A Couple of Competitions

Instead of attending the N.A.F this weekend, I went to Sheffield for the British Cadet competition and Junior competition. I am glad that I did. The location was a huge sports hall, and I have to admit, I felt nervous just by this. It gave the impression this wasn't just any old competition. To talk about the experiences I had, I will need to subdivide; there's too much to talk about normally!

STANDARDS

The standard of fencers was very good. Most of the people there had a ranking, so I felt a little out of place. When I casually asked someone how long they had been fencing, they replied since they were 4! Some people had brilliant technique, while others relied purely on speed. All of the fencers adapted their technique to each fight. Most of the time anyway.

TECHNIQUES

Most of the fencers were fast and flashy, flicking in ripostes and broken time attacks. Occasionally, someone would be more calm and collected, but still win fights. On the first day, I was told that to win in these competitions, you had to constantly attack. So I did. I promptly lost two matches. Looking back, I realise that those sort of fencers fight attacking styled people very often in these competitions. The next day, I changed my approach to a more relaxed, defensive approach. I won some.

ADVICE

Some of the fencers had advice to offer. Some said that you should chase your opponent to the back line where they can't retreat. Others said that you should go to the back line so that you could stand a better chance of hitting with a parry riposte. The general advice was don't let your opponent dictate the fight. Sometimes, comments like 'pronate the hand more' and 'don't argue with the referee' would surface. It's all good.

REACTIONS

I for one think that a fencer should be modest in victory and humble in defeat. Evidently, my opinion was not shared by many. Some fencers would scream with ecstasy whenever a hit was awarded, whereas others would sink to their knees if they failed. There were several arguments with judges about right of way and covering, which resulted in several yellow and red cards. The worst, and perhaps most amusing reaction I saw was when the fencer, who had been ranked highly in the pools, lost in the direct elimination. He slunk into a corner of the gym, threw his foil onto the ground, and sobbed weakly into his lame. It was quite painful to watch. The quarter-finals especially were pitiful. Basically, every hit was argued for, and the victor gloated in his opponents face. I long for the time when two fencers accept their victories and defeats without hysteria.

JUDGES

Some of the judges were quite fair, while others were tougher than something very tough indeed. Fortunately, the judge that I had was very nice, and dashed off to get my foil taped when it stopped working. In one fight I watched, one judge gave two red cards to a boy who slightly bowed his head when lunging (one after the other for the same offence) . He also gave another out when the boy argued against it. Whilst I agreed with his decisions (the boy was being very argumentative and abrupt) it was still quite moving to see the boy reduced to tears. Still, I suppose the judge is always right.

I think that that's about it then. A good experience all round, I suppose!