Movement...?

[3ngu4rd]

I have an annoying habbit of rushing forward too much and becoming off balance, but I never feel like I'm rushing until it's too late. Does anyone know how I can 'kick' this habbit?
I'm able to beat my opponents on the legs in strength, but I just don't have a lot of control when I'm pressuring them (I get hit by a lot of counter attacks ).

-)-------

Also, I'm working at point control, but I still seem to miss the target a lot (although that could probably be due to my rushing habbit). Any pointers there would be great!

[Tsu-La]

My advice is to take smaller steps (especially in sabre). They can still be quick, so you will end up more controled, and it's easier to change directions. In epee I just say don't chase people down the strip-- it'll probably get you in trouble (epeeists may confirm or deny this)

[edew]

Gollum kick this habbit quickly. Then you'll be merry.

One way to "kick" this habit is to finish the attack. I'm assuming this is foil, or sabre. If you're running too fast, finish your attack. At the very least, it won't be a counter-attack against you.

I see a lot of beginners who rush fast only to stop short, scared of the next step. The next step is simple: hit the opponent. If you run fast, finish it by hitting the opponent.

If you really want to slow down, practice. Practice taking slow as in s-s-s-s-s-s-l-l-l-l-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-w-w-w-w-w-w-w steps. At HFC, we used to do footwork drills to the Scottish Pipes and Drums rendition of Amazing Grace. It's a funeral dirge, so it's supposed to be slow.

[pkt]

3ngu4rd

Above the advice you've received thus far - they are all good - I'll add this:

Before you move forward what was your thought process?
Did you think out what you're going to do once you've closed distance?

Is your stance, your footwork correct?
When you do your lunge, do you have that bend at your rear hip to allow your torso to keep upright?

Who's your coach?

Why not think of spending time in Edmonton with Ju-Jie? I assume you know who she is. I think she can help.

Best of luck. Work hard at your footwork, maybe see you at the Westerns.

PK

[The0ne]

Often i rush in too, but for me its more of a head game. . .
Maybe just think about remembering that you only need to move a fraction faster than your opponent to score. . .

The0ne

[pkt]

Want to improve your movement?
There're lots of OTC meds.



Some even come in chocolate form...

PK

[3ngu4rd]

Originally posted by pkt


Why not think of spending time in Edmonton with Ju-Jie? I assume you know who she is. I think she can help.

PK

Yes, I know who Ju-jie is, and your idea is actually not bad. I just might go up and see her. Only thing is, I'm still in school and that makes it difficult to get up there... but then again, I do have spring break approaching. Thanks!

As for the Westerns, it sounds like a possibility.

[angrylemur]

Sorry to break off topic a bit, but something about the fencing in Calgary.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada is home to 2 of the strongest fencing clubs in western (possibly all of) Canada, with a third (Gladiator's) showing promising prospects (even though it is a new club). Juji is a great coach herself, but in Calgary there are many resources to tap into without leaving the city. A bit about the coaches as far as I can remember.I think Leslie and Glenn are both level 5 coaches, and Elya and Jeremy are level 3.

Leslie Palmai (epic fencing club): Used to be Polish foil fencer, switched to epée and made national team (maybe junior, not entirely sure, sorry) shortly after. Great coach for all three weapons, with strong National team fencers trained.

Glenn Samson (calgary fencing club): Canadian foil fencer, won AB provincials eight years in a row. Excellent coaching background with many strong national team foil fencers coming from club. In fact, I think one of his Cadets is currently top 10 in Canada in the Senior rankings.

Elya Perrit and Jeremy Hill (Gladiator's fencing club): Used to fence competitive on Canadian National Team together, extremely competent foil fencers coming from strong coaches. Both coaches have a very strong grasp on both physical and mental aspects of modern foil, as they just stopped competing.



You really can't lose fencing foil in Calgary.

[angrylemur]

I used to get hit with a lot of counter-attacks too. These are a couple of the things I was doing that you might be doing too.

1. You may be advancing at a very predictable pace, probably too quick in the beginning. If you advance extremely quickly right at the beginning of your attacks, especially if it is a marching "attack" (because if you are advancing with a bent arm you aren't even attacking) you will be very open to both counter attacks and attack in preparation. Try starting your advance with a few slow steps, and gradually putting more pressure on and increasing the pace according to your opponent's reactions.

2. You may not be paying enough attention to your arm. When the coaches say "Hand before feet", they mean it. If you move your feet on the attack/riposte before putting your hand into place and/or extending it (even if slightly), you can really get caught on the counter-attack/remise. Try to focus on getting the hand started before anything else.

The thing about this message board is, we can give advice, but we've never seen you fence. The best thing to do is speak to your coach about it, and ask for his/her advice.

[Lemberg]

Well if we are talking about best clubs, I think there is no way we can forget clubs like Salle Seguin in Saskatoon with people like Jean-Pierre Seguin (last year's Cadet world champion) and Tars Bakos + a couple more as well as BC's Dynamo coached by a very strong Ukrainian Victor Gantsevich, with people like Farooq Habib and one of the best junior fencers in North America Tigran Bajgoric (Greenville Jr NAC winner) with his two younger brothers following his footsetps... + There are good clubs in Manitoba.... I guess it all depends on what weapon teh club/province is concentarting on.

[3ngu4rd]

angrylemur

Your idea proved to be a good one as well (in regards to the coaches right here in Calgary), and much more availible to me which is always good . I have been working on this with my coaches and it has been improving, but any bits of advice from others are helpful for further insight. Thanks for your two ideas. I think they should prove helpful (especially the first one ).

1. You may be advancing at a very predictable pace, probably too quick in the beginning. If you advance extremely quickly right at the beginning of your attacks, especially if it is a marching "attack" (because if you are advancing with a bent arm you aren't even attacking) you will be very open to both counter attacks and attack in preparation. Try starting your advance with a few slow steps, and gradually putting more pressure on and increasing the pace according to your opponent's reactions.

2. You may not be paying enough attention to your arm. When the coaches say "Hand before feet", they mean it. If you move your feet on the attack/riposte before putting your hand into place and/or extending it (even if slightly), you can really get caught on the counter-attack/remise. Try to focus on getting the hand started before anything else.

[3ngu4rd]

Originally posted by Lemberg
Well if we are talking about best clubs, I think there is no way we can forget clubs like Salle Seguin in Saskatoon with people like Jean-Pierre Seguin (last year's Cadet world champion) and Tars Bakos + a couple more as well as BC's Dynamo coached by a very strong Ukrainian Victor Gantsevich, with people like Farooq Habib and one of the best junior fencers in North America Tigran Bajgoric (Greenville Jr NAC winner) with his two younger brothers following his footsetps... + There are good clubs in Manitoba.... I guess it all depends on what weapon teh club/province is concentarting on.

I've never competed in Vancouver. What are the teams there like?