A New Awakening

I will never forget the first time that I really "fenced" against an opponent.  It was about a year ago in a club in New York City called Hudson River Fencing.  Now if you read my last blog you will know that I have been studying fencing since I was 15, so you are probably wondering what the heck I am talking about?  Well when i say I studied the sword I meant that I practiced and did all the moves that my various teachers taught me, then I tried to execute them out on the fencing strip.  Sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't.  

But it was only when I was physically worn out and forced to observe what my opponent was doing was when I was able to truly 'fence', to apply reason to a problem and solve it.  My vigor was gone, my joints ached, I was out of breath and the only thing left for me to do was relax and observe and act according to what I had seen my opponent doing.  When he attacked and i parried and riposted, deceived his parry.  When I attacked and he parried I watched to see if it was a lateral or circular parry and hit him with a one-two or a double' depending on what the situation warranted.  After 22 years I had finally begun to really fence.

Before then my approach to swordplay was mostly formulaic.  What I mean is that I would have a pre-conceived notion of what I was going to try on my opponent and then I would either do it successfully or not resulting in me touching or being touched.  What took me twenty two years to figure out was that you needed to watch your opponent and probe his defenses. then when you have determined what their response will be you must launch an attach that they won't expect or be able to counter.  They key is to watch what your opponent is doing.  Don't just go out there with some maneuver pre-planned hope that it works.  

One other really important thing to keep in mind is that you must relax and conserve your strength.  I realize that relaxing while in the midst of a fight is not easy but when your mind is calm, you are in a better state to deal with the stress of the encounter.  Once you have your ind and body at ease you can execute your movements more effectively.  Speed doesn't become an issue anymore as you can deal with a faster opponent by using distance and timing.  Fast, aggressive fencers used to scare me and I think that is part of their effectiveness.  Sudden, and frequent attacks create an air of ferocity but if you are observant and you have mastered the basic attacks and parries you can easily defeat a faster opponent.  Fencers who rely on speed and strength often don't have much in the way of technique, the very few who have done their homework and learned multiple attacks and defenses and good form are more effective but there still exists a weakness in that they have rarely met anyone who could counter their attacks.  When you are able to defeat most fencers with a few simple moves then there is rarely any need to improve yourself.  Such fencers can be overcome once their initial barrage is withstood.  Also, when a person moves fast, he or she often sacrifices accuracy.  It is better to move with purpose than with speed.