An overdue update

So...it has been two months, unbelievably, since I last updated this blog...perhaps the 'quickest' two months of my life. As expected time seems to speed up, it is now 2012, Olympic year, and life is certainly very busy.  The World Cup season has started and we are nearing the end of the qualifying tournaments.  This blog is going to take the form of a diary so that you can see what I've been up to in the run-in to February.  

December

After returning from a good result in France it was back to training ahead of the UK National Championships.  The Nationals, happening in December as opposed to their usual summer date were a well run event and the Finals Hall was particularly impressive.  So too was my fencing in the poules as I came through what was a tricky group, recording several 5-0 victories as I had in St Jean, to be seeded #1 for the direct elimination stages.  I was given a bye through the first round and then beat club-mate Joe Nickel 15-0 in the last 32.  Unfortunately I started slowly in the next round and was edged out in the last 16, a great disappointment considering how well I had fenced previously.  I believe that the staging of this event at this period in the calendar is much better for the elite athletes as it fits with our periodisation, rather than occuring in the summer off-season; however the attendance at the competition was a little disappointing presumably because of the festivities around Christmas.  

There was no rest after the Nationals as later that week I was off to Grantham, back to the army barracks to eat army food in the cold for a five day preparation camp ahead of the new season.  The camp went really well as I continued my good form and continued to develop some new things I have been working on.  On returning home I did not rest until I had a couple of days away over New Year with friends, which was a short refreshing break before the jet-set began again in earnest.  

January

During January I was lucky enough to spend a week and a half at INSEP, the French National Training Facility, training with their centralised and funded squad of c.15 athletes.  It was a fantastic sparring opportunity and has really assisted my development.  Coupled with the first week I spent there, I competed in Strasbourg, a joint French and German ranking competition, in which five members of the world's top 16 were competing.  Again, I fenced well, losing two in the first round poules to Lopez (FRA) and Apithy (BEN) and continued this in the direct elimination fighting my way into the last 32.  There I fenced Lamboley (FRA) a finalist in last year's Budapest Grand Prix and a quality opponent.  Unfortunately for me, I snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and when tired, got stuck and lost 14-15 from being in a winning position of 11-4.  Although the loss was a shock, I was pleased with how I fenced overall and just needed to get over the line.  Later in the month I returned to INSEP for half a week training with the German as well as French teams.  

February

The month has started with the annual trip to Plovdiv, Bulgaria.  In all honesty the competition passed me by.  I think the stress of the occasion got to me slightly and I didn't perform.  Certainly I did not fence to the levels I expect of myself and watching my performance back on video was like watching someone else.  However, there were good lessons to learn, which I have done and I have now moved on and am looking forward to heading out to Padua, Italy tomorrow for the next World Cup.  We are now away every other week so there is not much time to adapt and reflect, instead a constant switch of focus is required.  Of course leaving Bulgaria is never easy (see my blog here) and again it was not this year as we were snowed in at Sofia Airport and had to stay an extra night. Also, whoever decided to schedule a World Cup competition on the outskirts of Venice on Valentine's weekend needs their brain checked, but these complications occur in life.  What I need to do now is put the distractions aside, focus and get the job done.  Here goes....

En France

To complete my winter preparation for next season's World Cups I recently ventured to France for the French ranking event, St Jean de la Ruelle.  Just like Amsterdam I travelled completely on my own, but unlike then I also stayed completely on my own, as none of my other teammates or club mates were competing in my event.  I have to say though, I found it quite rewarding and exhilarating, travelling around Europe on my own to fencing competitions.  It was as if I was on my own Odysseian adventure, although thankfully it did not take me 10 years to reach home.  

As for the competition itself I was delighted to discover Glenn Sancroft and his new fiancee Jennifer McMillan, from Scotland were there, whose French language skills were slightly better than my Del-boy level abilities..'bonnet de douche, Rodney, bonnet de douche'.  Seriously though, I did perfect one sentence, "pardon,  Je ne parle français".  While Chrystall Nicoll and Jo Hutchison arrived later in time to fence in the women's event.  

