November 14, 2006
TriSword update...
A very good weekend for New Brunswick and our club in particular. Apparently our province pulled in 23 medals from the tournament overall (out of a possible 48 I think), so kudos to all the fencers. I did pretty well - gold in women's foil and 10th in the Open Foil event (out of 32). Battered and bruised now and just a tiny bit sore, this is the last event until February I think. Lots of time to reflect and lots of stuff to work on.
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November 10, 2006
in Halifax
Ok so after an uneventful road trip from Saint John, here we are in Halifax already. Well, technically we're in Dartmouth (across the bridge from Halifax). Can I just say that complimentary high speed internet access totally rocks. It's also complimentary high speed wireless access in the rooms but I'm glad I didn't bother bringing the laptop - I'll be fencing (or refereeing) all day this weekend anyway so it would've been a waste to lug it around. Now the room is just a tad on the cozy side (4 people + 2 double beds = not as much personal space as one would like), but they're clean. We've done the weapons checks, explored the hotel - and boredom is slowly setting in. I guess we'll just have to channel surf until we find something interesting to watch. Well, we should probably get an early night in anyway so we'll be well rested for tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be writing a positive update tomorrow evening.
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off to Halifax ...
Well, I'll be shortly on my way to Halifax to compete at the TriSword fencing competition. This event is kind of fun as there is a trophy for the top fencer in each category (Open Men, Open Women, U17 Men, U17 Women) in all 3 weapons. It's calculated based on your placing in each of the three weapons fenced. I won the TriSword trophy two years in a row - but that was years ago when I was competing in all 3 weapons regularly. Since then I've only been training in foil but I might give it another try this year anyway - if my knee holds up and I can summon the energy to fence all 3 weapons - we'll see. At the very least I'm there to compete in Foil and hope to gather as many points as possible and have fun doing so. Points and standings - my new goals ;-) Wish me luck!
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October 2, 2006
Dal Open update ...
Back from Halifax, somewhat battered and sore from the competition, but feeling very very good about my performance there. After the first round of pools I was ranked 5th/31 which meant I had to win one direct elimination bout to get into the Super 8 pool. With that behind me the Super 8 was an amazing round (even though I lost every match). The top eight is always my goal at any fencing competition (well in Foil anyway) and I'm slowly clawing my way up in points against the guys. There was at least 1 that I could have won (lost that one 5-4) and a second against a tough competitor that I came very close to winning (lost that one 5-4 as well). The final results for me were Gold in the Women's Foil event and 8th out of 31 in the Open Mixed Foil event. Now that's a much better placing than at the AQV tournament. This time, the big difference was that I let go of any niggling doubts or uncertainties; let go of second-guessing my actions and did not hold back at all. I just got into each match letting the action flow as it would. This helped enormously in terms of letting your body perform the reflex actions you've trained it to do as well as setting up the opponent to position yourself for the opportunity to perform those reflex actions. Letting go of all the mind chatter also helped in focusing on reading the opponent more clearly, doing some on-strip analysis and setting the direction of the bout.
Over all I learned a lot this weekend and am eager now to put it to use at the training hall tomorrow night.
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September 16, 2006
Aux Quatre Vents fencing tournament
So ends day 1 of the Aux Quatre Vents fencing tournament. Surprisingly for being the first tournament of the season for the Atlantic Fencing League, it wasn't that well attended - neither Nova Scotia or PEI came up to Dalhousie NB for this tournament, but it was still pretty fun. I was a bit disappointed in my showing for the Open Foil event (5 out of 17 I guess) but redeemed my standing in the Womens Foil Event (1 out of 6). Still - it's one of my goals to increase my Open Ranking so I'll just have to buckle down and do better in the mixed events. I'm not sure what the problem was today - I'll have to sit down and do some analysis with my coach, Rick Gosselin (hi Rick!!). Lack of focus perhaps, not enough intensity, heh - not very good point control obviously. All things to work on.
Tomorrow it'll be a day of refereeing the Under 17 Foil and then the long (5 hour) drive home. And who knows - perhaps I'll fence in the Open Sabre event tomorrow. I haven't decided on that yet.
