All change, all the same?

This weekend I am moving offices. This might not seem particularly significant but for the last 22 years I have been working in Norwich city center and now I am going to be working on the very outskirts of the city in some purpose built buildings by the river. For the last ten years or so I have been driving in and out of the city on the same route day after day and in that time it has almost become an automatic process with very little thought. It has got to the point where I know exactly where I am and what time I am there by where a particular pedestrian is, or a shop opening etc. (Never let it be said that we are not all connected - you never know who is influenced by your actions!) This morning I decided to treat everything on the journey as new, really looking at it and seeing what was going on (Not that I drive in my sleep mind, it's more just shaking the routine). I wouldn't say I noticed any particular revelations but I certainly appreciated the trees and other sights on the way a little bit more. It got me thinking; in fencing we tend to fence the same people regularly, sometimes so regularly that we begin to let them fade from our attention and don't pick up nuances that we should. Familiarity can indeed breed a form of contempt! So I guess I would suggest that it pays to always pay attention and avoid the routine!

Why President Obama would make a good fencer

Last night Andy asked his class this question at the end of his lesson. "Why would President Obama potentially make a good fencer?" There were a lot of suggestions, some treating the question seriously, some assuming it a joke. Here's a selection:

"Because he's got the whole American military behind him"
"Because as soon as someone attacked him the Secret Service would be all over them"
"Because he's a politician and is tactically astute"
"I don't know... what's the punchline?"
I'll deal with the answer later but suffice it to say it linked in with the topic of the lesson I had planned very neatly. I wanted to talk about observation and opportunities. Musashi once said "Observation and perception are two separate things; the observing eye is stronger, the perceiving eye is weaker. A speciality of martial arts is to see that which is far away closely and to see that which is nearby from a distance". To me this is saying that quite often we look at things without really seeing what is happening. To bring this into fencing, quite often in a match I see two fencers banging away at each other without actually having a clue as to what is really happening. They are so busy looking at what they want to achieve that they don't see the opportunities in the fight that their opponent is giving them. For instance, imagine an opponent who fences with their foil in the low line for some reason. This to me is a passive opportunity as it is the opponent's passivity that gives you the opportunity to attack them in the high line. Even if they parry it they will almost invariably swipe from octave to quarte giving you the chance to disengage around their blade and still hit them. Or what about someone who just parries quarte and never ripostes? Well, here the opportunity is to disengage around their parry and hit. Again, the opponent's passivity yields opportunity. Some cases rely on the opponent being active. Take for example the fencer who engages in sixte every time they advance. Their activity allows you to counter-disengage and stop hit on their preparation. Or someone who always parries quarte and ripostes direct. Here you have the opportunity to deploy your first counter riposte with great effect. There are also greater subtleties. An opponent who is adept at the stop hit on your preparation should be lured into doing it so you score with your pre-selected parry riposte, thus turning their skill against them. All these techniques rely on accurately seeing what is happening during a fight and are a significant evolution for a fencer to make. Once you have mastered the basics of technique your brain and body can stop concentrating so much on what you are doing and start to examine what the opponent is doing. This brings a whole new facet into your game and a greater sense of enjoyment and achievement. It is important to be self aware but also to be aware of what is occurring around you. It's the difference between an average fencer and a good fencer. Oh and the answer to the question posed at the start.... Well, President Obama is a left hander, judging by the way he signed the oath of authority...... Nothing complicated really but simple if you really saw what happened.....

A little help....

Yesterday at NAF we had the very pleasant situation of having five young people coming along to assist the club. They have all been members of the club in the past and came along to help run things. This is a great place to be for the coaches as it frees us up to do lots of other good stuff. Most of our helpers are looking to (or have taken) initial coaching awards and are helping on their own time, which on a Saturday is very laudable indeed. It is not easy coaching/directing younger children when you are not that much older than them yourself so there are a few things that can help when attempting it.
Make sure you are in control; this extends not only to presiding the fight but making sure everyone is behaving and not walking across the pistes, keeping away from the fencing area, equipment is being worn properly etc. As the coach/leader it is up to you to make this happen. If you give the impression that you have eyes in the back of your head then the students will have more respect for you.
Take no lip; sometimes you will have to make decisions that students don't like, particularly when presiding. They may question or complain but at the end of the day that's life! You shouldn't allow them to give you too much grief as this will lead to bad behaviour at a later stage, particularly at competitions. Explain that this is the decision you have made and why and leave it at that. Do not tolerate cheek but point out to the errant pupil that this is unacceptable.
Encourage participation; Make sure everyone is involved and taking part. Some will not because they are lazy, others because they are shy. Either way encourage them to get stuck in as it's for their own benefit in the long run. Persistent malingerers need to consider whether fencing is really for them. This isn't harsh, it's practical. Normally there are people queueing up for fencing clubs so if there are pupils who don't want to be there then perhaps they should make way for some who are?
Divide your attention equally; make sure you are giving time to all pupils where possible.
Encourage; never forget that a word of praise or encouragement can make a world of difference. If you notice improvement or are pleased with someone then make sure you tell them.
So there you are, a few tips for all you folks getting involved in helping/coaching. Your efforts are greatly appreciated so thanks for doing it.