The French events have a slightly strange format.  The top 28 on the French rankings (including any fencers in the top 50 of the world rankings) are separated from everyone else and fence in four poules of seven.  The rest (group B) fence their poules and then the results are amalgamated, with all of group A seeded above B (i.e. in places 1-28) and then the direct elimination begins.  I won 6/6 poule fights, which achieved my first target and was seeded 2nd out of 104, or rather 30/132 after the amalgamation.  As a result of this system it means that it is extremely difficult to break into the top 16 as the top seeds of B, will fence those of A who have done best in the last 32.  In fact one could argue that it is slightly easier to lose a poule fight and thus end up with a more middling draw in the last 32, of course though, it is harder to reach the last 32.  In any case, I fenced Haberer, an experienced French international, who unfortunately had too much for me on the day.  

However, I believe that the competition was a success.  I had achieved my two primary targets of winning all my poule fights and reaching the 32, and although 26th place does not sound all that good, I felt I had done well.  Before it was time to get the Eurostar back home I was able to watch Chrystall and Jo in the finals of the women's event, who came 2nd and 3rd respectively, which was good to see.  Most importantly the competition was good exposure for me to European fencing and is helping push me towards the big competition next summer.  Less than 7 months to go now, about 7 weeks until qualification resumes and let's just say its certainly very exciting....

Amsterdam

Last weekend I competed in the Amsterdam FIE Satellite Event.  This tournament was held on the same weekend as the Welsh Open, one of the largest UK domestic competitions, but for me, the choice to compete in Amsterdam as opposed to Wales was an easy one.  As I have mentioned in previous posts I have planned to compete in a few European events this side of Christmas in preparation for the second part of Olympic Qualifying.  This tournament therefore offered excellent practice of competing: in an unfamiliar environment, in a foreign country, against different styles of fencer, against (in general) a higher standard of opposition, and under the pressure of competing for World Cup points.  

As opposed to the ultimately somewhat lengthy trip I undertook to Belgium for the previous event three weeks ago, I decided to fly out late Saturday afternoon and return Sunday night so as to spend as little time away as possible.  To speed up my journey home in order to get as much sleep as possible before work on Monday morning I elected to use business parking at Heathrow T5.  Definitely the best parking experience I have ever had.  I had my own 'pod' to the terminal, and the entire transit was less than 5 minutes, with the service leaving upon demand.  I took a photo of the pod, here: 

 

And here is the link - very 21st Century. 
http://londonist.com/2011/09/heathrow-rolls-out-driverless-pods.php

The event itself had 74 entrants, meaning that the format was reduced to one round of poules, as a World Cup competition.  The field included fencers from Hungary, Italy, Poland, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Chinese Taipei, USA, Canada, Turkey, Spain, Israel, Austria, Switzerland, and several others.  In the poules I won all 6 fights, despite not being ranked among the top seeds, and I closed my fights out quite comfortably, feeling in complete control.  This resulted in me being ranked 4th after the poules, and so followed a five and a half hour wait until I would fence again! The draw was due to pit me against teammate Tom Mottershead in the last 32, however he lost to the Polish fencer, Cieszkowski in the round of 64.  I was able to convincingly beat Cieszkowski in the 32 and also an Italian in the last 16.  In the round of 8 I came up against Jo Polossifakis, a Canadian fencer, who I had beaten in the poule and who only last week had come 3rd at the Pan-American Games.  The match was tight, with both of us on top for periods in the first half but in the end I was edged out 15-14.  

Overall I was happy with the result. It was definitely a step in the right direction, post the Gent debacle, and I had fenced very well all day, especially in the poule.  I was able to maintain concentration over a long period of time and fenced as well as I had competitively in a long time.  The day was also good for Keith Cook.  At the same time as my event was a Men's Foil Satellite event, which Keith won (picture below), and I have to say it made a nice change to be at the event with the Men's Foil team, most of whom are centrally funded.  The competition also was a good experience for me as I was able to test out my new diet.  I have recently started seeing a nutritionist to try and squeeze that extra one or two percent out of my performance.  What I found in Amsterdam was that the foods I was eating did help my concentration, but did not provide me enough energy, so come St Jean in a couple of weeks I will have a new competition protocol as we look to get everything heading in the right direction before the serious business begins. 