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Aux Quatre Vents fencing tournament
So ends day 1 of the Aux Quatre Vents fencing tournament. Surprisingly for being the first tournament of the season for the Atlantic Fencing League, it wasn't that well attended - neither Nova Scotia or PEI came up to Dalhousie NB for this tournament, but it was still pretty fun. I was a bit disappointed in my showing for the Open Foil event (5 out of 17 I guess) but redeemed my standing in the Womens Foil Event (1 out of 6). Still - it's one of my goals to increase my Open Ranking so I'll just have to buckle down and do better in the mixed events. I'm not sure what the problem was today - I'll have to sit down and do some analysis with my coach, Rick Gosselin (hi Rick!!). Lack of focus perhaps, not enough intensity, heh - not very good point control obviously. All things to work on.
Tomorrow it'll be a day of refereeing the Under 17 Foil and then the long (5 hour) drive home. And who knows - perhaps I'll fence in the Open Sabre event tomorrow. I haven't decided on that yet.
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May 22, 2006
back from the Nationals...
What an amazing time I had at the Canadian Fencing Nationals in Montreal this weekend. I haven't competed at the Nat's since 2002 so I'd forgotten how big it was and how much fun. (and how much money I end up spending at the vendor tables *sigh* ) It's also some pretty tough competition. I figure, the general pools at the Nat's are like our Super Pools here in the Maritime League (yikes!). And I was lucky enough to get into a pool that contained both a National Team member and a former Olympian. My only regret was that one more point I failed to get to qualify for the Direct Elimination rounds. That would've been sweet - but, maybe next year. I will be satisfied with the high points of scoring 3 points on the olympian, winning a pool match, and selling the other ones not too cheaply. I only lost two matches 5-0 (which is not so good) but one of those was to the girl who would eventually win the gold medal in Women's Foil. So the results of my 6 pool comrades, one took gold, one took bronze, one was in the top 16 (and I got three points on her too), one came in 20th (she beat me 5-0), one came in 36th (I beat her) and one came in 38th (she beat me 5-4), and I came in 37th.
Now I'm really looking forward to the summer so I can work on some stuff for the next season.
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May 8, 2006
Provincials update...
Back from the provincials and it was a pretty fun weekend. This is a slightly better time of year for driving up to Bathurst as it's around a 4 hour drive or so and the days are fairly long now. It's also warmer up there so we're not going from springlike temps into snow on the ground (that's not fun at all). We had a really good turnout and the fencing was pretty intense. The whole event turned out to be enjoyable overall. It was just a little disappointing, though, to come in 2nd in the Open Women's Foil event. Technology unfortunately did me in as the scoring box wasn't reset so did not record my valid hit in the overtime tie breaker - grrrr. Really, it's only disappointing because so may people have a certain expectation of your performance and when you don't deliver, well, it's kind of a letdown. I didn't manage to get into the Open mixed Super 8 pool (which I've gotten used to making) either but I was pleased with a 9/33 placing in the overall mixed event. Anyway, no big deal. I know my abilities and am quite satisfied with how I've been fencing over this season. There's always room for improvement though so I'll have to put a plan together for next year. Right now, I'm focussing on Nationals which will be taking place in a couple of weeks and hopefully it'll be just as good a time.
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May 4, 2006
provincials this weekend ...
Well, I'll be off soon to drive back up to Bathurst for our Provincial Championships this weekend. Should be a fairly well attended event and I'm just hoping I'll do well. It's always the same before every road trip - a mad rush to get everything organised and packed (yes, I still have to pack). But once I'm on the road it all seems to settle down. This'll be the final prep event for most of us before the Nationals in Montreal in 2 weeks - now that's something to get a little nerved up about.
So, wish me luck folks! I'll update you as soon as I'm back.
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March 28, 2006
weekend results
Well, thought I should catch up on the weekend event. The tournament is over and I'm happy about the results. I guess the good luck wishes helped :) For the open foil I finished 3rd out of 20 and in the women's event took the gold medal. As well, managing 5 out of 7 victories in the Super Pool is something of a major triumph for me, even if it was a weaker pool than usual. Being mentally prepared to fence as best you can is the biggest hurdle I've faced when in the Super 8 but this might just signal a corner about to be turned. We'll see at the next event.
