http://www.fencingtime.com/LiveResults/Battle2015/FTEvent81788937.htm
https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=26994&highlight_competitor_id=91067&event_id=106912#106912
Not great, but it was a tough group and I wasn't feeling very good, getting over a cold and etc. On the plus side I scored three toe touches, which made me happy. Also it is always a good thing to fence people I don't usually get to fence. I don't think I had ever fenced Eli Delgado or Doug Robinson before. I'd fenced William Walker just once in a pool. And if I'd fenced Mike Perka before that pool in last year's Battle in Seattle it was a long time ago.
Pool
Started with Eli Delgado, who is strong and fast. I was too impatient and attacked too much too fast, and quickly lost 5-1. Bleah.
Carlo Malaguzzi. Started out well enough, 1-1, then down 2-1. Then I landed a toe touch, making it 2-2. That one felt quite nice. The timing and distance was good and I think I surprised him pretty well. Things went less well after that. Twice I had a decent chance to score but plain missed. Once I was trying to bait him and let things get just too close. He made a straight fleche and scored. Anyway, my notes say I lost 5-3 but the score sheet said 5-2. I thought about saying something, but maybe my notes were wrong. Also, I had done that in another tournament not long ago with him—saying the score sheet was wrong and I had scored one point more. I didn't want to do that again, not being completely sure. So I let it be. As it turned out that one point might have mattered. After the pools I was in a three way tie for the 25th seed. On the other hand, none of us got easy DEs, and mine might have been the easiest of the three. Possibly I could have gotten Jeff Johnson for my DE, which would have been better, maybe. Anyway, even if I lost 5-2 it still felt like I did better than my other recent bouts with Carlo.
Third bout was with Doug Robinson, a Canadian who I don't think I've fenced before. His style seemed to be slightly foil-like, maybe. I felt decently able to draw attacks and score with parries or counters. I also felt like I was able to use beats. Eli and Carlo are too strong for my beats to be reliable, it seems. So I was pleased that they worked better with Doug. I got up 3-2, then made a hard up-beat followed by a toe touch, which worked, to my delight. Other than some toe touches against Us in a recent tournament this was the first tournament in which I've scored toe touches, I think. After that I was up 4-2 and felt pretty good. Our fencing from there was mostly "tangled", with ugly unintended infighting. Some of the tangles had no result. He got a point in one, making it 4-3. Then I got a point in another tangle, winning 5-3.
Then I had John Comes. After seeing his fencing at BladeFest (and getting beaten by it myself) and watching him here (eg, beating Mike Perka) I was concerned. He's gotten a lot better recently, it seems. The tactics I used to be able to use a year or two ago are no longer dependable. The first point was an exchange and a fleche on his part. I managed to catch him up in a parry 6, but too wide and I missed my riposte, while he escaped and scored. Doh. His son, watching, said something like "that was lucky", which seemed right—I felt like I had it, but missed. Things continued with both of us making mistakes here and there. I don't remember the exact details except I think most of the points were made due to mistakes by the other. I remember trying for a toe touch and falling short, then coming up to a higher line. But I can't remember if either of us scored there. Anyway, we went 4-4. In the final action I got overeager and made a poor attack, which he easily scored against to win. Another example of the main lesson I got from the weekend: I've got to stop being stupid! Feels like I'm at a point where most of what holds me back is tactical blunders like that. Things I know not to do, yet do anyway, from time to time. Mostly they are bad attacks, I think—impulsive attacks at the wrong time, from too far, going too deep, etc. Need more patience! ...or maybe I should do more foil, heh.
Final pool bout was with Mike Perka. In last year's vet Battle in Seattle I beat him in the pools. I remembered how and tried to do the same this time. It didn't work quite as well. He got the first point with a simple, straight-in, accelerating lunge. I felt like I was spaced out, not focused enough right then, argh. Then I was able to use my plan to score doubles—the plan mainly being counterattacks or attacks into prep, "straight up his arm". But he was a point up thanks to that first one. Doubles got me to 3-4. I needed a single light. While trying to find an opportunity for a single—I think I was trying to set up a 4-6 thing—he got me and won 5-3.
So, with one win and four losses, and an indicator of -8, I ended up in a three way tie for the 25th seed, with Russ Redding and Bill Swann. In the other pools George Raush was impressive, winning all his bouts (including Bela Suveg, George having learned from his DE with Bela a couple weeks before). George got 2nd seed. Michael Mehall won all his bouts and got 1st seed. John Varney won all his bouts and got 3rd.
Direct Elimination
I was paired with William Walker. He's left-handed, older and seemingly slower than me, but also bigger and taller. We had fenced in a pool in Portland and I had lost. I remembered that part of how I lost was due to making too many attacks. So I went in planning to be more defensive, "jabby", shallow, and faster on my feet, in and out kind of thing.
Well, my "jabby" approach quickly resulted in his getting some nice hand and arm picks on me. I soon realized I needed to be much more careful about sticking my arm out, as his style involves accurate picks from his leftie far outside. By the time I figured out what not to do and had begun to work out what might work he was up quite a few points. And being a vet DE we were only going to ten points. Things looked grim. By this point in the day I was feeling rather annoyed and even angry, mostly at myself. I used this anger as fuel, and did better in the rest of this DE (maybe I should get angry more often...). I became much more focused and bouncy, yet was able to be more patient, feeling kinda snake-in-the-grass. I made a bit of a comeback, including another enjoyable toe touch. But I could not make up the ground lost at the start, and in the end lost 10-8. Maybe if it had been to 15 points...
So I was left with a mixed feeling. On one hand annoyance at all my mistakes and my slow start. Although I had warmed up I didn't feel like I was even starting to get into the groove of things until my third pool bout. And I didn't feel like I was really fencing well until my DE was half over. This isn't uncommon with me, and I've got to get better at getting into the zone during the early pool bouts. I was also annoyed with my various tactical mistakes and episodes of bad technique, awkward actions, bad balance, etc. On the plus side I was quite pleased with those three toe touches. Maybe all that toe touch practice is starting to pay off?
Other stuff
Carlo took out John Comes by quite a bit, afterward saying "sorry" a few times. I remember Carlo saying sorry to me after taking me out by many points in a DE. He's a nice guy, but sure isn't going to not fence his best. Then Carlo fenced Michael Mehall, who was 1st seed (and came in 1st place in the end). Carlo took Michael to 9-9 in an exciting bout, but lost that last point. Michael Mehall had a series of close bouts. After Carlo he fenced Eli Delgado to an 8-8 tie. In overtime Michael managed to score and win. Then Michael beat David Jensen 10-8. The final bout, with John Varney, wasn't as close, 10-5. I fenced Michael Mehall in a DE in Portland, and lost. He's fun to fence, gets excited and shouts a lot, but in a friendly, smiling way.
In other DE bouts...in the Round of 32 Bill Swann went 9-9 with Eli Delgado but lost. Impressive, Bill. That Delgado guy is good! After beating me William Walker fenced Bela Suveg. Leftie vs. leftie, always fun to watch. Bela won 10-8, fairly close. Then Bela fenced George Raush. George was 2nd seed. He beat Michael Moore 10-6 before facing Bela. After fencing Bela two weeks before and in this event's pool, George seemed to have figured him out. He won handily, 10-4. Then George had John Varney in the semifinals. He did okay, but lost 10-7. Had I beat William Walker...well, I can imagine beating Bela and George. It's a stretch, but not unthinkable.
Anyway, George got 3rd place, Varney 2nd, and Michael Mehall 1st. Me, well, since I was in a three-way tie after the pools and all three of us lost our first DE, we came in a three-way tie for 25th place. Sigh.
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