Results of the competition:
http://www.fie.ch/Competitions/ResultsList.aspx?Key=A0E72808D46ECBA59CF8D1D169CD2ADC

en España

Another Olympic Qualifier, another record: 196 competitors.  At the elite level, that means its pretty tough.  I think everyone has been surprised at how large the fields have been since qualification started, and despite the notable absence of the Georgians, Kazakhstanis and Greeks the competition was still pushing 200.  That meant for the second competition in a row, 26 poules in 3 waves.  This time, it was poule 18 and second wave for me.  Although the poules and schedule are published the night before it is always difficult to judge precisely when you will start fencing, often you are faced with the necessity of getting the bus from the hotel a little too early in order not to leave too little time to warm up properly, and, if you are not fencing in the first wave, you most likely face a battle for space in which to warm up.  In Madrid, for I think the first time ever, my warm up, including fencing, took place entirely outside. 

Unfortunately on the day of the competition I was struck down with food poisoning, and even now I am not sure of the cause, perhaps from the sandwiches I ate on the plane, perhaps from the hotel food the night before, or perhaps from the water.  To my memory I have never suffered food poisoning before, and I had a pretty horrific experience on Friday and know that I never want to suffer from it again - especially when I am fencing.  The illness left me very uncomfortable, sapping my strength and leaving me short of breath.  Having said that, I fenced much better than I have done in the competitions since Budapest.  I won two fights convincingly in my poule, but suffered my third painful loss of the season to the Brazilian, Agresta, who lives and trains in Italy (14-15 in the last 96 in Budapest, 3-5 in Athens, and 4-5 here in Madrid), squandering a winning position.  My good indicator after the poules ensured I comfortably made the cut, which actually proved to be a lot less brutal than the previous weekend in Athens, and was drawn in the 128 with the Belarusian, Alexander Buikevich.  

Buikevich, European Champion in 2008, has an usual and languid style, but having fenced and beaten him at the training camp in Almeria over Easter I knew I had a fair chance of proceeding.  He immediately got a couple of hits up and unfortunately that margin remained throughout the rest of the fight, my conditioning on the day fading as I was not able to put in the work required to win hit after hit.  So disappointed with defeat, but not too downhearted considering the circumstances of the day, I can look forward to fencing in Warsaw without the debilitating food poisoning. 

After the competition five of us have stayed out in Madrid for a week's training with the Spanish national team.  The facilities they train in are amazing.  The venue, INEF, is the centralised home to most of the Spanish Olympic teams, located on the site of Madrid University.  The complex has specialised facilities for all the sports located in the main building, including a state of the art fencing salle on the basement level.  It is great to have the possibility of using facilities such as these and to take advantage of the week out here, trying to make the small improvements demanded of us to qualify, and in time for the next event.

The Easter Break

This season is a strange one.  So far it hasn't really counted.  A strange thing to say about the Senior World Cup Circuit.  But this is a strange year.  The Olympics are now just one year away; Olympic qualifying starts in little more than two weeks.  So we find ourselves now in our Easter break, a time for reflection on what has gone well, or not so well over the first four competitions and therefore what to take forward and what to change in the next four, the second half of the season.  It is also a time to have a little break and to do some important training.  During the competition cycle it is hard to change things between events as you have so little time, no more than 10days between coming home and departing for the next event, however the month now allows the opportunity to do things differently. 

For my part I spent a week after Moscow refereeing and coaching at the Public Schools Fencing Championships with Brentwood School, an event the school won.  I started fencing at Brentwood and enjoy going back to help out, especially in this the most prestigious of school fencing competitions in which the pupils fence all three weapons, epee, foil and sabre over the course of three days.  The competition was held at Crystal Palace, the National Sports Centre and so I was able to do some training there in the gym and also on the piste later in the day with some other members of the Great Britain Senior Team.  After that I've had a break for a week to recharge my batteries.  One of the hardest things about the competition cycle is a lack of time for social events.  Away each weekend and training in the evenings it can be difficult to stay in touch with friends, who of course have their time off when its my 'time on'.  I believe it is necessary to try and maintain a balance so that you do not get all-consumed by fencing, at which point you'll start over-thinking things and make it more difficult for yourself.  The little time off has also considerably helped my body, allowing me a little period of rest to get over some little niggles I had been carrying. 

