adversity

[ntjst4sprt]

do you use the same exact type of gear for practice as you do in competition?

I used and still do to some degree believe this is the way to go..but recently had to get a new pair of shoes for fencing, although they are comfortable I just dont feel as connected to the floor as I did with the old pair.. I'm not good enough to just readjust to the change and its taking a while to get that feel back..

now I'm thinking it might be a good idea to change things up once in a while, like different shoes, glove, or maybe even a different type blade, just to be a bit more accustomed to change..

[OROD]

I always keep a separate lame for competitions since a lame can take so much abuse at practice. The last thing I need is to go to a competition and find out my lame doesnt pass test. Same thing for my mask. I have one I just use for competitions.

Basically, anything that can pass/fail at an event you should have two of, one of which you dont practice in regularly.


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[ntjst4sprt]

I always keep a separate lame for competitions since a lame can take so much abuse at practice. The last thing I need is to go to a competition and find out my lame doesnt pass test. Same thing for my mask. I have one I just use for competitions.

Basically, anything that can pass/fail at an event you should have two of, one of which you dont practice in regularly.
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I understand that you need multiples of items, but is what you have all the same?

what if for some reason you had to use a different piece of gear that was different than what your used to? how well could you adjust?

[KD5MDK]

I'm not sure adversity is the relevant word here.

[ntjst4sprt]

I'm not sure adversity is the relevant word here.

I knew it didn't sound right.. I think diversity is a better fit.

[edew]

Maybe consistency?

Usually, with regards to practice vs competition equipment, my weapons are the same for both practice and competition. I have a separate set of competition jacket/pants/underarm protector as well as lame and mask. When they wear down, they get moved to practice equipment status and I buy a new set for competition.

[sabreur]

I'm pretty much like EDEW, except that I practice in sweatpants (or shorts, if it is really warm), and a cotton sabre jacket from Santelli--alas, now irreplaceable.

I have a training lame and mask. When the training lame dies, I replace it with my current competition lame, and buy a new competition lame. Every three or four years, I send my training mask back to Allstar to be reconditioned (new bib, primarily).

I have a complete set of gear that I pretty much only use for competitions. If you can afford it, it is a good way to ensure that your competition gear is in good shape and passes all the requisite exams.

Of course, the things that actually fail the most are body cords--I tend to have the club armorer check all of mine before important comps.

[Inquartata]

I think what he's getting at it whether your two sets are identical, ie practice Uhlmann FIE mask and competition Uhlmann FIE mask, practice Allstar lamé and competition Allstar lamé, etc.

That's the case with my mask: both my competition mask and my old practice mask are Allstar FIEs. My current practice lamé is an Infinity, but the previous one was Uhlmann, as is my current competition one; before, the Infinity was my competition lamé and an old non-passing Uhlmann was my practice one.

Everything else I use---jacket, knickers, plastron, shoes, bodycords, glove, mask cords and weapons---gets a workout in both practice and competitions.

[Ordway]

I use almost exactly the same gear in practice as in competition. In practice I wear warmup pants instead of knickers. I also use a cotton plastron instead of my nice thin FIE one, because I toss the plastron in the washer after each use, and I don't want to put the more expensive one through that 2-3 times per week. I do have a competition and a practice lame, but they're basically the same. But I use the same mask (because my "practice mask" got downgraded for using when I coach my college club), body cords, weapons, jacket, glove, etc.

I deliberately try to make sure everything is comfortable and something that I'm used to, when I compete. Whenever I get something new (jacket, shoes, glove, etc.) I make sure to use it a while in practice before using it at a competition. That's because I know it does take a little while to get used to it, and I don't want any distractors when I'm trying to compete. So when I get something new, I usually save the old item for a bit as a backup while I break in the new item.

All in all, though, it doesn't really make that much of a difference. I've been fencing long enough now to have gone through various iterations of most of my equipment. I'm also better at choosing new gear, too... the new things I buy now are usually comfortable from the get-go.