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March 24, 2006
Challenge Chaleur fencing tournament....
Well, I'm in Bathurst this weekend for the Challenge Chaleur fencing tournament and yay the hotel we're staying at has free internet access :) I thought I'd be internet free this weekend but, well, I guess I just got lucky. Now, I hope I can get lucky on the piste and come away with at least an open foil medal too...I guess it'll depend on how tough the competition is. All in all it should be fun.
Coming up to Bathurst was more fun than I thought it would be. It reminded me of the going on trips with a van-load of kids from the good old days when I was team manager and we were dragging the kids to away trips around the Maritimes and in Quebec. So much fun. And always adventerous.
Tomorrow I'll be referreeing the age category Foil events and then Sunday I'll be competing in Open Foil. Wish me luck :)
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February 20, 2006
It's tournament season again ...
Well the competition season is back as of this weekend past with the Fundy Open 2006 being the 1st tournament of 2006 in the Atlantic Fencing League. Despite some super frigid weather the competiton was well attended with the bulk of the fencers being in the under 17 age category. This is to be expected as they are in the full swing of preparations for selection to the team that we will be sending to the 2007 Canada Winter Games next March. It's hard to believe how quickly the time goes by between Games.
I'm so glad that D actually fenced this time in Open Epee, and did super for his first time back after about 2 1/2 years away from the sport. I think he ended up in the top 10 (out of 25). I think he's pretty pleased with that result which should hopefully help him motivate to train more. And I did pretty well in the Open Foil competition, coming in 6th after the pools and ended up 7th out of 28 in the overall Open. The best part is that I'm earning my way into the Open/Men's Super pool (top 8) consistently now, so i just have to work harder at winning more of those tough bouts. Then I took 1st out of 10 in the Women's Foil competition. That Women's gold medal match was a tough one, providing the spectators with a bit of excitement and myself with more than a bit of pressure. The final score was 15-13 and those last two points I scored were ugly. Personally, I felt I could have fenced much better and I have some ideas of what needs to be worked on.
Well, two weeks from now is the UNB Shield so let's see if I can change up for that.
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October 23, 2005
first tournament of the season (for me)...
The Moncton Open ran this weekend and I competed in the Open Foil division. I managed to come in 8th in the overall open event (mixed men and women) and 1st in the Women's Foil event. Not a bad start to the season. I was a little disappointed in my placing in the Open, however, I recognize that in addition to needing a higher skill level I tend to beat myself up mentally when I'm in the Open super pool (a pool of the top 8 fencers). There are some very skilled fencers in this pool and I always feel like an imposter there, even though I had earned my right to be in that pool by being undefeated in the first round of pools and victorious in the direct eliminations to the top 8 fencers. As soon as I get in the top 8 pool I'm filled with doubt. This is something I have to overcome. And I had a great breakthrough this time. Even though I was pretty much defeated in my first 5 matches, I pulled myself together enough to push out all thoughts except being in the moment for my next competitor, concentrating hard on figuring out his game and won the match 5-1. My final competitor was a very skilled fencer who consistently comes either 1st or 2nd in the Atlantic Fencing League, but again I pulled it together and gave him a very tough match, he won 4-2, not with the full 5 points and worked for every point against me. So I ended the event in 8th place but I think the breakthrough was by far the most important gain for me. This year my goal is not only to be in the top 8 consistently but to increase my placing. 6th and 5th are within reach and maybe with a little luck, even 3rd could be possible.
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August 31, 2005
a new season of fencing ...
Well last season ended well and the upcoming season is close upon us. I've been invited to join the High Performance team this year which is going to mean a bucketload of training (where am i gonna find time for this???) but I think it'll be fun.
