Novices
I'll attempt to describe it in less-than-my-usual-rambling way so that it doesn't take too long. I'm sleepy! And though I was supposed to stay up and do homework... I cannot.
Woke up at 8, left the house at 8.30 with my father sending me to Clementi. Epee girls were already there, as well as Florence and Joanna, but they hadn't started warming up yet. I think it takes about fifteen minutes to reach clementi from my house.
So pools finally started. Mine was a pool of six, and I wasn't very... focused at first, not having fenced for a long time. :( So I lost 2-5, 3-5 to two girls. However I could have beaten the 3-5 girl. :( As in, cause my feints and whatever were working, but according to jingxun, I wasn't attacking enough and I lost two to simultanii. Anyway people are stupid like that (me, not the girl). Then I won the next three! :)
Cause I realised that the rest weren't as good as the first two I fenced, observing them fencing each other. So I reasoned that I definitely had a chance. And it just clicked and then I won someone and beat an sjc girl (esther) 5-0 which made me feel bad for her and finally I beat jiarong 5-4. Whom jx called the cream of the crop. And so I got into Direct Elimination, which is exactly what it's called, because if you lose any bout you're OUT.
DE. Was ranked 8 from pools, while Florence was ranked 2 and Joanna, 13. Got a by for the round of 32 into 16). Met Kimberly Ang (SJC) first for the round of sixteen. Can't remember much of her, except everyone said I could beat her and I did. Then I faced the first seeded girl, Charlotte from rg!
But her fencing was nothing particularly flashy? As in, she was just very calm and mild. The score was 15-14... Which was rather scary for those watching as I might have lost the final point. What I remember of her was how she raises her hand when attacking or takes big steps or something, and it's easy to catch her when she's in preparation. And I won her. But the strange thing is I wasn't really scared for that last point. I don't know, I just seemed to be in a little sphere of my own and I knew that she'd be too slow for that point if I attacked. Oh, and this match was really cursed because my wire died, jx's magic wire died too (and the ref yellow-carded me), and I had to use jx's competition wire. Cool! Then Charlotte's headclip was discovered to be DEAD and she was yellow-carded too.
Then it was the semi-finals, and I was guaranteed a medal (they have gold, silver and joint bronze). It took a long while to get round to this stage, as they wait AGES for other weapon groups before they go on to the next stage. Watched other matches and cheered for them and subsequently Lost My Voice. Urgh.
Chermaine from SJC, the one who eliminated Joanna. jx or david told me about her two basic strategies. Which made her a beatable opponent. She's closer to us (RJ girls) than the other SJC girls, I think. And so on to the finals. Florence's match was going on at the piste next to mine at the same time! Which made it impossible for me to watch her. By the time I started she had stopped for the break. And the score was 8-0, which would not have happened unless Florence stopped thinking. :(
Anyway, she lost to Jiarong, the girl I so narrowly beat in the pools. Which is terrible because Florence is the most dedicated of the three of us saber girls.
The finals: Jiarong vs... ALARIS. (Imagine the blazing fire around that name and everything).
There were a few awful things about this bout. (1) I got that Russian Romanian whatever referree, who'd been going around killing people off. (2) They were waiting for me on the piste because they started early and it was only supposed to start at 6.25! (3) The Russian dude really hates me cause I disturb his reffing by straightening my blade and thinking of asking to test Jiarong's lame.
*sigh*
The first part went well, with Jiarong leading 8-7 when it was time for the break. After that, (3) started happening and I didn't think so much of the match than I did of the scary ref. Also, I failed to capitalise on the opportunity to attack when it was MY PRIORITY and yes, I do need to be more aggressive. :( And vary pace. And don't worry so much about parry riposte but just do compound attack!
Well anyway I lost that 11-15 and didn't get David Chan's *gold* medal for him. :/ And Faii also had to settle for silver. But there's still the team events, I guess.
In a way I'm glad for Jiarong that she won, because apparently this is her third year fencing and next year she wouldn't have been able to compete, so it's a nice end to Novices for her. Also she seems to be pretty nice and a smart fencer and most of all, she doesn't do all those screaming/stamping feet/throwing mask antics that I kinda dislike in opponents. It's not really very high class. :P
Anyway, I am eternally grateful for all the advice I got. If I were some unidentified fencer starting out with no club, I'd seriously die because it is the advice that prepares you for the match and sets you thinking the right way about how to defeat them. Those people who were there even though they didn't need to be... Like jingxun, who could have been some slack national fencer who doesn't mix with primitive fencers like us, or david chan who is omnipresent and somehow gets to everyone's matches to tell them exactly what to do, or nicole and the other j3 who came to be nice.
And those people who were there because they wanted me to win something... Like my dear teammates and fellow sabreurs and fencers.
And those people who Weren't there but supported me in their hearts and helped me look after my OG... Like dylan and ggy. And my OG members who remembered and messaged me: Friedemann, Feiya and um... Anyway, THANK YOU!
