Vet Combined Men's Epee
https://askfred.net/Results/roundResults.php?seq=1&event_id=116410&highlight_competitor_id=91067
Came in third, got a medal and a t-shirt, yay. Of course there were only seven of us, and so, with two 3rd places over half of us medaled.
This, along with the more difficult Senior Epee event of this Rain City Open, a couple days later, reminded me of the Portland ROC last October—where I got third place in the small vet event and was crushed in the larger, harder Senior event. At least I didn't get crushed quite as badly this time in the Senior event, which I'll write about in the next post.
Pools
Since there were only seven of us we had a one, slightly larger than average pool. It was nice to get to fence everyone.
Started off with my clubmate, John Varney. First bout of the pools too. To my surprise I began strong, getting the first two points, taking my time and being as careful as I could. Then he scored with a nice fleche into my advance and confused parry. I continued being very cautious. I'd never beaten John in a tournament bout of any kind and my basic strategy the last few times was to just try and keep the score low. I'd be fine with time running out. So I tried keeping long distance, pretending to be pulled by his slow retreats, killing time, then backing off, opening distance, waiting. After a while he attacked with a fleche but I managed to parry and score a single light on the riposte. I think his fleche had been from a bit too far. Maybe my keeping wide distance was working. So I was up 3-1. I had a moment of feeling good, like I could win. But the instant I thought that I pushed it away. I've been up on him many times (usually in practice but in some tournaments too) and lost. One touch at a time. Defense. Kill time.
Maybe all the practice fencing we have done over the last three years was finally paying off. I felt like I knew what do to, although not sure I could. But I tried. Lots of wide distance and body feints, half-lunges, "half/pretend" fleches. My main goal was to kill time, but I knew I had to stay relatively threatening. If I let him set up something he could probably devastate me. As long as my body feints and such were under control maybe he'd launch an attack I could deal with.
And that's what happened. He launched a fleche from a bit too far. I like to think it was into one of my false fleches and quick retreats, resulting in his attack falling short and giving me a chance to counterattack. My counterattack almost missed, just barely clipping his shoulder for another single light and a 4-1 score. I was amazed. Still, this was the point where he usually turned the tables on me and eeked out a win.
I glanced at the clock (happy that the time is displayed on the score boxes at RCFC). There were about 50 seconds left. I should be able to prevent John's getting four single lights in 50 seconds, but I knew it was quite possible for him to still win. I continued my full defensive thing, even more trying to kill time, pushing and pulling distance—trying to keep a very long distance while not retreating all the way to my end of the strip. After about 15 or 20 seconds he attacked and I managed to turn it into a double. So I won, 5-2. There's a first for everything. Of course it is quite likely John wasn't properly warmed up (although I didn't think I was either), nor trying his absolute best. And he did go on to win every single bout after this one. Still, it made me happy, and I think I might have impressed a couple other people watching. Later Mark Blom said something about how he just can't figure John out. I said something about how I've been practicing with him for three years now, usually multiple times a week. We've certainly fenced over a hundred times, maybe two hundred. That's gotta help.
My second bout was with John Sharpe, from Spokane, who I had never fenced before. I didn't get a chance to watch him before our bout and went in knowing little more than seeing he was left-handed and used a French grip. I readied myself for left-handed and French grip type tactics. And also for patience. I've been trying to look at fencers I don't know as puzzles. As something to explore slowly, trying to scout out strengths and weaknesses, while also working on my own deceptiveness—trying to make it seem like I have weaknesses that are actually strengths.
But right off the bat John confused me by hugging his inside strip edge (his right side, my left). Usually lefties tend to hug the outside edge, but there he was way over on the inside edge. So that was weird, but I figured I ought to be able to use it to my advantage. I worked on setting up attacks to his outside line, since it seemed so open. But he was faster than I expected, and accurately picked off my arm from the inside a couple of times. I wised up a little and was more careful about exposing my arm, and I drifted more to the center of the strip. Somehow we both fleched at the same time and ended up in a crashing double, making the score 3-1. Then we did it again, 4-2. I tried hard to focus on one touch at a time, patiently looking for openings and keeping the distance wider than I had at first. We had some kind of exchange during which I managed to sneak in a single light. I forget exactly how. A score of 4-3 seemed much better, but still I needed two single lights. Well, he attacked and I countered and we doubled again. So I lost 5-4. Oh well, not bad, I figured, for starting out down 2-0. I felt like I had figured something out and dealt alright with a surprising style.
