Tell us your tales of perseverance!

[thud]

We've all faced them. Those fencers that whooped us so bad our unborn children felt it! But we never admitted defeat, no, we came back and madem think twice! What's your story?

I have a few tales. One was from my beginner year in college, fencing foil. The foil captain was one of the more generous fencers in the club, always willing to set aside his own fencing to teach the newbies, but he had some funny methods: he'd line up all the beginners and fence each and everyone of them, abusing us with running flicks that we had no idea what to do about (sabre parries? what? we knew quarte and sixte and not much else). I thought he was being an ass, but I was grateful that he was spending time with us at all.

After he handed my ass to me, I vowed to stop him the next time; and so I plotted for a weekend, reading this forum and looking up moves to counter this "fleche-flick" thing he was doing. The following Monday he lined us all up for the Newb Abuse Train and utterly destroyed everyone...except me. He destroyed me less.

I waited for him. He had a long preparation for his run so I always knew when it was coming (he was a pretty slow foilist, despite being captain). Ages seemed to pass as I waited, when finally I saw the wind-up, his feet just starting to cross. He bolted at me, throwing his point at my back. But I was ready. I extended and made a deep, reverse lunge. Passato soto'd his big ugly gut! He absolutely skewered himself. I'm amazed the blade stayed in one piece.

Needless to say, he never ran at me like that again, although, he simply beat me with other means. But that's not the point! Small victories, my friends, small victories.

[mar2372]

It all started at a local tournament. In a DE I pulled a guy who Fenced with a different style than most. Mask off - nice guy, sociable, intelligent; Mask on - Warroir of the Blade, to win at any cost. He's a member of my club; I knew what to expect of him, I was suprised at my reactions.

It was brutal, it was more like boxing with blades then Fencing. I put a perfect S bend in my blade, that poor blade has never been the same. I saw red and sunk to a level of Fencing I have never Fenced before or since. The score was even all the way through - until the end & he won 15-14. I left the pieste really bruised from off target hits that had fueled my anger, I only got angrier when I couldn't lift my Fencing arm for a week and couldn't wear short sleeved shirts for a bit.

At first I was angry at him (leter I was angry at myself) - 'learn some point control', 'Corps a Corps is not a proper Fencing move'. I didn't tell him I told our coach and he asked me - "what could you have done differently?". That was an excellent question b/c I realized I wasn't going to win playing his game. The next time we met I would play mine.

So I watched him Fence...I learned his habits. He over-lunges and falls over. Even when instructed in lessons to go on the defence he doesn't give ground - he has no defence. He causes corps a corps. He attacks with his arm pulled back - no extension. He gets angry when he Fences and doesn't win - his moves become sloppy. I am not an angry person - I needed to remember what I had observed and not let my anger take over my game.

The next time we met (only a poule bout) I played my game and kept my cool. When he attacked with a lunge I got out of the way, let him fall over and took my hit. I would attack quickly b/c he doesn't defend. When he did his fleche (which ususally resulted in c-a-c) I would move with him until he nudged me, resulting in a card. I stayed out of the way of his off-target blade. I counter-attacked in Fencing time when his arm was back. I hit gently, with grace and on-target, my parry floated like a butterfly, my riposte stung like a bee.

I won and this victory was really mine - I didn't out brute him - I out thunk him and it felt great.

[Purple Fencer]

Mr vs Solomon Weingarten at a local event back around 98. Foil DE round of 16....he was kicking my tush and we got to 14-9. one more and it'd be over.

I took inspiration from Young Ho Kim in the mens individual gold medal bout against Golubitsky at the 97 Worlds...down 11-3...he fought back. TIED it at 11 all, then the 2 of then traded touches until Golubitsky finally won 15-14.

I got it tied up, but missed myu last attack over hos shoulder by the barest of margains and his counter-attack arrived, ending the bout.

Had I been just a tough lower with my blade, I would've won and made the round of 8 for the first time.

Still, it was a heck of a bout....one of my all time personal faves, because I knew then I could never count myself out.

[fencerbill]

I fenced the late Bill Goering about 10 times and beat him once, when I won the Vets World Championships and he finished third.

[D'Artag-NOT]

For me, just staying in the sport is a personal victory. I started at age 47 and frankly have never been much good at it. But I love it.