That time off all ended last Wednesday when I made my comeback at a brutal circuits class I walked into by accident, although admittedly it felt good to be back.  And now I'm off to Spain for 10days for a training camp hosted by the Spanish national team.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Getting away and training in a different environment helps liven things up and the extra depth in sparring is going to be really beneficial. 

After I get back from Spain I have 7 days at home to prepare for the Athens World Cup.

The venue: Athens Olympic Park. My destination: London 2012.

Tickets

Only 500 days to go until the London Olympic Games get under way.  I can remember the moment London were awarded the Games in 2005 as if it were yesterday.  Time has flown past and the next 400 days we have left, the qualifying period, are going to go even faster.  

I thought I would leave a note here to say that should I make it to the London Games, I will be competing in the Men's Sabre (FE003) at the Excel Centre and possibly also the Men's Sabre Team (FE013), which in my opinion will be the most entertaining event to watch. I've copied the link to the Olympic fencing programme below, which includes ticket prices.  Right now our top fencer is Richard Kruse in the Men's Foil (FE007), and our Men's Foil Team (FE017) are regarded as our best medal prospect, but I'd quite like to steal their thunder there! You have 6 weeks to decide what you want, I'm hoping that I won't be needing my tickets! 

http://media.ticketmaster.com/en-gb/img/sys/tournament/london2012/oly-fencing.pdf

Inches

Life's this game of inches - Al Pacino (Any Given Sunday)

One year before Varsity, the captain of the Cambridge team made us watch the inspirational American Football film Any Given Sunday.  This perhaps would rank as a generic sports film if it weren't for Al Pacino's speech, as Coach Tony D'Amato, to his team at half time in the play-off final.  The speech has been widely reused in various contexts but usually, to my knowledge, by sports teams, like a Rocky montage, to inspire them before a big match such as Varsity.  After last weekend, the words resonate with me. 

Pacino's character describes life and football as a game of inches: because the margin of error is so small, I mean one half step too late or too early and you don't quite make it.  One half second too slow or too quick and you don't quite catch it before concluding that the inches we need are all around us.  

  

Last weekend, I fenced in the Budapest Grand Prix, traditionally always the hardest of the World Cup events on the calendar.  Furthermore, I fenced well with good intensity winning three poule fights of six, narrowly losing two.  My first fight was against the Frenchman Sanson, an experienced fencer, formally in the World Top-16 and who also won Gold at the Beijing Olympics in the Men's Sabre team event; I beat him comfortably. Getting off to a positive start really helped me and gave me a boost in confidence for the rest of the poule.   I received a bye into the last 96 where I met the Brazilian Agresta, who lives and trains in Italy.  Despite being 8-4 up at the break, I slumped to 13-10 down, before recovering to lead 14-13 and then fall at the final hurdle 15-14.  I was gutted, to come so close and not finish the job was devastating.  Reaching the last 64 and winning my first world cup points of the year was my primary target before reappraising on the second day.  To not achieve this was disappointing.  It also hurt a lot more than the disaster I had in Italy a couple of weeks ago. 

The truth is on that final hit I was probably one half step too late in stepping back and one half step too fast in riposting.  But the fight was not won and lost solely on the one hit but shortly after the break when he won a series of hits, that perhaps I should have stopped sooner.  However, such soul-searching cannot help me now, I must take the positives that I fenced an awful lot better than I have done all season and a couple of things are starting to 'click'.  I also know that Olympic qualifying begins in April and so this competition does not really count.  What is clear is that these competitions are harder than ever as we enter the Olympic qualification cycle and that the margins between us competitors are so small.  Probably three or four times as many fights are won 5-4 as 5-1 and 5-0.  On any given day you have to fence to your best and hope that you make use of the inches around you, and the truth is that the fencers in the last 64 are not that much better but rather they made use of those inches. 

