Ruminatorial

Becoming a Better Fencer

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 14:33:00 +0000

The thing I remember most vividly about becoming a better fencer was how hard it was to win tough bouts. Like swimming upstream as hard as I could, and getting nowhere. Unlike the stream, which doesn't ever let up, your human opponent will make a mistake, and you will know then how to score the point. The impossibly tough part was keeping on swimming, as hard as I could, waiting for that moment, knowing that if I let up, I lose a touch instead of score one.

For me, I never imagined I was a good fencer. Even when I was on the national team, I knew it was because of something else, something other than good technique that got me there, and let me continue to beat good, and sometimes great, fencers. It was that ability to continue swimming upstream as hard as possible, looking for the correct moment to act.

Other people would sometimes tell me how good my fencing looked, and of course it felt a lot more than good to win tough bouts, but on days when I walked into the venue thinking I was a good fencer I was usually given a very difficult reminder that I actually wasn't. I had to keep working as hard as possible, all the time, even to save myself from giant upsets.

Once you can work that hard, demand that much from yourself, it ought to be easy to review your fencing back at practice, identify your weaknesses and strengths, be honest with yourself about what you can do and can't do right now, and what you can learn to do in the next year. Being able to say "I suck at this" and keep coming back every day for as many hours as my body would allow is how I got better as a fencer.

I thought my footwork sucked: I practiced lots more footwork, and made it as effective as I could every time. I thought my parries sucked: I fenced bouts with nothing but riposte as my action. I thought my point control sucked: I hung a swinging target in my living room, brought a swinging target to the club, fenced whole bouts with nothing but the smallest target area really counting. I thoguht my explosiveness sucked: I bought a gym membership and paid for a trainer. That's the one that hurt the most, becuase fencing is expensive enough without paying hundreds of dollars and having to get up early in the morning to suffer three times a week!

RFC Polo Shirt

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Sat, 27 May 2006 13:58:00 +0000

Buy yourself a very nice looking Richmond Fencing Club polo shirt. I love mine!

Towel Day

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Thu, 25 May 2006 13:57:00 +0000

It's Towel Day. Carry yours with you to show your mourning of Douglas Adams.

a bit of online fun

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Wed, 24 May 2006 13:30:00 +0000

click the title there, and "zoom" forever. a simple, neat idea filled with good photos.

OK, so they're friendly...

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Fri, 12 May 2006 13:35:00 +0000

Should I be scared of the opossum? Probably not. Should I have him trapped by animal control and taken away? Probably not.

The Opossum Society thinks they're good to have around, since they will eat mice, snakes, slugs, and other "pests."

Hmm... they eat mice, do they? I guess they aren't so bad after all. And how little I remember from primary school: Opossums are marsupials (not rodents), and they have a prehensile tail. Cool!

latest addition to the Main St Menagerie

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Fri, 12 May 2006 02:27:00 +0000

The house next door, the one with the pigeons roosting in the window, is being restored, and the pigeons have moved out. Woot! The downside is that like all good builders, they start hammering at 8:00am while I am still trying to get some beauty sleep.

In addition to the pigeons, other city-dwelling animals have been evicted.

Including a 12 pound oppossum.

You see his glamor shot, taken on my back porch (10 feet off the ground up a rickety staircase).

I never really thought of oppossums as anything other than roadkill. But after a few minutes trying to get him to pose prettily (without getting very close!) I see that he's really a giant, slow moving, carnivorous mouse. Even has ears like a mouse! Need someone to do his hair, though. Looks terrible in the photo. A video would do him much better justice, with cute paw-licking, ear turning, eye blinking, just like your favorite mammalian pet.

I called animal control, and then the emergency number provided in the voice message, and they say no one will come out "for a stray" at night. A stray? Is this someone's pet? If so, please come pick him up, right now!

Awesome retro claymation arcade game

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Thu, 11 May 2006 03:17:00 +0000

This is a very cool retro arcade game -- made in claymation style! It's a lot of fun to just veg out and play, although I have only used the free version so far. I need to buy a 1/2 decent mouse before spending anything on a (nother) way to make hours disappear behind the keyboard!

Darth Tater

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Mon, 01 May 2006 15:11:00 +0000

You couldn't have convinced me this actually exists. But amazon.com recommends it to me... for reasons I can't ever hope to fully understand. Do I need it?

Best home-made light saber duel ever

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 22:01:00 +0000

OK, so this is seriously dorky. But amazing at the same time.

http://videosift.com/story.php?id=630

New: What Jeff is Reading

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 16:01:21 +0000

No, it's not that I haven't been reading. I've just been lazy.

I have had nothing but trouble keeping my "reading list" up to date, partly because it's such a pain to edit. So I've changed it to a blog... maybe you'll see more regular updates!

Banana Guard

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 21:42:00 +0000

The Banana Guard.

Truth is stranger than fiction. This isn't what you think when you first see it!

Where to Ski -- Right Now

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 19:49:00 +0000

Outside Magazine answers the question we want: Where should I ski Right Now?

With tens of feet of base, plenty of US resorts have lots of great skiing left to offer this season. The next question to ask: Have I used up all my vacation time yet?

Photos from Whistler trip

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:29:00 +0000

April 2006 photos from Whistler

A few photos from my trip. I love going someplace where a normal run requires focus, and the hard runs are way beyond my ability! By double black diamond they mean "you will die."

Contrast that with any resort in Virginia, where I can ski the hardest run on the worst day without too much difficulty. Here, double black diamond means "careful, this one isn't flat."

Pigeon Pie

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 19:56:00 +0000

Whistler!

jeff@snider.com (Jeff Snider) — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 19:37:00 +0000

I leave tomorrow for Whistler/Blackbomb. I was getting worried that, with 85 degrees here, there'd be no snow there. Not the case! (check the webcam in that link) They're getting 2-4 inches fresh snow every day!

Today someone's friendly orange cat found its way into my fenced in back yard. Not sure if she just liked it there, but after a couple hours she was still hanging out, and was loudly excited to come inside with me. Cats are cute and all, but my house is no place for one!

On another unrelated note, why is so cool when a woman does Fire Poi, but so utterly, unspeakably lame when a man does?