Developing consistency in your competitive results starts with how you prepare for a tournament. The establishing an individualized routine is essential for every fencer’s training program. It creates a foundation which sets the tone for the rest of the day. How you feel going into a competition -both in your mind and body- should be planned out and rehearsed as if you have done it a million times before. That way, when it comes to competition day, you won’t feel as if it is a new and stressful experience.
Before the tournament begins, you check out the seeding table not just to see where you are seeded, but where everyone else is seeded too. Then you check it after the round of pools. Then you check it after your DEs. And then again at the end of tournament. And then again on Ask Fred.
All too often while fencing, a bad situation occur and the athlete responds and reacts based on how they initially feel about the situation. This reaction is the basis for how the fencer handles it. Sometimes, an athlete's emotions can get the better of them, and can even affect other parts of their game. Sometimes fencers forget that they are independent thinking individuals that possess free will, and get caught up with what is happening to them, rather than what they can do about it.
Being able to focus your attention properly on the task at hand is the essence of concentration. You would think that with all of the effort put into training for and arriving at a tournament, it would be easy to let fencing be the top priority and have the rest of the world melt away while you focus on your bouts. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen for everyone.
Given all of the obligations that tug on us each day, how can you force the outside world out and immerse yourself in perfecting your fencing and your next bout?
Now that the season is kicking back into gear, fencers all over the country are dusting off their weapons and suiting up for another season. This season in particular holds pinnacle importance as the Olympic hopefuls learn of their fate for going to Beijing. But whether you are a nationally ranked fencer or you have just started taking classes, it is apparent that most fencers are drawn to the sport because of the mental workout.
Joseph Mitrani of Bay Harbor, a youth fencer who was interviewed for an article on Summer Nationals in The Miami Herald, took note of the mental side of fencing (Cassola, 2007). He said, “I like the strategy, speed and mental aspect of it all.” His father, Raul Mitrani, also noted, “Fencing develops mental and physical preparedness.”
