Visitors

The N.A.F started again today, and we had a new influx of people. We also had a surprise visitor; Anna Bentley. David often talks about her, and I was naturally pleased to meet her. But I didn't expect David to ask me to fence her. Somehow, I didn't think that I would be fencing the Woman's Foil Champion of Britain. However, it turned out to be very interesting. She was left handed, which didn't surprise me. A lot of people I see at competitions are left-handed (I once had the misfortune of having six out of eight left-handed fencers in one pool). What surprised me though, was her movement. Most competitive fencers are very light on their feet, bobbing around quite a lot. Her movements were light, but not bobby. They were firm on the ground, and yet speedy. I expect that David taught her about the 'graceful swan' some time ago (I will do a post on that one shortly). The fight started, and initially, I was in the lead 2-0. Then she got a few points, and I did as well, making the score then 4-2. Anna then began waiting for me to attack, and hitting me on the back twice with excellently placed parry ripostes. The score was then 4-4. The final point. At this stage in a fight, both fencers are either very tentative, or very aggressive. Anna and I were tentative. We were unsure of what to do, and so I decided to take the initiative. I did a beat attack, which, to my immense surprise, hit. Now, some fencing champions, when they are beaten, get very shirty. The most eventful one I have seen was a few months ago, when the fencer in question screamed in rage, hurled his foil away, and literally ripped his mask off. However, Anna just took her mask off and shook my hand, smiling and telling me that I had done well. To me, that is the attitude that all fencers should have. David obviously taught her well!
When you are fencing, you can either fence to win, or not to lose. When you fence to win, you are hurried, frantic and unfocused. When you fence not to lose, you are relaxed, calculating and focused. However, when I fenced Anna Bentley, I did neither. I just fenced.