Express yourself through the medium of Fencing..
I was working with a student at the weekend who was demonstrating all the symptoms of the young fencer's curse of inhibition. (Particularly prevalent in teenagers of the female gender). Her lunge was short, her elbow was clamped to her side and her movements lacked resolve and commitment. I happened to know that this student was also an active gymnast so was able to use an analogy she could relate to (I hope) regarding expressiveness. I asked her what would happen if she was to do her gymnastic routines without expressing herself, without the flourishes, grace and confidence that gymnastics seems to require. She was able to ponder this and I hope it made a connection. It certainly made a difference over the rest of the lesson and she began to lunge with depth and commitment - and with some style!
It might seem strange to talk about style and grace in connection with fencing but to be honest if you are doing it right there should be an element of grace to it. As a 42 year old male who's a few pounds over the ideal this may seem a strange aspiration but I think that grace only comes through familiarity with a technique, a state of understanding that comes after the brain and muscles can do something without having to ponder the mechanics.
It's at this stage that fencers can also start to express themselves more obviously. Even beginners can express themselves in basic terms and it usually is some of the more obvious things like agression, nervousness or fear that show in a learner on the piste. As their skills develop this can change to one of confidence, determination, rhythm, even fun! A personality can be recognised beyond the random clash of blades. This can prove a clue to the astute observer as to what the fencer is likely to do, or how they are likely to react. It can also be useful to a fencer to manifest different personalities in order to gain the advantage. As Musashi said "Being like a rock wall is when a master of martial arts suddenly becomes like a rock wall, inaccessible to anything at all, immovable".
It might seem strange to talk about style and grace in connection with fencing but to be honest if you are doing it right there should be an element of grace to it. As a 42 year old male who's a few pounds over the ideal this may seem a strange aspiration but I think that grace only comes through familiarity with a technique, a state of understanding that comes after the brain and muscles can do something without having to ponder the mechanics.
It's at this stage that fencers can also start to express themselves more obviously. Even beginners can express themselves in basic terms and it usually is some of the more obvious things like agression, nervousness or fear that show in a learner on the piste. As their skills develop this can change to one of confidence, determination, rhythm, even fun! A personality can be recognised beyond the random clash of blades. This can prove a clue to the astute observer as to what the fencer is likely to do, or how they are likely to react. It can also be useful to a fencer to manifest different personalities in order to gain the advantage. As Musashi said "Being like a rock wall is when a master of martial arts suddenly becomes like a rock wall, inaccessible to anything at all, immovable".
posted by Dave at
7:42 PM
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