In training this week and next, as we prepare for the Moscow World Cup and the end of the first half of our season I'll be looking for those inches because in the words of Pacino: when we add up all those inches its going to make the difference between winning and losing...

 

Varsity

It might sound ridiculous but the truth is, that sport in Cambridge exists to beat Oxford.  A year is measured by nothing more, nothing less.  That is all; all that really matters is beating the old enemy in the annual Varsity Match.    

Most sports fans in the UK will have heard of the Varsity Rugby match at Twickenham, the Varsity Boat Race (to give it its full title) on the Thames at Easter and even perhaps the Varsity Cricket match, held each summer at Lords, however it is possible that they do not realise that every sport has its day and its Varsity match, including Hang-Gliding.  For most sports that all-important match takes place during the traditional 'Varsity Games' period mid-February and fencing is no different.  Last Saturday the Exams Schools on the New Museum Site Cambridge played host to the 104th Fencing Varsity Match.  

In the run up the competitors eat Varsity, drink Varsity, sleep Varsity and live Varsity.  There is endless head-scratching, conversations about team selection, team order, tactics, targets, and permutations.  The preparation for the following year's Varsity Match starts the day after the next one.  How many sporting teams and captains are defined by their success in one match? The victors live on in perpetuity, their names as victors inscribed upon the Varsity shield since 1936; for the losers, nothing but forgotten. 

I only won the Varsity match once, when I was captain in 2009, by a record score in an undefeated season.  In both 2007 and 2010 we lost only one match all year, including in all the BUCS fixtures; we were recognised as the best team in the country, winning Southern Premiership and the BUCS Championship and yet we lost the Varsity match against all odds and the seasons were thus deemed a failure.  In 2008 under Alex O'Connell's captaincy we came so close it hurt, in a match we should never have been in; I still remember the bitter and harsh taste of defeat that day.  The pressure is immense; the rewards eternal; the day, beautiful.

This year the match was always going to be close, with Cambridge coming out as victors in their previous league match by just the one hit.  Sadly on the day the greater experience of the Oxford team shone through, particularly in their sabre team.  After a nervous and enthralling epee match, which in the end Cambridge edged 45-43, Oxford acheived a convincing 45-21 win in the sabre.  The Cambridge sabreurs came back strong in the end after being in a potentially lethal position at 30-8 but spectators were left rueing that a fine performance came too late.  That aside Cambridge had a much stronger foil team and confidence was still high, but the pressure was huge as Cambridge had to limit their opponents to 23, ultimately a task too great.  But the Cambridge boys can take comfort in the knowledge that while most of the Oxford team of Varsity veterans are likely to depart, the Cambridge team will be almost entirely unchanged, more experienced and hungry for revenge next year.  Supporting was strange but I am already looking forward to next year and travelling to Oxford to beat them there.  GDBO.

2009 Team and Old Blues

2009
A L Crutchett
L Cox-Brusseau
V Dalibard
Z Eaton-Rosen
T Most
A O'Connell
D Ryan
D Summerbell

An education

Losing is learning. Winning is normal.

Lately I've been doing a lot of learning.  Results haven't gone quite as anticipated and it has been more than a little disappointing.  It's even been difficult to write this blog post; I've been quite busy since I got back from Venice on Saturday evening but I've also been putting off writing this. Apologies, it might be a little raw.

Ever heard of the phrase 'train hard, win easy'? Well I've been training hard but am waiting for the winning.  This weekend I was feeling good: relaxed, confident and ready to go.  However, the word I would use to describe the start of my poule is 'brutal'. I got smashed.  No other way to describe it. I was moving up and down well but for some reason couldn't hit my opponent - kind of important to do that really.  I was cut after the poule.  I immediately knew that I would be cut, despite the third wave still to come and went outside to vent some frustration, at myself more than anything else.  Behind the venue was a reasonable size stream with a footbridge going across.  To release my frustration I decided instead of hitting anything, which no doubt I would later come to regret, to pick up a stick and hurl it into the water.  I missed.  Even more frustrated I picked up a stone instead; I missed again.  I feel that that anecdote sums up my day better than anything else. 

