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Mr Epee · 05-23-2006, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peach

Well, heck, no. I woulda LOST

Which would have been different from our saber encounter how?

I'm just being funny.

Peach · 05-23-2006, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Epee

Which would have been different from our saber encounter how?

I'm just being funny.

Hah-- I have a vivid memory of you trying to duck a head cut coming from above. Though with the new timing, you could pull that off.

Mr Epee · 05-23-2006, 01:02 AM

I will now be quiet, because I have a reputation to maintain.

prototoast · 05-23-2006, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peach

Hah-- I have a vivid memory of you trying to duck a head cut coming from above. Though with the new timing, you could pull that off.

Who doesn't have stories like that. I ducked under a cut to my low 4. It's amazing how many wrong things can end up going in to one successful touch.

KD5MDK · 05-23-2006, 02:14 AM

I'm more interested in the fact Mr. Epee has fenced sabre.

Mr Epee · 05-23-2006, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KD5MDK

I'm more interested in the fact Mr. Epee has fenced sabre.

I have witnesses who will claim that I didn't...

PeterGustafsson · 05-23-2006, 03:24 AM

Hi!

I will 3rd then:

Army: for what reason are you tryng to assess the total fencing strength of an area?

Have a nice time!

Peter Gustafsson

Army Fencer · 05-23-2006, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Montoya

What point are you trying to make, Army?

I'm trying to find a way to objectively rank the current strength of regions around the country based on national points lists, as it relates to men's epee.

Cases like Mary Frye and Lisa Dubloug are of particular interest to me because they're very highly ranked on the Vet's lists, but they are not currently on the SWE list. At present, my algorithm does not include the Vet's lists. The problem is that relying on senior points alone would miss many Vets and would ignore their roles of bringing stability and experience to their region.

I'm currently considering the following points lists:
SME
JME
CME
SWE
JWE

We all know that NY has the best epee fencing. I want to prove it. Additionally, I want to know who's next with strong supporting evident. Eventually, I'd like to link these data with regional costs. I think I can find some very interesting results.

smurfette · 05-23-2006, 12:26 PM

I hope you are also taking into account who ACTUALLY fences somewhere. Lots and lots o' people fence in the Metro NYC division. A number are not actually there very often.

Goldgar · 05-23-2006, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Army Fencer

I'm trying to find a way to objectively rank the current strength of regions around the country based on national points lists, as it relates to men's epee.

Cases like Mary Frye and Lisa Dubloug are of particular interest to me because they're very highly ranked on the Vet's lists, but they are not currently on the SWE list. At present, my algorithm does not include the Vet's lists. The problem is that relying on senior points alone would miss many Vets and would ignore their roles of bringing stability and experience to their region.

That sounds like a very interesting project. Your definition of "strength" doesn't seem to be just competitive strength, if you're considering the role of veterans in bringing stability and experience. That complicates matters. And I don't think that all competitively successful veterans have great depth of experience -- some of them just started when they were old. That complicates matters still further.

If I were you, I would include Veterans point standings in my calculations, but not weighted the same as Senior point standings. Or maybe you'd use a cutoff -- only the top N places on the Vet point lists count.

Another complication is that many fencers who compete nationally in the Vet events *only* compete in those events, while others compete in Senior events as well. Vets not fencing in Senior events can be for various reasons -- concern about physical stamina, scheduling of events, or even simple distaste for the modern style. Do you want to make a distinction between veterans who fence only in Veterans events and those who fence in Senior events as well?

oiuyt · 05-23-2006, 01:09 PM

Which is better, separating into ME vs. WE or lumping both together? Or running three different rankings, ME, WE, overall.

-B

Mr Epee · 05-23-2006, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Army Fencer

I'm trying to find a way to objectively rank the current strength of regions around the country based on national points lists, as it relates to men's epee.

Cases like Mary Frye and Lisa Dubloug are of particular interest to me because they're very highly ranked on the Vet's lists, but they are not currently on the SWE list. At present, my algorithm does not include the Vet's lists. The problem is that relying on senior points alone would miss many Vets and would ignore their roles of bringing stability and experience to their region.

