Crown tourney

May 31, 2011 09:25


Back home after another Crown tournament! It was a pretty grueling drive, but we got home. Friday night, we got to the hotel late, due to some setbacks in getting out of town.

Saturday, we got up at a leisurely pace, and enjoyed the morning. I wound up going to do some rapier and cut & thrust fencing Saturday. Normally, I wouldn’t participate the day before Crown, due to my superstition of getting hurt the day before the tournament, but my GPP is to a level that it is unlikely.

It was a good decision. It helped cut down on the “expectant” energy that I have had problems with in the past.

I enjoyed a good number of matches, and got to spar a bit with Anton, which was pleasant. The only slightly odd thing about the day was they insisted on “matched weapons”, which was a bit annoying, as I basically only wanted to work Bolognese sword and shield, but it really wasn’t too much trouble.
That night we went to the chinise restaurant, (NOT a food trough) and I had a very lovely stir fried grouper dish that was perfect.

Back at the hotel, Constance finished sewing her project, and I finished some last minute preparations. I got to bed relatively early, which was a good thing, as Crown tourney day is usually quite long.

Woke early, and prepared myself. Got some oatmeal and juice, and proceeded to the Hall. There were more people there earlier than normal. I tend to enjoy getting there a bit early, as it usually is empty. Did my warmup routine, and stretched out, then ran through the Dall’ Agocchi single sword form to calm myself. I was very pleased with my mental preparedness this time around. At one point, A friend came up and said “you look like you don’t have a care in the world!” Which, is, of course, the point.

My amazing friends brought my gear in, and my armor was arranged, ready for arming. My Constance armed me at the appropriate time, and I felt centered, and ready to execute my game. Jamie fed me some vitamin b slurry crap, and some home made granola bars, and I was set.

We went through the procession, and Stacey, acting as my herald, introduced us as eloquently as always.

The first round was announced, and I had no worry in my mind who my opponent would be. Whoever was in front of me did not matter. I was going to express my fight, and not let that fight be dictated to me.

My first fight was with Eik. (He wound up winning the tournament) We entered the list, the marshals called lay on, and I adopted Coda Lunga stretta. It had a marked effect. The fight was energetic and a lot of fun. At no point did I fall back to typical brawling. I worked the system. I cut to my opponent’s leg, and connected strongly, but it was not strong enough. After the next exchange, I transitioned into Porta de Ferro stretta when my opponent rushed me. It connected with his stomach, but he reacted well, and stopped his forward progress at the exact right time, robbing the thrust of some of it’s power. I should have driven it home, but I didn’t. Wound up parrying, and we almost went through the list ropes into the crowd. (laugh) The marshal’s centered us up, and we resumed relative positions. I compassed out of the press, and missed his arm. I don’t quite remember the blow that got me. I will have to review the video, but he struck a telling blow, and won the match. In spite of my loss, I was thrilled. I had accomplished staying in the system, and using it to lay stick on one of the best fighters out there multiple times. A few tweaks in my performance, and I would have won that fight. I was jazzed. I affected the timing, measure, force, and initiative. It may have been a loss on the books, but it was a victory for me. I know I am on the right path.

My second fight was with Einar. I truly enjoy fighting him. Again, I adopted my fight, and executed. After a few exchanges, he slipped to my right, trying to get past my tip. I executed a passing step, and hit him strongly in the leg. This was perfect, EXCEPT for the fact that I had let my shield drift out, and wound up losing my leg as he cut on the way to his knees. This put us both on our knees, which sucked big time. We wound up in the clinch, both trying to slip a thrust into the face. There were a lot of leverage games, and I wound up hitting him in the face with my shield a bit. It threw me off mentally a bit, and he was able to score a thrust to the face.

I was annoyed that I was two and out, but I was thrilled that I had worked my game, and laid stick on two of the finest practitioners out there. (one of which went on to win) I know the study and practice is paying off, and both Vicki and I are finally figuring out how to deal with the mental pressure of this tournament. My confidence is quite high, in spite of the fact that I was two and out.

Better watch out… I’m gonna win this one at some point. (chuckle)

The evening was filled with all sorts of fun conversations. Dolph came, and I was very happy about that. Got to hang out and smoke cigars by the pool with awesome people. I wound up getting to bed around 3 AM, which, of course, made the drive home a pretty grueling task… But we managed.

And now, to train….

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

via ljapp

Previous post Next post
Up