My sincerest apologies to L'Valiente for not turning for pool and Carls Junior even though I wanted to be there.
Sleepily,
Alaris
Woke up at 8, left the house at 8.30 with my father sending me to Clementi. Epee girls were already there, as well as Florence and Joanna, but they hadn't started warming up yet. I think it takes about fifteen minutes to reach clementi from my house.
So pools finally started. Mine was a pool of six, and I wasn't very... focused at first, not having fenced for a long time. :( So I lost 2-5, 3-5 to two girls. However I could have beaten the 3-5 girl. :( As in, cause my feints and whatever were working, but according to jingxun, I wasn't attacking enough and I lost two to simultanii. Anyway people are stupid like that (me, not the girl). Then I won the next three! :)
Cause I realised that the rest weren't as good as the first two I fenced, observing them fencing each other. So I reasoned that I definitely had a chance. And it just clicked and then I won someone and beat an sjc girl (esther) 5-0 which made me feel bad for her and finally I beat jiarong 5-4. Whom jx called the cream of the crop. And so I got into Direct Elimination, which is exactly what it's called, because if you lose any bout you're OUT.
DE. Was ranked 8 from pools, while Florence was ranked 2 and Joanna, 13. Got a by
But her fencing was nothing particularly flashy? As in, she was just very calm and mild. The score was 15-14... Which was rather scary for those watching as I might have lost the final point. What I remember of her was how she raises her hand when attacking or takes big steps or something, and it's easy to catch her when she's in preparation. And I won her. But the strange thing is I wasn't really scared for that last point. I don't know, I just seemed to be in a little sphere of my own and I knew that she'd be too slow for that point if I attacked. Oh, and this match was really cursed because my wire died, jx's magic wire died too (and the ref yellow-carded me), and I had to use jx's competition wire. Cool! Then Charlotte's headclip was discovered to be DEAD and she was yellow-carded too.
Then it was the semi-finals, and I was guaranteed a medal (they have gold, silver and joint bronze). It took a long while to get round to this stage, as they wait AGES for other weapon groups before they go on to the next stage. Watched other matches and cheered for them and subsequently Lost My Voice. Urgh.
Chermaine from SJC, the one who eliminated Joanna. jx or david told me about her two basic strategies. Which made her a beatable opponent. She's closer to us (RJ girls) than the other SJC girls, I think. And so on to the finals. Florence's match was going on at the piste next to mine at the same time! Which made it impossible for me to watch her. By the time I started she had stopped for the break. And the score was 8-0, which would not have happened unless Florence stopped thinking. :(
Anyway, she lost to Jiarong, the girl I so narrowly beat in the pools. Which is terrible because Florence is the most dedicated of the three of us saber girls.
The finals: Jiarong vs... ALARIS. (Imagine the blazing fire around that name and everything).
There were a few awful things about this bout. (1) I got that Russian Romanian whatever referree, who'd been going around killing people off. (2) They were waiting for me on the piste because they started early and it was only supposed to start at 6.25! (3) The Russian dude really hates me cause I disturb his reffing by straightening my blade and thinking of asking to test Jiarong's lame.
*sigh*
The first part went well, with Jiarong leading 8-7 when it was time for the break. After that, (3) started happening and I didn't think so much of the match than I did of the scary ref. Also, I failed to capitalise on the opportunity to attack when it was MY PRIORITY and yes, I do need to be more aggressive. :( And vary pace. And don't worry so much about parry riposte but just do compound attack!
Well anyway I lost that 11-15 and didn't get David Chan's *gold* medal for him. :/ And Faii also had to settle for silver. But there's still the team events, I guess.
In a way I'm glad for Jiarong that she won, because apparently this is her third year fencing and next year she wouldn't have been able to compete, so it's a nice end to Novices for her. Also she seems to be pretty nice and a smart fencer and most of all, she doesn't do all those screaming/stamping feet/throwing mask antics that I kinda dislike in opponents. It's not really very high class. :P
Anyway, I am eternally grateful for all the advice I got. If I were some unidentified fencer starting out with no club, I'd seriously die because it is the advice that prepares you for the match and sets you thinking the right way about how to defeat them. Those people who were there even though they didn't need to be... Like jingxun, who could have been some slack national fencer who doesn't mix with primitive fencers like us, or david chan who is omnipresent and somehow gets to everyone's matches to tell them exactly what to do, or nicole and the other j3 who came to be nice.
And those people who were there because they wanted me to win something... Like my dear teammates and fellow sabreurs and fencers.
And those people who Weren't there but supported me in their hearts and helped me look after my OG... Like dylan and ggy. And my OG members who remembered and messaged me: Friedemann, Feiya and um... Anyway, THANK YOU!
My sincerest apologies to L'Valiente for not turning for pool and Carls Junior even though I wanted to be there.
Sleepily,
Alaris
Labels: fencing
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