Goal setting is always tricky - you need to set achievable but challenging ones. I think my overall goal this year will be to place better in the final AFL rankings, and to place better in the open division of the tournaments. I'm usually in or near the top 8 but I'd like to get another open medal (or two ;) which would mean placing in the top 4. That will be quite challenging but I don't think it's too far out of reach. I'm going to really have to work on my mental preparation skills and refine my technical skills to even hope to have a chance at meeting these goals.
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June 10, 2005
friday - finally....
Man, what a crazy week! I almost can't believe it's actually Friday. It's been so nuts that I'm really regretful that I didn't get to the club this week to train but I was feeling pretty crappy this week. I did get a run in last night though which makes me feel a little better about missing training this week. In fact, I'd like to increase my running but I'm not sure if I should run more times a week or run longer. At first I was thinking that I should try to run at least 3 times a week, but now I'm thinking why not run longer but twice a week? That might be a more do-able goal for me at the moment if I'm also trying to maintain two nights a week training at the fencing club. And it's endurance I'm trying to work on so perhaps longer runs might help.
No, I'm not fanatic about exercise but I think it's one thing that's keeping me somewhat sane. For me, there's nothing like the feeling of running and letting go of the day; I visualize the crud that's stressing me out just peeling off and falling away behind me - and that just feels liberating. With fencing, I enjoy the training. I like demanding lessons, ones where you sweating as much from concentrating as from physical exertion. Hey - and I like when I win the bouts, well come on - who doesn't?
So it's Friday and now I'll have to plan for next week. And next week I'm at a conference in Nova Scotia for 3 days - I doubt I'll be getting any running in there, and it'll mean no fencing either since it kind of spans my training days. Hmmmm...and hmmm again. So, maybe I'll try to get in a longer run tomorrow, and one on Thusday next week and that might have to do.
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May 3, 2005
weekend update ...
... or more minutiae of mundania :)
Man! Is it Tuesday already? The days just seem to be zipping by. This past weekend was full of activity - a belated bowling birthday party for Aliya on Saturday, and a quick trip to Fredericton on Sunday where I competed in the Fencing NB Provincial Championships. I hope I get a chance to relax and do a bit of yard work this coming weekend. Yeesh!
Saturday:
So what better way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon than with a bunch of kids at the bowling lanes. I just love old bowling lanes - the ones with the googie touches in their decor. And these lanes have been around for an eternity - I think they're the oldest ones in Saint John. The party was a success - food first, then cake, then bowling - what more is needed? The kids had a lot of fun chucking balls down the lane (sorry mr. manager!) and a few, quite obviously, had played the game before. And of course, there was the obligatory wipe out - man those stinky bowling shoes can be pretty slippery.
Saturday night: Ahhhh - Aliya went to a sleepover at her friends house - so of course D and I took a run down to Blockbuster and rented "Closer". Hmmm - I'm not a big fan of Jude Law or Julia Roberts but I do like Clive Owen and Natalie Portman. The movie was excellent. I liked the clever segues/timeshifts. I liked the clever dialogue. I really liked the ending. It's a definite see.
Sunday:
All night long it rained a deluge and the next day Billie and I were to go to Fredericton to the competition. The St. John river has been in flood stage for the past couple of days and parts of Fredericton were flooded - yikes - but we're adventuresome so off we went. The water was surprisingly high in some areas along the road (which is kind of creepy) but we managed to get to the venue just fine. Maybe the news people are overhyping the flood stuff somewhat... Anyway - the tournament was fun and I managed to get into the top 8 pool again (yes!) and even though I got smoked (only one victory in the pool - sigh) I was still pretty happy with my performance over all. In the women's finals I took the gold again - so was pretty elated about that too. In the open I ended up 8th. Not a bad way to end the season. Now I've got the summer to think about and plan what I want to do with my fencing and set some goals for the coming season.
