When it comes to fencing, bigger isn't always better
Fenced Gunnarr last evening at Steel Therapy. He used his new sword that he purchased from Thorpe. It's a nice enough sword, but it's huge (I think he said 54 inches long?). It was an interesting experience.
Usually when I fence Gunnarr, I start out okay and get a few decent kills in. But then he will start to power his way through and he's physically stronger than I am. And my brain goes blank, so rather than moving out of his way so he CAN'T use his strength, I just stand there like a dope.
But last night, while he used that sword, I had the advantage for once. I think he expected to blow past my defenses and kill me a whole lot without any effort. And while I'll admit that my defenses aren't great, I was able to block that blade quite easily. Didn't matter whether he used one or two hands to wield it, it's too big and bulky to allow for finesse. For once in my life, my fencing abilities were faster than the person I was fencing.
Of course, killing him significantly more than he was killing me was a bit of a heady experience and I got a little cocky after I got of the list. And also fortunately for me, C was there to apply a gentle but much needed verbal Gibbs slap.
And then he took me out on the list and put to use much of what he has been studying and what he learned from Keyard. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Jinx....the human pin cushion! Even boinked me in the head right over top of the buckler that I was using to protect my broken finger. WTF!? I thought bucklers were supposed to STOP blades.....sheesh.
So lessons well learned.
1. Just because everyone else seems to be getting the longer and longer swords doesn't mean that I should give in to the temptation.
2. Just because I can beat one of the people some of the time doesn't mean I should get cocky because there is always someone else around to use my head as a target.
3. Footwork...footwork...footwork. (Standing in one place or only moving a little bit while fencing C is NOT going to be an effective strategy. I'm going to have to MOVE to survive the bouts. sigh....
Usually when I fence Gunnarr, I start out okay and get a few decent kills in. But then he will start to power his way through and he's physically stronger than I am. And my brain goes blank, so rather than moving out of his way so he CAN'T use his strength, I just stand there like a dope.
But last night, while he used that sword, I had the advantage for once. I think he expected to blow past my defenses and kill me a whole lot without any effort. And while I'll admit that my defenses aren't great, I was able to block that blade quite easily. Didn't matter whether he used one or two hands to wield it, it's too big and bulky to allow for finesse. For once in my life, my fencing abilities were faster than the person I was fencing.
Of course, killing him significantly more than he was killing me was a bit of a heady experience and I got a little cocky after I got of the list. And also fortunately for me, C was there to apply a gentle but much needed verbal Gibbs slap.
And then he took me out on the list and put to use much of what he has been studying and what he learned from Keyard. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Jinx....the human pin cushion! Even boinked me in the head right over top of the buckler that I was using to protect my broken finger. WTF!? I thought bucklers were supposed to STOP blades.....sheesh.
So lessons well learned.
1. Just because everyone else seems to be getting the longer and longer swords doesn't mean that I should give in to the temptation.
2. Just because I can beat one of the people some of the time doesn't mean I should get cocky because there is always someone else around to use my head as a target.
3. Footwork...footwork...footwork. (Standing in one place or only moving a little bit while fencing C is NOT going to be an effective strategy. I'm going to have to MOVE to survive the bouts. sigh....