So where to go now? One or even two competitions does not change anything. The truth I know inside is that I am better than that. I am not going to give up as soon as the going has got tough.  At the weekend's competition 100 fencers didn't make the last 64 on the second day, including all of my British teammates.  Its a tough environment where the margins are so small, just a couple of nanoseconds either way.  I also know I have improved a lot over the off season, have changed a few aspects of my technique and that it will take time for it all to gel and the results to become clear.  In the mean time, just as a rider who has fallen off their horse, the show must go on, the horse must be remounted and training continued.  Now I have to work harder than ever and make sure that just as last time, I give myself the best possible chance of succeeding, this time in Budapest. 

Now I'm learning. Soon, I'll be winning. 

In Bulgaria

'When you are at your deepest, there is always good luck on the roads in Bulgaria'.  

An old proverb (perhaps) that we were told two years ago now, somewhere on the road between Sofia and Plovdiv. 

Two years ago, after the conclusion of the Grand Prix event in Plovdiv, the British team, a couple of Germans, including world number one Nicholas Limbach, the Belgian team and a couple of Poles were squeezed onto a rather old bus to make the journey to the airport in Sofia, approximately a two hour drive.  The problem was in this instance that the bus was not very reliable and the driver did not speak a word of any language other than Bulgarian. The first half hour as we navigated out of the city and onto the motorway was fine, but then the bus began to break down with increasing regularity and every couple of kilometers we were cruising onto the hard shoulder with the engine having cut out.  The bus consumed all the available water the passengers possessed and a roll of duck tape that the Belgian fencer had but the problems still continued.  Soon we managed to stop at a petrol station, where driver fed the engine a couple of litres of coolant and we discovered that the nearest taxi station was approximately 50-60km away.  After another couple of stops it became apparent that making our flight was in real jeopardy as the bus pulled into a rest stop at the roadside.  It was at this point that, led by the German coach, we started making alternative travel arrangements.  The Poles managed to jump into a lorry cab, one of them spoke Russian, and the British managed to fit into two cars, one a taxi with only one passenger heading to a flat in Sofia and thereafter the airport, and the other a family who had been visiting their son and were driving near to Sofia.  Somehow, crammed into the back of these cars, with our fencing bags on our laps we made it to the airport in time to make our flight and we were told the above proverb, whatever it may mean!

This season our first tournament was in the town of Plovdiv, somewhere in central Bulgaria, and fortunately our transportation was much more reliable.  The same German coach commented last year that Plovdiv was 'the best Grand Prix', something we initially laughed at but perhaps have come to agree with.  The venue is spacious and light, the hotel is good and only a 200m walk, including facilities such as a swimming pool (not that I've ever used it) and everything you might need is close by including Happy.  Happy is a restaurant chain I have only found in Bulgaria.  The waitresses uniforms are 'interesting' and the menus of the picture variety. Culinary delights include Grandma's Meatballs, and Happy Bits with processed cheese.  Having said that the food all tastes fine and everything is quite cheap, although rather like a Wagamamas the food seems to arrive when its ready, so salad arrives with potatoes and once you have finished, the meat comes, or as happened to one of my teammates his starter arrived after his main-course.

In the competition I sadly did not enjoy the same good luck as we might have found on the road.  My poule was tough, described by a couple of my teammates as the 'poule of death' and unfortunately I was only able to win one fight and was thus eliminated before the direct elimination.  Having said that, there are no easy fights at this level and in my mind no poule that is harder than another; the simple fact is you must compete for each point with the same effort and the fights are there to be won.  Being critical I probably rushed a little and was a little nervous, however in parts I fenced very well.  Despite the disappointment of not performing how I expected I would, the competition was still good and certainly encouraging for the next World Cup event in Italy, in two weeks time.  There I hope to hit top form after another couple of weeks training and start achieving the goals I have set myself this year, setting up my bid to compete in London, next year.  

Fertig...los!

Hallo! Apologies for the slight delay since my last post.  The reason is simple, I've been hard at work, training.  My teammate, Alex O'Connell, and I have just spent the last week, living and training in Dormagen, Germany with the German national team.