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March 8, 2005
reconnecting...pt 4
Reconnected? Not quite sure of that yet. But over the weekend I hit a sweet spot in fencing by coming in 3rd in the Open Mixed Foil category at the UNB Shield. Open Mixed simply means open to any age catgeory and the mixed refers to men and women competing together. Getting to the finals in the Atlantic League means fencing a pool round-robin (usually a minimum of 6 bouts), then winning usually 2 15-hit direct elimination bouts to get into the Super 8 pool (top 8 fencers) which means 7 really tough bouts. To even hope to get to the medal rounds you usually have to win a minimum of 3 of these bouts. It's a tough road. The women also get to fence a separate Women's DE - mainly to provide the opportunity for more fencing since the population of women fencers is so low around here. So after the Super 8 pool, I fenced in the Women's DE and ended up taking 1st place in the Open Women's Foil category :) 2 medals -la!Getting the hardware is fun but right now it's more important to me to really improve my fencing technically. I have a lot of bad habits to unlearn. (And if it weren't raining in almost biblical proportions tonight I'd be at the club doing drills! - hey, are we going to need an ark soon?)
So I would say I've reconnected with the sport, but I'm still not sure if I'm a hundred percent recommitted yet. I plan on doing at least one more tournament this season - the NB Provincials and then we'll see about setting some goals for the next season.
This is Florian and me fencing in the Open Mixed Foil semifinal.
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February 28, 2005
reconnecting...pt 3
... almost there.
I participated in the Fundy Open over the weekend (that’s me on the left) and came out ok. Middle of the pack in the Open Mixed event and gold in the women’s foil. So now, I’m looking forward to the next tournament. Maybe the UNB Shield next weekend…
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February 3, 2005
reconnecting...pt 2
It's February already but I've managed to start training again (as I set out to do in a previous post "time to reconnect...recommit"). So I went back to the club on Tuesday and Wednesday night and glad to be back. I'll be entering the Fundy Open at the end of the month - we'll see how it goes.
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January 6, 2005
time to reconnect, recommit...
Happy New Year! With the new year comes new resolve. Although I’ve been fencing for about 15 years (and foil is my weapon of choice) I’ve been kind of on hiaitus for the past couple of seasons – not really training or participating in tournaments. When I stopped I had to stop because I was burnt out on the sport (training, coaching, competing, managing our Canada Games team…) but the hardest part now is getting re-motivated to return. I trained last fall for a couple of months and competed in a tournament but haven’t really committed to returning since late October. I don’t want to quit the sport so I don’t know why I don’t go in to the club every week. Surely I can’t be that lazy.
So one of my 43 things goals is going to be attend at least 2 more tournaments this season which in turn is going to require a commitment to training.
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October 23, 2004
parry...riposte...touche pt II
I just got back from competing at the Moncton Open fencing tournament today. I haven't really competed since the NB Provincials back in May nor have I seriously trained for the past year and a half. I had no expectations of outcomes today - just wanted to use this as intesive training session but I suprised myself by doing unexpectedly well. Gold medal in the women's foil event and 5th (just out of the medal rounds) in the Open Mixed Foil. I'm so tired and sore now that I think I'll sleep for the next day or so. It was lots of fun though - the fun is what makes the soreness worthwhile. I'd forgotten how much I missed hanging out with the other fencers, the squeal of the scoring boxes in the gym and the adrenaline rush of landing the perfect touch. I'm glad to be back.
Posted by iflynn at 8:02 PM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2004
parry, riposte ... touche
It's been a while since I've been fencing but the UNBSJ Fencing Club started up on Tuesday and I've agreed to be one of the coaches. Once I decided to help out with the coaching I got to thinking about lesson plans which got me thinking about fencing mechanics which got me reminiscing about actually being on the piste and fencing. So from zero to sixty in one short day - I ended up going to the competitive club in town Tueday evening and putting in a solid training and bouting session. It was kind of fun. No - actually it was a rush. You don't really forget how to fence, but your body struggles to do more that you are able to after being away from it for a year and a half. Hmmph - I say a year and a half which is pretty much how long I've been away from the club but it's probably closer to 2 and a half years since I've been training to compete. Anyway, I felt pretty good afterwards and suprisingly not too sore. So now I'm trying to decide if I'll compete on the Maritime Circuit this year. (Something that all my fencer friends ask me whenever our paths cross.) Only time will tell I guess. The first competition is in Halifax on the first weekend in October but I think it might be a bit too soon for me.
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