A Breath of Fresh Air

Due to various circumstances the Academy ended up fencing outside on the school tennis courts on Saturday morning. Luckily it was a bright sunny day and one thing that it did make me realise was that it is a whole different ball game (well, sword game) fencing in the great outdoors. If you want to look at one facet of sport fencing that distinguishes it from combat then try fencing outside a few times, it's a whole lot different from the sterile environment of a sports hall. Light, shade, sunshine, noise, ground surface all make it completely different. It makes you realise how much more there was to think about during combat in the elements; particularly with sharp weapons! I noticed some of my smarter pupils were always quick to make sure they had the light to their backs; very clever...... But it also got me thinking, even though the environment in a standard sports hall is pretty uniform, are there any factors that you can use to your advantage? Lighting, background etc.... every little helps.
Anyway, I'm still labouring with my tweaked elbow injury and trapped nerve in my back so typing is getting painful again, will be back soon Dear Readers, honest!