----------------------------------------------------------- New Message on Irish Fencing Forum
----------------------------------------------------------- From: insanemisskitty Message 13 in Discussion Oh what a lot to reply to!.... Why on earth would you want to socialise during fencing training? Surely you took up fencing in order to learn how to fence, rather than make small talk. Actually it was a combination. Needed to meet people in the first year of college and also wanted to imitate the famous Star Wars lightsaber scene. I certainly would not have continued fencing if I had not met friendly faces. Not that you can't make friends at a fencing club, but surely you can talk to your friends before and after fencing. After all, most people only fence for a few hours a week - why waste that time doing something that you can do for the rest of the week? Erm, as I am currently speaking to an unknown entity, its a little difficult to guess how well you know me (if at all). I speak to my fencing friends during training, then my kickboxing friends during training, then my juggling friend during juggling, plus my EJC friends at our weekly meetings, then I'll be quite busy keeping in touch with friends abroad (hi Rory!), in the UK, America Europe and the US, plus arranging to meet up with former classmates/school friends on the weekends I'm not trailing down to Cork, or sorting out my travelling chores. I don't mean to be facetious, but I kinda have a busy life, as most women do! Personally, I think that your coach is right to keep you busy during the class - if classes aren't focused, then there is a risk that your fencing won't be focused either. Yes, but there is also the risk of over-focusing. The beneficial time spent doing a certain exercise or drill is quite small.You are always on a piste for a maximumof 3 minutes at a time. Yet some drills can go on for 10-15 minutes. that is not imitating a natural competitive environment. I believe training should as closely resemble a competition as possible, a fencer should be able to snap into focus for their bout, and then know how to relax afterwards till the next one. Having adrenaline pumping through your body for the ten minute wait (on a good day!) between them does nothing for performance, only making you tired and highly strung. Also, if you feel intimidated by certain people, male or female, why not use them to desensitise yourself to this sort of behaviour, so that when you encounter it during competitions, it won't bother you? Erm, already done that! I do fence people who intimidate me (and thanks for the vote of confidence Eoin!), but I only started doing that because I was obliged to (long story!). Perhaps trying to encourage senior fencers to invite juniors/beginners to fence them is the way to go, regardless of gender. We could all "adopt a fencer" and ensure that we line them up with other seniors. There is a tendency (and I do it myself) to pick/ask the same partners each week, cos you are familiar with each other. (and you can see the other two blokes on the piste fencing each other ever week). Or another idea would be a round robin. that way you could encourage every fencer to try every weapon! My ha'pence-worth on the lack of women in competitions: I think that it may be because women often don't enjoy mustering the necessary aggression. Maybe.not with me though! Perhaps coaches could encourage aggressive (but sporting) behaviour on the piste and during lessons? Make it seem like a good thing, rather than crude and unladylike? It could work. But I do know that even in kickboxing women join and hate to punch someone else. Which is a bit silly really. Perhaps another problemo is the aggression already observed which puts some people off. As I mentioned before, the lads (and ladies) screaming and yelling doesn't look very restrained (sorry guys, i know you cant help it!). Anyway, yes, encourage more aggression, perhaps by proving that it doesn't hurt that much really to be hit, especially if you have your technique right. (think I'm overlapping other message threads here though about equipment/skewering!) ----------------------------------------------------------- To stop getting this e-mail, or change how often it arrives, go to your E-mail Settings. http://groups.msn.com/IrishFencingForum/_emailsettings.msnw Need help? If you've forgotten your password, please go to Passport Member Services. http://groups.msn.com/_passportredir.msnw?ppmprop=help For other questions or feedback, go to our Contact Us page. http://groups.msn.com/contact If you do not want to receive future e-mail from this MSN group, or if you received this message by mistake, please click the "Remove" link below. On the pre-addressed e-mail message that opens, simply click "Send". Your e-mail address will be deleted from this group's mailing list. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