We arrived on the Sunday, with the words of a couple of my friends still ringing in my ears, 'make sure you beat the Germans' (thanks Jamie and Dave) but did not start training until the Monday.  That was fortunate as although Dusseldorf is only 20 minutes from Dormagen by car, we were taking the train.  Dormagen is about 45 minutes from Dusseldorf Flughafen by slow train, in theory.  However, Deutsche Bahn told us to take the S11 to Koln-Mulheim before changing trains there and getting the slow one from there to Dormagen - in effect going from 12 on a clock to 10 clockwise and at this point in time we had not seen a map.  German efficiency = urban legend.  Needless to say, three and a half hours later, after delayed trains, and a fine for travelling in the Koln area without a valid ticket (we had the ones required for the Dusseldorf area), Deutsche Bahn were not our favourite firm and we were relieved to finally make it to Dormagen. 


Monday morning involved physisch mit Stefan who you can see in this YouTube clip doing some speed work with Jessica Ennis and Jermain Defoe at an Adidas launch. Monday evening involved a team event at the end of the session.  England vs Germany.  There were only two English men though, so we borrowed one of the Germans, Nicolas Limbach, World Number 1.  With the murmurings of Jamie and Dave in my mind, the pressure was on, Alex and I more than held our own and England had won, it was like 1966 all over again, only it was training.  A good first day set the tone for the rest of the week.  


The week concluded with a competition nearby(c.150km) in Koblenz.  We managed to get a lift there with the other fencers in one of the club buses.  The competition was a mixed bag for me, I did not fence too badly but neither did I fence too well and the day ended earlier than I would have liked.  However the whole experience was an enjoyable one and I feel like I have learned a lot from my time in Germany.


In German, the phrase fertig...los, means 'ready...fence', in other words it is what the referee says to commence the hit.  It does have another meaning though, literally, 'ready to go'.  I'm ready to go now, and we are off to Bulgaria on the 0600 flight on Friday morning for the first World Cup event of the season.  Fingers crossed that all my winter training will aid a positive result and solid start to the season.  

Sporting Heroes

In the poems of Homer a hero was a warrior chieftain of special strength, courage or ability.  Today the greats of sport walk among their peers as Homeric heroes, as godlike beings, seemingly unbeatable, and their very greatness transcends, not just their sport, not just sport, but the world as a whole; great sportsmen and athletes like, Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Michael Johnson, Usain Bolt and Roger Federer. These are those who inspire the youth and through their very presence and their own immense achievements leave their sports and the events they touch, a real and lasting legacy. 

For my part, I remember the first time I saw elite men's sabre fencing.  It was at Brentwood School, and I must have been about nine years old.  James Williams, who coached my Prep School class, an Olympian in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney, showed us a video of him fencing.  I remember the speed, the aggression, the atmosphere and the intensity.  I was just getting in to fencing at the time and I thought, 'I would like to do that', from then on I was hooked. 

However, it is perhaps sporting greats in other disciplines that inspire me most.  It may sound almost cliched, if that shows the level of unanimous respect these athletes command, but three of my sporting heroes are Redgrave (Sports Personality of the Year 2000), Pinsent (2nd Sports Personality of the Year 2004) and Hoy (Sports Personality of the Year 2008).  Three great British men, who between them have won 13 Olympic Gold Medals and whose career achievements truly are, astounding.  

Simon Barnes, my favourite sportswriter, waxes lyrical about Redgrave in his book 'The Meaning of Sport'.  He says, 'Redgrave is not only a person. Redgrave is also a quality...Redgrave is the ability to go beyond yourself. It is the ability to go the full distance, Johnson-like and more. It is the ability to commit day after day, to the one goal of winning. It is the ability to achieve the ultimate goal: and to be unsatisfied. To want more. To demand more, to seek more and to get more.'    

