Reflections on the puddle of life

This entry is just an excuse: an excuse to take my mind off things, and to post some ace pictures my brother-in-law took a couple of weeks ago.

In about July last year, my son started fencing. He's wanted to fence for ages, but we couldn't find a club that would take him until he was 12. But then last year a random search turned up a club only a couple of miles away who take kids as young as 8. So we popped down there and he gave it a go. He loved it, loves it still, and it's been really good for him. He's really grown as a person since he started fencing. It's taught him a measure of self discipline, as you'd imagine fencing is a pretty disciplined sport given that the competitors are trying to hit each other with swords. His coaches are firm but fair, they permit no messing about or second chances. As I heard one of them say when they were talking to one of the boys who failed to keep his point down: 'I don't want to hear that you're sorry, sorry won't put your eye back in when it's on the floor. I just want to you keep the point down, can you do that?' Phew.

There are three types of fencing: epee, foil and sabre. My son is a sabreur. Here he is looking moody:



The differences between the sports are to do with the type of weapon and target area. In sabre, which is a slashing weapon, you can use the whole of the sword to score (so you can hit with the side of the blade and it will count) and the target area is head, body and arms, not legs. In epee and foil only the tip of the blade can score, as it is a stabbing weapon, and the target area differs - so in one the target area is just the head and torso, and in the other the target area is the entire body. I think the latter is epee, but I can't be sure.

Fencing has been described as 'human chess' because of the strategic nature of the sport, or 'ballet with swords'. I guess the following piccies might show why:





I can't begin to explain the scoring to you. I don't really understand it. Points are scored by making a hit, but it can depend upon whether you are attacking or parrying as to whether the point goes to you or the competitor. As I understand it, if you attack and hit you score, but if there's a counter attack (parry) the opponent scores, and there are counters on counters with names like remise and reposte, and the match official explains the points but even this is difficult to follow. Kind of like watching those people who direct aeroplanes.

The competitors are electrically wired so that a hit can be picked up by means of creating an electrical circuit which triggers an alarm, and as a consequence they have to wear electrically conductive kit: the mask, their glove and a special jacket called a lame. As you'd imagine, it gets incredibly hot bouncing around in all that kit. For a sabre match, my son has to wear:
breeches
fencing socks
fencing shoes (they're grippy)
an under plastron (chest protector)
a fencing jacket
a glove
a lame
a mask.

Safety is obviously a big issue, and it becomes more crucial as they get older. At the moment his matches are quite tame (and even know I'm chewing my knuckles as he competes) but the older fencers are really dynamic and vicious and fast. It's quite exciting, and a bit scary, watching a fencing match. Here's a tame one in progress:




Fencing really suits my son, it's teaching him how to compete, how to win and how to lose. It's an importanty lesson they no longer seem to learn in schools. Life involves winning and losing, mainly losing, and he's learning to deal with that. That said, he's still got a handful of bronze medals, and a silver from a team event which I, sadly, missed but I understand was riveting.

He's already got his eye on the 2020 Olympics. I'm not sure if he'll hit the standard, but you never know. His coach, hopefully, will be in our 2012 British fencing team. We've got our fingers crossed for him. For the moment, my son is enjoying it. And it's helping him grow as a person. And I'm very proud of him