I feel an allusion to Confucius' Art of War would be appropriate <here> but I lack the proper reference (feel free to insert said quote between the <>). I like this one though which comes pretty close: He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.
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| Fencing is sexy |
Until today, I've never gone fencing but I found the overall experience, however reminiscent of my ever evolving eye-hand-leg coordination deficiency, was very rewarding. I can't recall another sport in which you are immediately cognisant of your opponents attacks/defences and introspective of your own strengths and weaknesses. Its a strategy game as much as it is about strength (ahem for me it's poor upper body strength and balance and...).
One thing that the Instructor said that really stuck is the fact that, in fencing, you can immediately begin to tell the personality of the person you are fencing against; whether they are emotional, bow to pressure easily, over-zealous etc. With this knowledge I could deflect my opponents attacks without having to huff and puff all over the place - as we inevitably did when my partner hopped from one 'vulnerable' angle to the other (mind you your allowed only to parry in a straight line...no 'fencing' dance)
To be an adequately good beginner fencer requires very little physical effort. A body that is relaxed and flexible is more amenable to fencing. Sure there are lungs and all that bending but the main idea is deflecting and anticipating your opponents next moves which leads to attack. To borrow an analogy from the Tao of Pooh: a body of water will deflect a ball bounced against its surface; no matter how hard you attack the ball it will never pierce the water's surface. Strength is good but knowing when to use it makes you a better player.
To the tao of fencing :P and it can be all mine for $95 a month.
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