Site navigation:
We had a great start to practice this week. Almost everyone got a one-on-one lesson and lots of great bouting happened.
Next week is our last week of summer practice. On the very last one, Thursday August 7th, I shall be wearing my whites and bouting. I won't be giving lessons much that day. My goal will be to bout with everyone who comes.
There was an amazing story translated on the Fencing.net forums yesterday. Fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti will be attending his 17th Olympic games. He's won 13 Olympic medals and 24 world championships. To find out a bit more about this amazing man, check out the full article here.
It was all excitement on Monday (and not just because it was pouring at the beginning of practice). The equipment order came in and everyone was enjoying their new items. We spent a lot of time bouting yesterday, which was a nice change of pace.
If you're interested in seeing if Fencing for the Olympics will be on TV where you are, check out this website. Just follow the instructions on screen. Then select 'All Days' at the top of the page and 'Fencing' in the 'By Sport' drop-down box.
We had a quiet start to our week, but also a lot of fun. I turned some of those tall yellow wrestling mats into targets. We worked on various variations of footwork but the same bladework, to emphasize the independence of them and to work on point control. Everyone was looking a lot better on both fronts.
From July 1st through the 10th was Summer Nationals for fencing here in the USA. Seven fencers from Wisconsin made the trip to San Jose, CA to fence. One of them reearned their A rating in Foil. Keep in mind that an A rating is the best you can get.
Secondly, at Summer Nationals there were a lot of top referees from around the country present. George K. (the referee in charge of referees around the world) said that the FIE (the international governing body for fencing) was looking at adding a change to Foil. If this change goes through, your attack will end in Foil when your front foot lands (exactly like it is in Sabre right now). This is not the rule yet, but may become one. Just tuck it away in the back of your mind for now.
Lastly, there was a major accident at Summer Nationals. During a semi-final bout in one of the women's sabre events, the tip of a blade broke off just before that fencer made a point attack. The weapon slipped under the bib and over the jacket and pierced the other fencer's throat. No major damage was done. And after a trip to the ER, she was back spectating and chatting the next day. This is probably one of the scariest sorts of injuries in fencing. I have seen a blade pass under the bib before.
That being said, this is not something that happens regularly. Fencing remains one of the safest sports out there (I think it rates around tennis, but I could be wrong). However, we must always be as attentive as possible to safety within the Club. If you notice someone has lost their rubber tip on their weapon, halt the bout and get it replaced immediately. If someone doesn't have their jacket zipped-up fully during a bout, get them to do so. Never ever fence someone without a mask on. There are lots of other things, but you've heard me talk about all of them. Just stay on top of things and you will be as safe as can be.
If anyone has any questions about safety, please e-mail me. I want to make sure everyone has their questions about safety answered fully.
It was good to see a few faces today that I haven't seen in a while. We're having the equipment order this week. This Thursday (July 10th) is the last night for the order!
The Club's Online Store is also having a big sale this month. Almost all of the items are on sale. This is only good through the remainder of July.
A number of people have asked me about cleaning their gear. This should be done twice a year: summer break and winter break. Remember, be careful when you're doing this and you're doing this at your own risk (though you should keep your gear clean).
There's some really amazing fencing going on this summer. Aside from having to avoid the circus people (thank goodness we have swords!), there was some truly spectacular bouting going on yesterday. Better bouting than any I've seen them do before. My hat goes off to you.
Remember, there is no practice this Thursday. We'll start up again as usual on Monday (July 7th). Next week is also the equipment order. It is the ONLY week of the equipment order.
The New York Times did an interesting video article of the Iraqi Paralympic Fencing Team. I definitely recommend you check it out. You'll find fencing to be a truly universal sport with a universal love for it. You can find the video here.