself out of blue! And then there's all the mysterious cards flying everywhere! We are confused, too, at times. But don't let them know that! They respect (and expect) us, the referees, to appear sane through all this, because who else could be?
Inner strength of the referee makes for a solid fundamental basis upon which such a character can be built upon. That means stronger constitution, ever-expanding knowledge, and ever-sharpening Referee Vision -- Matrix Bullet Time style. This is true anytime of the season, and every referee should strive to enhance every aspect of his/her performance at all times. This, however, becomes all the more important during the pre-season phase because our individual and collective development depends on our solid preparation.
Physical Preparation:
This is a great exercise for the referees. Most referees develop good leg strength during the season by the very nature of what they do. But many neglect and fail to develop a fundamental basis for great refereeing -- Core. Without a well developed Core, referee's posture and hand signals become weak and wavering. This leads to improper distribution of weight between the two feet which leads, at the least, unnecessary discomfort for the referee and at worst, a momentary loss of attention at a highly critical moment in a high profile bout. Weak core also makes for inconsistent and delayed transfer of energy from lower body to upper body. This can lead to annoying (and potentially disastorous) confusion as the referee's hand signal develops a "slur of speech" and even cause faix faus through unintended change of inflection in the signals! Fencers and coaches can smell these things from a mile away!
Try this great exercise. And see if you can keep it up while reading the rest of this digest!
1) Sit straight up. That means proper posture, folks! Great posture begets great refereeing! No using backrests! Lower back and neck arched, chin up, shoulders back! Let your head reach for the ceiling!
2) Bring your legs up in front of you, pararell to the floor. Keep those legs straight! Cross them at the ankles. No using backrests!
3) Go through some referee hand signals. Vary them. Try this every time you read an e-mail! You Got Mail? Sit up and make a call. Got junk mail? Sit up and pull out that Yellow Card!
Mental Preparation:
You can never have too much knowledge! Out there, everyday, down in the trenches, referees are the working definitions of the fencing rules. Study up. Know your rules. Read them like they are comic books! It's not just about learning the new rules. Always strive to REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Go back to the basics and see if you can find things you didn't notice before. Make it a HABIT to study the fencing rules. Visit
http://www.usfencing.org/ and click on the "Info For Members" and "Forms" to access the latest edition. Always keep the window open if feasible. That way, you can read up a paragraph everytime you use your computer. If you don't have three 21-in monitors side-by-side, it's ok. You can minimize the window.
Here's some very basic aspects of the fencing rules many referees out there skim through. Solid fundamentals mean solid knowledge! Can you answer these without looking up? And NO, they are not multiple choice questions!
1) Correct, full title of the document that defines the fencing rules as published by the United States Fencing Association is:
2) What is the latest (and valid) edition of said rule book?
3) Fill in the blanks:
The ongoing publication of an American version of the FIE Rules has been carried out under the auspices of the ______________________________. This current edition is based, in large part on the __________ translation of the FIE Rules.
4) What do the following abbreviations in the text mean?
Cf. (#)
f. (#)
ff. (#)
5) Fill in the blanks:
Articles that begin with "t." are "___________ Rules."
Articles that begin with "o." are "___________ Rules."
Articles that begin with "m." are "___________ Rules."
6) Do you know the FULL title of the international govering body of fencing?
Psychological Preparation:
We've all heard of the psychic, sixth sense, "Referee Vision," which goes beyond the properties of mere physical sight. What is it? How do we develop it? This, of course, goes well beyond the scope of this comic relief junk mail. Many of us have already experienced the "Perfect Bout." It's the bout where the referee sees EVERYTHING. He/she can smell EVERYTHING. Every twich of the fencers' muscle fibres, every intention understood. It's the bout where the referee could swear that he/she could "see" the electricity travel up and down the circuit in fencers' equipment. And "hear" the coffee spill back at the Bout Committee table. Every action made by the fencers seem to slow down Matrix style, and the referee retains a Mr. Miyagi-like calmness, his/her spirit strong yet gentle, unwavering to the pressure. Some of us haven't experienced that yet. Those who already have, strive to find the "mental key" that would allow them to find that mental state for instant recall. For those who have not achieved that yet, here are some teachings of from Oriental Martial Arts which has helped me greatly in my development as a referee.
"Let there be mind, but no mind."
- Zen teaching
"In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principle has existence, the Way has existence, spirit is nothingness."
- Miyamoto Musashi
"The gaze should be large and broad. This is the twofold gaze. Perception and Sight. Perception is strong and Sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things. It is necessary in strategy to be able to look both sides without moving the eyeballs. You cannot master this ability quickly. Learn what is written here; use this gaze in everyday life and do not vary it whatever happens."
- Miyamoto Musashi
'Daniel-san. Stand like dis. Breeze in. Breeze out."
- Mr. Miyagi
Coming up in the next issue:
Repetitive Stress Syndrome, It's real..... Is there a value in alternating which pockets referees keep their cards in?
Against All Odds.... Struggle of a narcoleptic youth who has vowed to become a certified Epee referee.
Fun Activities for Referees....... Making special cards for holiday events! Valentine's Red Card!
Sir? There's a hole in your pocket....... Seamstress' advice on custom-made reinforcements for referee uniform
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