Thoughts after tournament

Well, one of the things I learned from this last tournament, the RCFC Vet Tournament, is I'm not quite used to fencing at tournaments. The pools especially. They are so different from the kind of fencing done at the club during open epee. Each pool bout is short and they are interrupted with periods of waiting. This makes it hard to get into a "fencing zone", mentally and physically. After my last tournament, where I won most of my pool bouts but got hit a lot (winning 5-4 or 5-3), I realized the importance of not being hit so much in the pools, even if you win bouts. This time, the fencers were better on average and I ended up losing all four of the pool bouts, but even so did okay point-wise, scoring 4-5 every time except against Michael Chin, which I lost 2-5. Okay, so I get it how every point matters in the pools, but perhaps I should try to win some of the bouts too! How to jump into that "fencing zone" in the pools? Hmm...

One idea I had is to keep score in my head during open epee practices, counting up to 5 and then pretending, in my head at least, that that pool bout is over and a new one is starting, and changing my own style, just to see how it goes. And perhaps working on changing style will be useful anyway. Some obvious ways to change style might be switching from using lots of blade contact to using absence of blade. More generally, there are those four basic styles I was reading about. Actually there are two version of the "four styles" in my notes:

1. Permanently Pressing: Tend to use false actions that turn into real attacks. Against such a fencer try to "shut them down" by using many false attacks, counterattacks, and sudden close actions, making it harder for them to know when their own attacks should develop.
2. Maneuvering-Attacking: Tend to switch among many different types of attack, and rather than defend tends to retreat in the face of strong actions. The rapid switching between attacks can overwhelm defensive strategies. Against them one idea is to push them back to their end of the strip, forcing them to defend. Also try using counter-time actions and mixing simple attacks with broken-time attacks. A goal should be to "shut down" their attacks before they can develop.
3. Maneuvering-Defending: My notes say this is the most difficult kind of opponent, and by implication should be an excellent style to try. Such fencers "have strong technical skills" and "carefully prepare traps...either on attack or defense", and can move from attack to defense quickly and easily. Ideas for fencing against this style include "unorthodox" fencing, avoiding blade play, constantly vary timing and rhythm. Also, second intention stuff: show them your favorite attack, excepting it to be stopped, and have a second intention ready to go.
4. Permanently Defending: Tend to just wait and try to score with counterattacks and ripostes. Tries to draw their opponent out to "pre-determined targets". (this sounds very familar, Don!) Against them, try pushing them back to the end of the strip, making it harder for them to set up actions. Use counter-time (counter counter attacks), feints with parry-riposte, perhaps close distance so simple attacks score. (all this sounds familiar too, Don!)

If I can just remember these things when trying my "pool practice" idea—switching my own style between Permanently Pressing, Maneuvering-Attacking, Maneuvering-Defending, and Permanently Defending.

Anyway, I seeded rather low (19) and didn't get a bye. There were 22 fencers so the top 10 got a bye. My first DE was against Stephanie English of RCFC, who seeded 14th. She is a leftie and I soon felt fairly confident on the strip, eventually winning 10-8. George Capestany won his first DE too, 10-7 against Donald Lake. This means he gets an SAS patch, which made him very happy. My second DE was against Monica Jacob-Exum, who was in my pool and very good. She seeded 3rd. I don't think I have fenced her at SAS, or even met her before, but she is very nice and fun. Our DE bout was fairly close. The score was tied off and on for a bit until she pulled ahead at the end and won 10-7. Her style worked against most of the tactics I had been practicing recently—blade contact stuff, footwork/distance tricks, infighting, etc. She tended to use an absence of blade, which leaves me not knowing what to do other than feinting and trying to draw out attacks. She has also excellent footwork and retreats—she never fell for any of my attempts to gain distance. And several times I thought I could hit with a sudden advance-lunge or fleche but she would just calmly retreat just enough so my point fell a few inches short. In terms of those four styles above, perhaps she tends to be Maneuvering-Defending, which my notes say is the hardest to deal with. Hmm. She's fun to fence though. I knew from watching that she sometimes tries sudden toe touch attacks, so I was ready to withdraw my foot and attack if she tried. She tried once or twice with neither of us scoring. One time she did some kind of low attack with a sudden very low crouch. My counter failed and neither scored. Maybe it wasn't quite what she had planned because after, once we recovered and had distance she jokingly said she was hoping I "wouldn't see her" way down there. And I jokingly responded "where did she go??"

Anyhow, fencing her gives me another thing to work on—tactics for fencing against absence of blade and that "maneuvering-defending" thing. One obvious idea is fleches. And watching the final bouts of the tournament—Mikol Ryon and John Varney especially—I saw plenty of excellent fleches. Definitely something to practice.