I saw a frontpage article in the USA Today today featuring older olympic competitors. One of them was a picture of Sheila Taormina in Epee kit. I attempted to include a shot of the page, but I am not sure it got attached properly.
I saw a frontpage article in the USA Today today featuring older olympic competitors. One of them was a picture of Sheila Taormina in Epee kit. I attempted to include a shot of the page, but I am not sure it got attached properly.
"Rub her feet!" - Lazarus Long, Time enough for Love, Robert A. Heinlein
"Never moon a werewolf."
Mike Binder
Yeah, it was a decent article. She really is an amazing person whom I'm glad to have had the chance to meet and fence with for a while.
Sheila is really cool. I'm glad her hard work paid off and she made it.
Don't let 'em drop it. Don'tlet'emdropit. Stop it... bebop it.
~Charlie Mingus
I'm bummed she wasn't around when I was home. Oh well.
Originally Posted by InFerrumVeritas
It's nice to see an image of fencing make it onto the front page! This is awesome; thank you for sharing!
I'm getting so excited for the Olympics... all of it, not just the fencing.
"Fencing is a sport where physical attributes seem not as important as determination."
-Jo Shaff, from Fencing
Sheila trained with our coach a few years ago. She is really cool!
Renee
Will MP be televised by NBC? It seems unlikely, but that could be pretty cool to watch.
has anybody tried to do pentathlon here? i've been wondering if i should dable in it.
i can run the same times as the US champion in MP and of course i can fence already. how hard can it be to learn how to shoot and ride a horse? swimming would take some time, but i'd get that down too.
"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts" - Steve Prefontaine
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift." - Steve Prefontaine
Are you a strong B in epee?
At a competitive level? Pretty damn hard.
"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."
- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand."
- Homer Simpson
I trained for a very brief time, and lived in San Antonio where the MP HQ was at the time and got to train with and know a lot of the top pentathletes.
It requires a LOT of training. I was a HS wrestling champ and know what tough training is, but to do MP well is a full time job (and as one of the better ones told me, don't underestimate the value of rest).
From a background standpoint, you really should be an excellent runner or swimmer based on how the points are given and that some of the other sports can be "taught." I never believed that about shooting, however, as I know a lot of people that just can't do it well no matter how hard they train.
More people told me that of them all, they look for people with a strong swimming backgound. They claim that is something that can't be taught. But the best of them at the time told me he could not swim across the pool junior year in HS, but became a state champion (Indiana I think) senior year - so I guess some natural talent helps.
BTW - it is easy to both shoot and ride a horse, but you may get in trouble for the former (and don't do that first or you won't be able to do the second).
R-
"Some people are born great fencers, some people achieve fencing greatness, and some people have it thrust upon them."
My pet Monkey on an IBM selectric
I trained with a few pentathletes when I was fencing in Seattle, and I've worked with a few (as a fencing coach) since then. Don't underestimate the skill needed for both the pistol and horsemanship training.
Or the expense.
AE
I agree. US Modern Pentathlon was in San Antonio until a few years ago. I fenced quite a few of them. Very good fencers, and many better than just a B. They need to excel in at least 3 sports to do well in Penthatlon, and be competent in the other 2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_pentathlon
Take a look at this:
2004 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_...pics_-_Men%27s
1964 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_...s_-_Individual
Epee is the Sword.
Do not under estimate the amount of horsemanship you will need. It is one thing to learn to ride competently on a hard-working, well balanced horse. It is quite another to know how to navigate a crazy, mean, 2000 lb. nag over a course in good time.
I'll give you three guesses which you will see more of as a pentathlete. Remember these horses were donated for a reason.
However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally take a look at the results. ~ Churchill
I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. ~ Rita Rudner
alright so i can run low 9s. dunno about the swimming. i haven't fenced in a couple years, but i'm sure with enough time i could get good in epee. so i know i can get a lot of points in running. yall seem mixed on the shooting/equestrian, but it does seem like something that can be learned. i'm not saying that i'd want to immediately be the best MP. it's like it was when we started fencing. we have to start at the bottom.
i'm saying i have 2 out of the 5 sports of MP down. the other 2 of 5 can be learned. and for swimming i have the lungs, but i'd have to train to stay afloat.
has anybody here attempted a pentathalon though? that's what i'm really after
"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts" - Steve Prefontaine
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift." - Steve Prefontaine
The #9 on the 2004 finals list, Vakhtang Iagorashvili, has a club around here (Penta Fencing Club, oddly enough), and I've fenced him in competition several times. He's definitely a medium-to-strong A-level fencer.
Last edited by telkanuru; 07-28-2008 at 04:40 PM.
You say that it is a custom, but you should be mindful that the Lord said "I am the truth and life." (Jn. 14:6) He did not say "I am the custom," but "the truth." - Ivo of Chartres (1040-1115)
I think most very strong pentathaletes are probably A level. I think if you aren't at least a B you'll get slaughtered by them.
If you can, yes, you should definitely "dabble." As I understand it, only the best of elite-level athletes are able to "dabble" in Olympic sports. I can only dream of "dabbling"...
That's the other issue: the different dynamics of double touches = double defeats, one-touch epee.
"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."
- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand."
- Homer Simpson
After analyzing the current point system (which is different than when I was interested, as they made the swimming and running courses shorter), it clearly biases toward the skilled swimmers. Find a good swim coach and have them time you and evaluate your potential.
Rick
"Some people are born great fencers, some people achieve fencing greatness, and some people have it thrust upon them."
My pet Monkey on an IBM selectric
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