Nothing is permanent...

Last night through a series of unfortunate events, my Coach Andy had his favourite foil guard and handle broken. This may seem like a trivial matter to most, but us long time fencers will appreciate how attached one can get to these things. I well remember the day my favourite foil blade broke, leaving me feeling moderately bereft of an old friend. (R.I.P Mr Whippy - gone but not forgotten). Still, Andy took it well (eventually) and said to me "Just proves that even in fencing nothing is permanent." And how true a maxim this is; there are many ways the essential impermanence of nature is reflected in fencing. Take my example. I liked Mr Whippy because it was such a flexible blade and could allow me to do really quick flick hits that were in vogue at the time. With the new timings this feature would no longer be such a strong point. When fencing, you might be an absolute demon at a technique one week and absolutely suck at the same thing the next week. You might have/give the best individual lesson ever one week and be an abject failure the next. Muscles that never used to ache will now gripe for days after a match. A favourite student or training partner moves on from the club.... and so it goes on.
One thing which is really noticeable about impermanence is form. At some stage of their fencing career a fencer will reach a plateau and find they are really struggling to improve their game. This can come after weeks, months or years and can be quite unsettling. Some fencers will resign themselves to the fact that this is as far as they can go whilst others will persist and drive on to better things. It can be a testing time for a fencer, particularly younger ones. I am not being ageist but older people tend to be able to cope with the odd set back better, probably because we are more used to them! It is here that the Coach must function and whilst there is no magic potion to get a student through this the Coach can ease the journey by offering patience, advice and encouragement. Much of the effort must come from the student though, as the coach cannot surmount every obstacle for them. It is in these times that the true spirit of the student will manifest itself in their attitude and behaviour and their will to work through this temporary adversity.
Impermanence is a natural thing and there have been many philosophical thoughts written about it. One of the most famous is "You can never step in the same river twice". (Which I prefer enhanced with the emphasis "You can never step in the same river twice" - think about it). This is very true. Your fencing will never be the same between one match and the next, the club will never be identical two weeks running. No matter how hard you try you will never be able to reproduce the same lunge twice in a row. It's the nature of things; the most important thing is to keep trying.

Quote of the week

"Belief does not existence make; it's only in your mind" - Oasis

The strange problem of the left hander...

Last night I put together a lesson on fencing left handers. It's a fact that there is always a bit of a mystique around left handers, mostly due to their comparative rarity and also that they do offer a genuinely different set of problems to overcome. I mean this in a nice way - I know some left handers who are quite nice people....!
I can't really go through the whole lesson as it actually involved doing some practical but here's a synopsis for those who wish to read it. Conventional right-vs-right techniques will not work so well with a left hander. For instance a direct lunge is more likely to be parried because a left handers foil is already virtually in contact with a right handers and has less far to travel to make the parry. Correspondingly any feint disengage actions need to be much more accurate if they are to succeed and are only likely to do so if the feint starts on the outside of the blade.
So if conventional techniques won't work what will? Let's consider the unconventional. For a left hander with a high guard an attack into the hip below the sword arm can reap benefit. Even if the opponent parries into octave you can disengage and finish high to deliver the hit. For a low guard position you can consider the cut-over attack into the left shoulder area or possibly a pronated attack into your line of quarte (Are you still following this?). A beat from the outside of their blade with the lunge made over their arm and blade can also be effective.
The most important thing to think about with left handers though is to not adjust your mental game plan. By all means adjust your tactics but don't let the fact that their arm is in the wrong place affect your intent and confidence. "oh no, they're left handed" is a common mental reaction; perhaps a more appropriate one would be to have no reaction at all.

A step further...

Many months ago, my students told me of something that would improve my knowledge of life and the way of the warrior. It has taken me quite a while to finally accede to their request and seek out this wisdom but now, at last..... I have watched 'Kung Fu Panda'.
It was a most amusing film and did indeed contain little nuggets of wisdom in a very accessible way. It also looked and sounded extremely beautiful. I particularly liked Master Oogway (the turtle) and his wise (and slightly irritating sayings) that were not immediately obvious to everyone. The film had a very positive message about being yourself and allowing your own talents to come through without trying to be something you are not. This is a trap that is very easy to fall into for coaches and students alike. The Coach wishes the Student to be the athlete that the coach wants which puts pressure on the student to comply. Po the Panda only found his true skills when he used them in a way he felt comfortable with; which caused a change in attitude within his master. This is the eternal balance that the Coach must manage, not to make his own expectations a burden for the Student.
Another particularly resonant point for me was when Master Oogway reminded Master Shifu that we spend too much time worrying about yesterday and tomorrow and not enjoying the beauty of the moment. "It is a gift and that is why it is call The Present". I liked that one, it's something that I constantly have to remind myself of. It was particularly touching when Master Oogway 'moved on' and blended with the Peach Blossoms, which those familiar with Eastern symbolism will appreciate as an analogy for transient beauty that should be enjoyed before it leaves us.
So it's fair to say that I enjoyed the film as both a piece of entertainment and also a positive message for the New Year, which incidentally I wish all of you reading this!