Last summer I finally made a mental breakthrough, started relaxing more--both physically and mentally--and started getting more touches and even winning the occasional bout. (Highly recommend reading The Inner Game of Tennis, which started this process for me.)

Last month, fencing in the Quals for the Orange Coast Division, I "got in the zone" for the first time. It was just me, my opponent, and the director's voice from my right. I scored three or four touches in a row with simple beat attacks. I lost the bout, but the score was 15-9, and that was the best I've ever done.

Very small steps, in my case . . .

[Angwilwileth]

I have only been fencing for about 3 months. A couple of weeks ago my coach said that the beginners were going to do a practice session with the intermediate studants that train at the same time us beginners do.
I was pretty intimidated at first and started making silly mistakes, allowing my opponent to score. Suddenly a lightbulb went on. The guy I was fencing made no effort to defend his low inside target. I went for it and scored. I went on to tie the practice session, and I disarmed him once to boot!

Just my little n00b story

[D'Artag-NOT]

I have only been fencing for about 3 months. A couple of weeks ago my coach said that the beginners were going to do a practice session with the intermediate studants that train at the same time us beginners do.
I was pretty intimidated at first and started making silly mistakes, allowing my opponent to score. Suddenly a lightbulb went on. The guy I was fencing made no effort to defend his low inside target. I went for it and scored. I went on to tie the practice session, and I disarmed him once to boot!

Just my little n00b story

Outstanding. You're learning to think like a fencer. Bravo!!!

[Teme]

Back in the good old cross-step age (early '90s), during a warm-up football (the European variety, played with feet) I somehow managed to dislocate my knee, ripping the capsule and pretty much every ligament and tendon around.
A few hours later, in the hospital, the surgeon predicted that my fencing days were over and that I should concentrate on coaching as soon as I was back on my feet.
Ha! months of physiotherapy, meticulous footwork and incessant cycling earned me a national championship in saber a year and a half later -- apparently he was much better at operating than predicting

[thud]

Back in the good old cross-step age (early '90s), during a warm-up football (the European variety, played with feet) I somehow managed to dislocate my knee, ripping the capsule and pretty much every ligament and tendon around.
A few hours later, in the hospital, the surgeon predicted that my fencing days were over and that I should concentrate on coaching as soon as I was back on my feet.
Ha! months of physiotherapy, meticulous footwork and incessant cycling earned me a national championship in saber a year and a half later -- apparently he was much better at operating than predicting

A national championship in sabre, and with the cross over no less! Good job!

[Josedariom]

one time i was down 9-4 in a foil DE at juvenile national to a guy I train with and always beat. He was doing a simple action but he was so long and fasta and I was not making adjustments. A simple 6 parry ripostes later I eliminated him. Lost the next one to a friend of mine I had beat in qualifying very dissappointing but my best fencing persevarnce story to date.

[jindalimbs]

At the JOs earlier this year, I'm dying in my first DE. Sabre - at the 8 point break, it's 8-2... me with the two. My coach shows up and help me focus - I manage to pull it up a great deal. I lost, but I lost 15-12. I felt allright with that comeback.

[sjpfencer220]

This isn't that original, but here it goes.
I was at my first youth regional tournament, and, as a ten year old who was from a week division and had never come in worse than second in a divisiontournament. I came in expecting to win easily. I did relatively well out of pools for my first tournament, I'm not sure exactly how, but I did. In the round of 16, I was not seeded to win my bout at all. I was up against a girl I had never heard of (like just about everyone there) and, not completely understnding rankings out of pools, I still thought I was going to win the tournament. Well, I fenced her and she won... okay, so it wasn't even close at 5-0,5-1 (this was Y12). The two were lucky touches too. Anyway, I was completely depressed and left at the end of the day with a very different opinion of my chances. The next regional, although it was about half a year later, was just as difficult as the first one. I was still a U in both of these tournaments, and I was fencing in the Y14 event in the top 16, for the 8s. If I won I would earn my E, and I just happened to come up against my little rival from the last tournament. I fenced hard and figured her out midway throught. The final score was about 15-7 (me) and I was completely overjoyed. Moreover, the next day, I told one of my friends whom I had met recently what I did to beat my opponent from the day before and the original regional. She, who also had never beaten that girl, also won, and we met up in the finals. In the end, I beat her, I'm not exactly sure what the score was, but I was so incredibly happy to have won, as I though I would at that tournament when I got crushed. At another regional, the same one that I had lost at a year earlier, I fenced the girl I had finally figured out the year before, and she won by 1 in the extra period. I was fine with that and also impressed with the fact that, after losing to me and my friend, she actually switched coaches. We are now really close friends, have not fenced each other since, and are a lot better than in any of these tournaments.