Next up was Brent Farnsworth. Here maybe I underestimated someone I felt I should be able to beat. I began with a kind of blade out, moving in and out kind of thing. He quickly took me in a nice bind and scored. I think we doubled after that and then he got a couple points to my one, making the score 4-2. He was doing nice strong binds. I adjusted by switching to a more absence of blade approach, trying to work the distance. I got him with a fleche as he stepped in, making it 4-3. Then I tried it again, but he managed to counterattack my fleche for a double, winning 5-4. Doh.
Then I had Johannes Klein. We've fenced a bunch and I feel like I sort of know what to do. But he is smart and quick to take advantage of any tiny lapse. I followed the advice I had in my little notebook, which suggested keeping my point aimed at his wrist and staying shallow, working for hand picks and the like. That meant having my blade out a lot, and he scored several times with nice beat and bind fleches. I could not quite figure out what he was doing. His beats often seemed very small, but worked like a charm. I tried a fleche of my own and it failed badly. So he was up several points, 4-2 I think.
I switched tactics. Instead of trying to keep my point aimed at his wrist, which basically gave him my blade to beat and bind, I went with absence. I increased my bouncing and used more body feints, hoping to lure him into distance and bad attacks. Not so easy with Johannes! But I managed to get it to work a couple times. Basically I'd make almost real attacks, drawing a real counterattack from him. Then I'd fleche into the opening, if there was one, perhaps with a beat. I got two singles this way, crawling back to a tied 4-4 score. Then, as I kept trying the same tactic I ended up bouncing just a little too close, into his distance. He did not hesitate to take advantage and score a single, winning 5-4. So after my nice start with Varney I was down one and three. With two more to go. Ack.
Next was Jeff Lucas. As with Brent things did not begin very well and I had a mindset of thinking I ought to win. I forget the exact details, but I was being fairly aggressive and it wasn't working. He got up a point or two. So I slowed down and, as in the last two bouts, switched to a more defensive approach, using absence of blade, body feints, and generally working distance. I was able to either lure him in just too close, letting me score with a fleche, or draw attacks from too far, which I could parry-riposte or counterattack. From being down 4-3 I managed two single lights this way, getting 4-4, then luring an attack from too far, creating an opening I could score in. So I eeked out a 5-4 win.
My last pool bout was with Mark Blom. We go back and forth. In the last tournament, the SIV, he beat me badly. This time went a lot better. I think I was quicker on my feet this time. I continued with the absence of blade, feints and body feints things, more or less—couple with hard beats, mostly upward from my absence position, trying to make openings. In these ways I managed to get up 3-1. Much better than at the SIV where he got up 4-1. At 3-1 I tried a beat-fleche, but he was able to recover and score a single, making it 3-2. Then I scored with a kind of broken time upward beat, pause, go attack. I felt good at 4-2 and took up a fairly defensive, waiting approach, knowing he had to attack. Eventually he did. I counterattacked straight in and got a double, winning 5-3.
So I came out of the pools three and three. And my three losses were all 5-4. My wins were 5-2, 5-3, and 5-4. So I had a positive indicator, yay. This put me third place for the pools. John Sharpe had also gone three and three, and our indicators were tied at +3. In such cases the tie is broken by the higher "touches scored", I think. And since I had 27 to his 25 I was third to his fourth. That was close!
