In article <dc7987e.0302071802.618a7a2c@posting.google.com> ,
trebuchet30303@yahoo.com (William Marshal) wrote:
> >By asking a
> > question or disputing a call, you can learn quickly what it is that
> > particular director is looking at or how he is interpreting your fencing,
> > and adjust your fencing to his directing, giving you a bit of an edge.
>
>
> And would that one were always able to have this information BEFORE
> the bout. If one has to do the inquire-and-adjust thing, one has
> probably already lost a touch over an interpretative
> idiosyncrasy...which may mean you lose the bout...which may affect
> your seeding or placement. For want of a nail, and all that.
>
> Too bad someone doesn't publish a tout sheet on the beliefs and
> preferences of the most commonly encountered referees... 
It's certainly true that people who fence in a lot of tournaments have
an added edge because they often know how the referee calls things
before the bout begins, while the opponent may have to figure it out
during the bout.
Fencers are often advised to keep a notebook with information about all
of the opponents they fence so they'll have their own scouting report
the next time they fence them. It wouldn't surprise me if many people
took notes on referees as well.
--Harold Buck
"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson
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