Barnes was also in Athens and saw Pinsent win his fourth consecutive Olympic Gold.  He describes Pinsent's journey that Olympiad as an echo of the Odyssey, the story of a ship cursed by the gods.  Pinsent's boat had been a pair, which won everything until inexplicably coming fourth at the 2003 World Championships.  The boat was made into a four, which didn't work.  A man was dropped.  Another injured, and eight weeks before the Games, Alex Partridge suffered a collapsed lung and dropped out.  The crew had just seven weeks to prepare as opposed to four years.  The race was neck and neck and was won only in the last ten strokes.  Won by 0.08 seconds.  In the words of Barnes, 'Pinsent took the crew over the line by means of a massive outpouring of the self.  He refused to accept the plain and obvious fact of defeat and remade reality in front of us'.  Pinsent seized the time to succeed and came through, giving everything to the effort.  Pinsent bared his soul and his emotions overcame the body he had moulded as a machine through his years of rowing.  

And then, Chris Hoy, the fastest man over 1000m, winning Olympic Gold in Athens.  He had to deal with adversity a different way.  His event was dropped from the programme in Beijing, forcing him to look elsewhere to satisfy his insatiable hunger for success.  He returned from Beijing with three gold medals.  

These men, heroes to me, perhaps not so much because of their success but because of the quality that Simon Barnes describes as 'Redgrave' alive in them.  The ability to bend events to their will, and the ability to triumph in the battle of wills.  Barnes describes 'Redgrave' as 'not the quintessence of sport, but the quintessence of victory'.

I remember watching BBC Sports Personality of the Year at Christmas and feeling inspired. I felt that I wanted to win, I wanted to prove myself, I wanted to give reign to the 'Redgrave' in me. At the weekend I discovered that I have been nominated for Essex Sports Personality of the Year.  It was a complete surprise and was very touching. I'd like to think that perhaps I too could be a role model for young people finding their way into sport just as Redgrave, Pinsent and Hoy and perhaps one day might be able to join that pantheon of champions.   

On a different note, I would like to mention the news that Beazley, the specialist Lloyd's insurer, have entered into a five year partnership with British Fencing, as principal sponsor.  More details can be found at http://www.beazleybritishfencing.com/   This is great news for the sport in this country and will hopefully make a massive difference, and I just wanted to thank Beazley for their investment in our dreams.   

Away from those lights

"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights." Muhammad Ali

Fencing is, just like boxing, a combat sport. The preparation for the big competitions happens in private; behind the closed doors of the fencing salle and the gym in my high street.  It is at this time of year when training should be at its toughest, before easing slightly during the season.  It is at this time of year when you must challenge yourself, to jump further, lift heavier, run faster, be sharper.  It is at this time where techniques can be reconstructed, actions taught afresh and tactics improved.  This is the preparation.  Some days its tough.  Some days can be a struggle, but they will be worth it in the end under those lights.   

One of my new year's resolutions which I've pinned to the wall, as one of my most organised friend's did last year achieving a considerable amount of success, is to learn how to skip.  Skipping has been proven to enhance coordination and rhythm between hand and foot movements and also increase stamina and endurance.  It is actually good preparation for fencing.  Skipping should be fast and explosive, and so are the movements required for fencing as one moves up and down the piste.  Improving coordination between hand and foot is also important as while your feet are the vehicle allowing you to pursue an opponent, the final action and the landing of an attack occurs with the hand.  So skipping will hopefully make me more agile and improve the co-ordination of my attacks.  Right now my training partner laughs at my frustration, although he did also admit that my skipping has improved ten fold over the last week. 

However, perhaps the most important reward I currently acquire from skipping is the absolute concentration required to succeed.  Certainly at my level of skipping, if my mind starts to wander I make a mistake, the rope stops.  Total concentration is required.  And total concentration is what is required once I am on the piste.  One lapse could mean a hit against.  One hit the difference between winning and losing. One hit the difference between qualification and watching on TV.  None of the top fencers give away hits and so with stronger powers of concentration I hope to make the transition this season and not allow my opponents the chance to get ahead or beat me, through such lapses.

Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest sportsmen to have walked the earth. His name one of the most famous in the world.  Nicknamed 'The Greatest' and referred to as 'The Champ' he made a mockery of his opponents with his trash talking.  But under those lights the truth is that not many were better than he.  That fact is testament to the hard work he put in behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, away from witnesses and before he danced under those lights.  He possessed drive and determination, just as I, and I hope that soon, I'll be ready.