[Durando]

Two practice weapons with the same electrics as my competition weapons. They're a bit heavier and don't flick as well. I switch to my competition weapons a week before the big day to get used to them again. This is, so far, the best way I've found to cut down on needless armory. It does happen every now and then that I break out a "good" épée to use in practice, but it almost never happens that I'll use a second or third good épée in club.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

the thing i always wonder about is if you have separate weapons/body cords you use for competition, yes, they receive less wear and tear, but how do you know if they're on the fritz unless they lose you touches??????

I use all my stuff at practices. there are certain weapons i like more at certain times, and stuff like that, but because i use my gear all the time, i know if a certain weapon has the tendancy to have the body cord pop out this week, or if a body cord seems to be a bit intermittent....

(and then i fix whatever it is.........)

[edew]

I think what he's getting at it whether your two sets are identical, ie practice Uhlmann FIE mask and competition Uhlmann FIE mask, practice Allstar lamé and competition Allstar lamé, etc.

That's the case with my mask: both my competition mask and my old practice mask are Allstar FIEs. My current practice lamé is an Infinity, but the previous one was Uhlmann, as is my current competition one; before, the Infinity was my competition lamé and an old non-passing Uhlmann was my practice one.

Everything else I use---jacket, knickers, plastron, shoes, bodycords, glove, mask cords and weapons---gets a workout in both practice and competitions.

In that sense, then yes, the equipment is virtually identical, other than one set is a bit more worn out than the other. The practice set is usually a bit tighter and somewhat threadbare (from the washing, of course), and maybe 3 or 4 year older model than the competition one.

[Durando]

the thing i always wonder about is if you have separate weapons/body cords you use for competition, yes, they receive less wear and tear, but how do you know if they're on the fritz unless they lose you touches??????

Um. You test your cords and weapons before the competition.

[KD5MDK]

What he said.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Um. You test your cords and weapons before the competition.

it's very easy to test conductivity. it's harder to test exactly how that particular spring on the bayonet cord is working.

It's very easy to test shims and weights on an epee, much harder to find an incedental problem that only happens once ever 4 touches.............

[KD5MDK]

This would be a good reason not to use bayonet connectors. I was talking with Dan Dechaine once, and he ranked the foil/sabre connectors in the following manner:
Italian Bayonet
(Tokyo Sport)
German 2-prong
French 2-prong
British Bayonet

[MyrddinsPrecint]

This would be a good reason not to use bayonet connectors. I was talking with Dan Dechaine once, and he ranked the foil/sabre connectors in the following manner:
Italian Bayonet
(Tokyo Sport)
German 2-prong
French 2-prong
British Bayonet

which is a great point for buying one's own equipment-- i owned 2-prong before i got to college, and will again after I leave, most likely, but for some reason, a few thousand years ago, Smith started with bayonett gear, and at this point, even if I were to have all of my own two-prong gear, I'd still need to fix bayonett gear..............

[OROD]

My practice gear is pretty much the same as my competition gear except older and in worse shape.

That is to say, it used to be my competition gear until my old practice gear passed away.


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[remise]

Once my mask failed a conductivity test. Immediately afterwards, I implemented the 'practice mask - practice lame' method, which has taught me the feasibility of separate pieces of equipment, and saved me any future embarrasment.

[Larrison]

I'm going to go with the flow here..

Practice gear that gets used every week, but competition geat that's a bit newer and in better shape for competition. Pretty much the same brands and types of gear -- just newer and less beat up from practice. One difference is I don't usually do dry practice bouting with an electric blade -- I hate messing up an electric blade in dry practice. But the grip is the same and even the blade is usually from the same manufacturer.

But at least once before the competition I pull out all the competition gear hook it up and fence with it for at least a half hour of bouting. That's to make sure its still working correctly, and to make sure I have all of it still stowed in the right spots in my bag, before the competition.