Direct Elimination
As third seed I was paired with the sixth seed, Brent Farnsworth. Had I been fourth seed I would have had fifth seed Mark Blom. Who knows if I would have been able to beat Mark in a DE. Brent though—after the pools, where I felt like I figured out what to do, but too late to win—I had my tactics ready. Mainly I wanted to avoid his beats and binds and try to lure him into distance mistakes. This seemed to be his main strength and weakness, that I could see anyway. So I went with strong absence of blade and active, often broken footwork. It worked. I got him to step in too close, letting me fleche into his advances. I got up a few points. He seemed to not know what to do with my absence of blade. Sometimes he tried to beat my blade despite it being very low. This made me feel like I was doing the right thing. I have forgotten the exact details, but I think I got a healthy lead and kept it, winning 10-5.
It was nice to feel like I learned a lesson in the pools, losing to him, and was able to adjust tactics appropriately. I think afterwards he said he didn't know what to do with my absence of blade approach, and I tried to explain what I had been trying to do with it.
With just seven of us winning that first DE guaranteed me at least third place and a medal, which was my only real goal for this tournament. Yes, I'm still at the point where getting a medal feels special. Even if it only takes one DE, I'll take it! I tried to use this feeling of "I made my goal" to approach the next DE with calmness and enjoyment—knowing that that might help me win, but also knowing it was true: I'd be okay losing and coming in third. If nothing else my kids would enjoy seeing another medal on the bust of Beethoven.
My next DE was against Johannes Klein, who was second seed. Similar to Brent, I felt like I had figured out some tactical things in the pool. And like with Brent I tried using a lot of absence of blade, distance work, feints and body feints. I tried to mix things up a little more, offering invitations at long distance and such (I don't think Johannes fell for any of those). It was a very close bout. We got to 4-4, then doubled, then doubled again. At 6-6 the first period ran out and we had our minute break. I had no one to coach me, so I just breathed and relaxed and tried to not fret.
During the break I decided to start the next period with the same tactics but much faster footwork. In part I was thinking maybe I could tire Johannes out a bit and maybe he would be more prone to making a mistake. I should have remembered that he doesn't really seem to get tired easily, and rarely makes mistakes. But I was also thinking that faster footwork might help draw attacks that I could take advantage of.
Whatever my reasoning I started the next period with fast, aggressive footwork, while still holding mainly to absence of blade and looking for counterattacks, second intention, countertime, etc. He remained rather calm as I bounced in and out, feinting and trying to be confusing, and slowly pushing him back down the strip. And then, I bounced just slightly too close. It was a small mistake but Johannes was waiting for it. He attacked straight into my bounce-advance and scored a single light, taking the lead 7-6. Whoops. In pushing my footwork activity up I had crossed into a region of slightly less control. I suspect he could see this, and perhaps could see patterns in my footwork that I wasn't aware of. So when I made that small mistake he was quite ready.
Walking back to on guard I realized these things and adjusted by slowing down a little. With someone like Johannes mistakes of footwork are deadly, and I can't quite manage that level of aggressive bouncing without losing a bit of control. Being down a point and knowing we had been doubling a lot, I tried being a bit more cautious, reverting to more body feinting, trying to draw one of his big parries/beats/counters. Things went very much as they had before my mistake. If I remember right we doubled to 8-7, then he got a single, 9-7. Then we doubled again. So I lost 10-8. Well, considering how I've done with Johannes in the past I thought that was pretty good. And I learned something. Several things. Something about staying in control. And something about how rarely Johannes makes mistakes!
In the final John Varney beat Johannes 10-7. I don't think anyone was surprised that they took first and second place.
So I got third, and another "bronze" medal to go with the four others, and the one silver I have. I've come in second and third a few more times than that, but in tournaments that did not have medals. Still never first place. I think that is my main goal now. Going up the ratings would be nice, but eh. Getting a D would be just fine. C or higher though, I'm not even sure I want that these days. It would put me out of Div 3 for one. I feel like I ought to be competitive in Div 3, but would probably get crushed a lot in Div 2. Plus this year I only just qualified for Div 3 at Nationals, but not Div 2. I'm realizing that going up in the ratings isn't always a good thing, although a D would be nice. Mostly I am enjoying feeling like I am getting better, slowly. Someday I'd like to take first place in a tournament, even if it is just a seven person vet tournament.
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