[sjpfencer220]

Ooh, I remembered another one. I was fencing in a sectional-like youth 14 tournament. I was fencing for the 4s against a girl who was probably better than me at the time and was ranked better than me. She was up 12-5 and I had a hurt knee. In the third period, and this doesn't even sound true, I came back and won 15-13. It wasn't my best result, but it was pretty great for me at the time.

[mrbiggs]

My club didn't get the new timings, so at my first tournament, I was, to say the least, confused. To make matters worse, I ended up fencing a kid with long arms, who had already adapted to the new timings--he counterattacked, hit in preparation, remised, and I had no idea what was going on.

He was beating me 12-0 or something, and I decided that I had to get just one touch. So I did, and lost 15-1. That's by far my lowest fencing moment. Just getting one touch should never be a goal, except possibly in a pool bout where indicators matter. Lesson learned, I don't do that anymore.

Random fact, now that I think of it, Mauler was directing that bout. (Then again, what bouts hasn't he directed? )

[JasminaJ]

For us fencing fossils- just staying in the game through illnesses and injuries.
I don't think that makes me special- I just love what I do. I love it more when I do it well.

[yeoldearmourer]

I am kind of embarrass over this one. I flew to NYC for a Circuit event I got work in the armoury and forgot to check my 6 epees. I got down to my last one the score was 4-0 without a touch being fence. I am praying that my last weapon would pass. greatest comeback in epee I ever did won it 5-4

[RebelFencer]

Well, I was in the finals of an epee' tournament in KY against a guy I had never fenced before. At the end of the first period he was ahead 8-2. Over the course of the next couple periods I managed to keep my cool and come back to win 15-13.

[Dax]

I was fencing one of my club mates who I had previously never been able to beat in a DE. It was on a gym floor so I would lose traction and after the 1st period I was down 9-4. I have a bad left knee and so lunging with bad traction hurt at the time(my knee has gotten stronger since), but I just kept lunging even though it hurt. Then it clicked and I figured out that every time I lunged for he would do a big parry 4 and the riposte, so the next time I disengaged and poped him on the wrist, then it went up 9-5 9-6 9-7 and I came back to beat him 15-14. I was really proud and went and iced my knee before the next bout.

Another one is when I ate taco bell right before a DE and was after the second period my stomach was unhappy. It almost came up a couple of times during the bout and I was just having a lot of trouble, but I pushed through, won the DE and after shaking hands I ran to a trashcan. Lesson learned "never eat taco bell before a bout".

[telkanuru]

How about "never eat taco bell"?

[thud]

How about "never eat taco bell"?

Meaning you persevere by not eating Taco Bell?

I started fencing epee fairly recently, so I'm still trying to make my transition from foil. I'm not sure if it's from my time spent in foil or just natural of me, but I'm pretty fast compared to the other epeeists in my club.

One day I fenced an experienced epeeist and-- although he made many comments about my oversized preparations and other consequences of newbiedom-- I could still hold my own on quickness. He himself was not a very fast fencer, however, he was very calm and calculating, and knew how to go faster when he needed to.

In a five touch bout, he hit me four out of four times by fleche, which-- despite my supposed quickness-- I couldn't stop. As in my previous story, I stewed over the bout for a weekend before coming up with a solution, and tried it out on Monday.

I couldn't tell this during the match, but when recalling the bout, I realized that he touched me in the chest everytime. Obviously I would have to work on parrying these attacks, but in the mean time, I decided that I could counter to the shoulder if he was always going to tag me deeper. Keeping this in mind, I forced him to change his plays, and I kept the score a bit more even on our next meeting.

For you really experienced fencers, this kind of thing is bread and butter, but it sure feels good when you're learning to do these things and being successful at them for the first time.