I'm currently considering the following points lists:
SME
JME
CME
SWE
JWE

We all know that NY has the best epee fencing. I want to prove it. Additionally, I want to know who's next with strong supporting evident. Eventually, I'd like to link these data with regional costs. I think I can find some very interesting results.

O good Lord... no need for two of us to do this research.

A few years back I too set out to quantify the fencing strength of various regions. My method was rather simple, and my algorithm somewhat primitive, but I suspect that the results may be of some use to you.

Step 1: Go to Region X
Step 2: Fence people of Region X
Step 3: Inspect a** for damage caused by fencers of Region X
Step 4: Subtract a** damage caused by visiting fencers
Step 5: Multiply a** damage which occurred in practice bouts by factor of 0.78
Step 6: Multiply a** damage caused by women of Region X by 1.618 (Phi)
Step 7: Sum all a** damage caused by fencing in Region X
Step 8: Multiply a** damage by CPI of Region X

------------------------------
Results
------------------------------

California - 4 nibbles on right cheek small bite on left cheek
Pacific NW - No data obtained or entered
Rocky Mountain Region - 3 small bites on left cheek, 1 errant bite to leg
Great Plains - Escaped unscathed
Texas - 1 major bite, no minor wounds, got infected
Deep South - Escaped unscathed
Mid Atlantic Region - 6 nibbles on left cheek, 2 large bites on right.
NYC - Lost Entire Right Cheek. :-(
New England - 1 minor injury.
------------------------------

Hope that helps... cheerio!

oso97 · 05-23-2006, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Epee

Texas - 1 major bite, no minor wounds, got infected

Ouch! an infection? What happened there?

Peach · 05-23-2006, 03:20 PM

Dern--I can't give Mr. Epee any more reputation for that one.

KD5MDK · 05-23-2006, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oso97

Ouch! an infection? What happened there?

I would imagine either Jens Stephan or Jim Carpenter.

PeterGustafsson · 05-23-2006, 04:04 PM

Hi!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Army Fencer

I'm trying to find a way to objectively rank the current strength of regions around the country based on national points lists, as it relates to men's epee.

OK then. May I suggest this algorithm:
1. Compile a list of the X best in each region for men´s epee regardless of age, X being a number 10-20 or so.
2. Compile a list of all bouts fought within the latest year where both fencers are on the top X of different regions.
3. For each pair of regions, compile the list of bouts fought between top-X of those two regions. You will get a results pair, numbers Y-Z, where Y denotes #bouts won by fencer from region 1, and Z denotes # of bouts won by fencer from region 2.
4. Redo step #3 for all possible region pairs
5. Put in all Y and Z into a big matrix.
6. Use the matrix to find the interregional ranking. This can be done by using eigenvectors, or many other methods. The literature on this subject is extensive, I recommend you to google "Condorcet Voting" and "Smith Set".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Army Fencer

Cases like Mary Frye and Lisa Dubloug are of particular interest to me because they're very highly ranked on the Vet's lists, but they are not currently on the SWE list. At present, my algorithm does not include the Vet's lists.

Please describe the details of your present algorithm!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Army Fencer

We all know that NY has the best epee fencing. I want to prove it.

Why, if everyone knows it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Army Fencer

Additionally, I want to know who's next with strong supporting evidence. Eventually, I'd like to link these data with regional costs. I think I can find some very interesting results.

Are you going to propose boundary redrawings? If so, I foresee problems - one set of borders may be the fairest for epee, who inappropriate for ROW weapons. How do you find the best borders in that case?

Have a nice time!

Peter Gustafsson

Mr Epee · 05-23-2006, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oso97

Ouch! an infection? What happened there?

Why am I not surprised that you'd want all the juicy details about another man's butt infection? GROSS! Let's just say that it was few years ago, and I recovered.

I'm seriously starting to worry about a few people on this board...

oiuyt · 05-23-2006, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oso97

Ouch! an infection? What happened there?

A picture's worth 1000 words...

-B

academe · 05-23-2006, 09:46 PM

"Mr. Epee knew that he was dealing with a new referee when he was asked to drop his knickers to show he had adequate protection."

Oh wait, this isn't gtmacs humorous caption thread...sorry.

Mr Epee · 05-23-2006, 10:44 PM

You people have no respect for my commitment to scientific methodology.

A pox on you - and a pox on you too.