Do you feel lucky Punk? Well, do ya?

Sorry for borrowing from Clint Eastwood in the title of this post but I want to talk about luck and how it might influence your fencing. Luck plays a part in virtually all sports but there is an oft-used cliche that says you can make your own in many instances. Here's a few examples of how you can do this and turn luck into something a little more like skill....
Practice and Prepare.
The more you practice a technique the better it becomes. Also, the more you prepare the more effective you will be. If you mentally prepare yourself for various scenarios that you will encounter in a match then you will be more likely to respond appropriately when they occur. Visualisation is a technique used by many athletes to get themselves ready for competition. Imagine yourself in a particular situation and then go through how you will respond to it. Don't just think about it, visualise in depth your movements, reactions and feelings so that it becomes as real as it can be; then do it again and again. This will help discipline your mind and reflexes to respond instinctively when the time comes and reduce your reliance on fortune. Alos, don't just practice the easy stuff, practice the difficult situations as well. In fact, practice them more frequently!
Develop strategies
This is very akin to visualisation and involves developing plans for certain situations. e.g. "If I'm down by five hits with two minutes left I will...." "If I fence a left hander I will....."
Keep your point in line
Whenever your point is not directed at your opponent you are wasting time and effort. In the event of your opponent closing quickly and failing with an attack you have more chance of hitting them if your point is in line, even if you just stop thrust.
Using every resource
Make sure that you use all the resources you have, which include the dimensions of the piste. If you allow yourself to get pinned into one rhythm or space you will most likely run out of luck fast.
If you adapt some of these into your fencing then hopefully you will increase the times you win through skill and decrease the times you just get lucky.