Coco winning first place at TMFC Fat Turkey Tournament
Look. Nobody ENJOYS the epidemic. However, every cloud has a silver lining… and so do our weapons (unless they’re rusty… please clean them).
Fortunately for fencers, solo practices are 100% feasible, and we should appreciate the ability to practice in times of Corona. It may seem difficult to do, but we need to take a second, step back (retreat?), and take stock of why we should be grateful to have our specific sport in quarantine.
1. It’s space-conscious!
Maybe we don’t all have a fencing dummy (well I did, but it was my brother HEYOOOO), but luckily, we partake in a sport where you can work out with only a minimal advance lunge distance. Unless you are confined to a Harry Potter-style closet under the stairs, any hallway, basement, or even kitchen can serve as an impromptu fencing studio. Even without all your necessary gear, I’ve seen some clever improvisations for weapons (like a ladle; saucy idea) or targets (like a parent holding up a couch cushion; which will make you work REALLY hard on your point control).
Whatever your available area is, squats, lunges, advances, and retreats all fit in the confines of a space big enough to lay down and take a nap. But hopefully that happens after the practice; not during it.
2. Technique, technique, technique!
There’s a reason why the top fencers take private lessons nonstop: to hone their technique until it’s flawlessly executed. There’s ALWAYS something you can improve: the angle of your parries, the directness of your attack, minimizing excess body movement in your footwork.
Quarantine forces us to hunker down and shift back to improving our basics. Especially practicing in front of a camera where we can SEE ourselves (and the mistakes we may make, or the actions we do really well) is a huge advantage most sports can’t claim. Transforming solo grind time into technical training pays off BIG in the long run!
3. Focus on the “I” in “Fencing”
Nobody goes into a tournament wanting to get last place. We want those points, that new rating, that first place medal hanging satisfyingly on our chest. But how many people are in a competition? 200? 300? A million? Only 4 people in the COUNTRY can make a national team. Yes, this year was a flop and we miss out on one year of Y14 or juniors, but the lovely thing about fencing is that you can do it forever (looking at you, Veteran 80+ age group). There will ALWAYS be another tournament and another year of competition! So, for now, just focus on self-improvement and what we CAN do. With every pushup and every lunge, you’re outworking everyone sitting on the couch.
COVID frustrations wear down on all of us. Take some momentary reflection to appreciate that we do a pretty fortuitous sport. Keep working. Make the best of your situation, and eventually that silver lining will turn into gold medals.
By Zack Brown
