keeping a journal

[ntjst4sprt]

just wondering how many people keep a journal of their fencing..

I keep one and it is interesting to look through it and see what I have learned or have recently forgotten.......

[seven6ty]

My coach in high school trained us to do that, never really stayed with me. I'm honestly not much of an analyzer, at least not in the long term like that. I usually would rather watch the person that day and see how they fence, rather than read some obscure, condensed notes I may have made a year ago that might not even apply any more.

But that's probably just more my personal choice and because I'm a horrible list maker/note taker. I know some people do it religiously and it works out for them quite well, I do believe.

[lindajdunn]

I've been keeping a online journal for a few years so when I started fencing two years ago, I began extracting the daily posts about fencing and putting them online in a separate space.

[Peach]

I keep a fencing journal because otherwise I would never remember anything at all. I don't take notes at tournaments, though, because I find it terribly annoying to try when I'm pumped up.

[notalent]

Greetings ntjst4sprt,
I encourage journals for my team. They should have notes on what we are working on in lessons. Who they fence, what works and what doesen't. Perhaps most importantly Journals should have notes on referees. Knowing your opp hates PIL is good, Knowing your ref doesn't see them is better.

Originally Posted by ntjst4sprt

just wondering how many people keep a journal of their fencing..

I keep one and it is interesting to look through it and see what I have learned or have recently forgotten.......

[Bryn Ralph]

Perhaps journals should be kept by those who instruct and/or coach fencing.
Fencing students aren't quite ready to objectively record their development or progress without some guidance or format. However, I recommend the adaptation of the Personal Daily Log as published by Thomson Learning;permission to use this material:http://www.thomsonrights.com.
Another site is http://health.wadsworth.com.

[dreamer90024]

I keep a tournament journal with what I did as a warm up, the scores of all my bouts, and any tendencies I discovered in my opponents, what worked well against what people and what mistakes I made, as well as seed after pools, indicator, final placing, etc. I've found it to be useful, not in that I refer back to it the next time I fence a certain person, but that it's given me a pretty clear picture of what my game looks like when I do well in a tournament and how different it is when I'm not doing well. I probably should start keeping one of lessons, but as of now, I don't.

[ParryRiposte]

I've kept a journal of just about every practice/class I've ever done- what I do wrrong/right, thing like that. I sometimes have my dad record my bouts at tournaments and practricesfor later analysis.

[dramamine]

I write about a page or two on flights home from big tournaments about close or lost bouts. I just summarize points of interest, what I hit a lot of and what I got hit a lot by. Also I try and think about who the ref was and what kind of calls they made, and whether or not I was tired at the end of the bout.

[ntjst4sprt]

well I dont keep one as detailed as to who I bout or who won..
what I do write is what I tried that did or didn't work as well as things I catch myself doing wrong.. in hopes that writing it down will help me remember not to do again..

[VELISARIOS]

I have fencing journal and I keep the training there. It helps.

[stickhorse]

Since I'm notorious for writting down everything in a journal anyways, when I started fencing I bought another notebook and have been recording lessons, bouts and tournament stuff ever since. It helps to go back and look over mistakes I've made and things I've corrected.

I definatly suggest it.

[Ordway]

I've been keeping a journal since the beginning of this year. I write down the scores of all the bouts I fence (in practice as well as in tournaments) with comments about what I was doing wrong or right in that bout. I also write notes about my lessons after I take them.

The point for me is not in having a record... I never look back at the bout records (though I do refer back to my lesson notes). The point is that the *act* of writing down comments forces me to be more reflective about my fencing. Now that I know I'll be making a note about a bout, I am much more likely to be able to articulate what I was doing. Being able to reflect on what I am doing in a bout is the important skill that I am practicing here, and I have seen an improvement over the past few months.

I'm also a strongly visual/kinesthetic learner, so the act of making notes about a lesson, plus then seeing those notes written down, helps reinforce what I've learned.

Edited to add: I think you definitely have to have a good, clear reason for keeping a journal, or it just becomes another tedious thing to keep track of. Years ago I tried off and on to take notes in tournaments, but honestly I had no understanding of how it would help me, so I never kept it up. It wasn't until I was at a training clinic and my coach had us all keep notes on our bouts that I realized how it was actually useful. (Being a teacher and understanding how it actually works in my learning process was helpful.) From that point of view, I am skeptical of the utility of a journal that someone else keeps for you... I consider the benefits of the journal to be in its effects on your thinking process, not in the data recorded. But since everyone's learning process is a little different, the most important thing is to try different approaches out until you find what works for you.

[sabregrrrl]

I don't keep a regular journal, but do use it when I'm "stuck". Writing down thoughts and ideas about my fencing helps me see what I need to work on and what it is I'm feeling frustrated about. In fact, I'm gearing up for another journaling session this summer....I've hit a plateau and need to work through it.

My coach encourages all of us to keep a journal of tournaments we compete in. We write down our opponents, the score, and any observations we make on referees and other fencers. I also include how I'm feeling that day and how I got myself into that state, what I ate, and how I warmed up. I'm still a relatively new fencer and am working on my pre-tournament routine.

[cmedalis]

I try to keep a journal with notes in it, but I find that my handwriting is worse than chicken scratch after a bout. I have been able to write up a few things for my club email list a day or two afterwards, but the details can sometimes be hazy. Maybe a micro cassette recorder for voice notes...hmm.

One of my club-mates takes detailed notes, opponent names, scores, what worked to score touches, what his opponent scored with, indicators (which, he keeps a high-score sheet for all of us at tournaments, I think he's trying to start something )

I think they can be terribly useful, if you can be objective, but even more useful is when your coach takes notes on your fencing, and you can compare them. Add in some video footage of the same bout, and you have a usefull tool for full analysis of your fencing. Although I will admit, it may be most useful for more experienced competitors than me!

my $0.02

[ntjst4sprt]

the video footage can be a real eye opener when you watch yourself fence for the first time.....
it really give you a different perspective...

[journalmom]

Originally Posted by cmedalis

I try to keep a journal with notes in it, but I find that my handwriting is worse than chicken scratch after a bout. I have been able to write up a few things for my club email list a day or two afterwards, but the details can sometimes be hazy. Maybe a micro cassette recorder for voice notes...hmm.

Hi there,
I am a mom of two fencers (foil) and I published a journal so that my kids can write after their lessons, bouts, and competitions. They had a hard time writing too so I made the journal easy enough for them write their immediate thoughts after the each bout. The journal also has a section for free thoughts, maybe after lessons, drills, and any other thoughts. Their coaches emphasized on writing down their feelings immediately after their bout in a tournament and it was hard for them to remember after coming home. So the fencing journal stays in their fencing bag and they write after each bout. Then, they read their entries time to time, especially before their next tournament. If you want ot know more details about the journal e-mail me.

Fencing.net started to carry the journal so check it out. $15 is a good investment if it's going to help your fencing.

http://shop.fencing.net/product_p/fb-aejrnl.htm

Karen