Tag: fencing

Krav was challenging tonight. We’re putting several steps together to escape a choke, and it was hard to coordinate my hands and feet. We’ll see how it goes once I sleep on it.

Last week I didn’t have a lot to say. Krav was cancelled Monday , so I fenced instead. Yoga was good. Very relaxing. Wednesday I went back to Krav, and we focused on technique. I had other plans on Thursday, so I didn’t make it to the women’s seminar In Friday, I FINALLY WENT TO FENCING. It was my first Friday in awhile. Fridays are short, so I was glad I went Monday. All in all, I didn’t get to do a lot of fighting last week. I’m hoping to fix that this week.

Tonight Krav was cancelled because of bad weather, so I went to fencing instead. I worked with a student, and Nik worked with me on a hole in my defense. We played a game, and I experimented with tempo a little bit. I took a hard hit to the chest – not bad enough for paperwork, but it shook me up a little. That’ll leave a mark!

So I ended up not going to fencing this Friday either. I’m not going to post about going to practice any more. I’m jinxing myself!

Instead I hung out with one of my fencing friends from out of town. We cooked for the fencing club kids (okay, he did the cooking, but I chopped veggies).

Saturday I went to Panhandle Skirmishes, a melee event. My group brought a lot of fencers, so we split up and fenced each other. I think everyone had a really good time. There was a lot of good fencing, and I felt really good about leading my team.

The rapier program in the south is growing. I think the new faces I saw will be sticking around.

Tonight I had the chance to introduce five lovely ladies to Krav Maga. They had fun and felt empowered. I’m really looking forward to next week’s class.

Even more than that, I’m excited for fencing. Practice is tomorrow, and Panhandle Skirmishes is this weekend. I can’t wait to see my friends and on and fight some melee scenarios!

I ended up not ending on Friday because my belly was bothering me. Generally speaking it’s a bad idea to put on tight pants and run around when one’s belly is upset.

Fortunately my belly and I were on speaking terms this weekend, and I led/participated in a successful melee practice on Sunday. I got to teach, learn, make friends, and fight. The group I was visiting also had a tasty potluck lunch. It was a really great weekend and fun practice.

If I thought I was sore yesterday, I didn’t know the meaning of the word.

We had a very active Krav class. We reviewed punching and inside blocks and then worked on kicks. My arms are still yelling at me, and I expect my legs to follow suit by the end of the day. Today is definitely a rest day.

In spite of all the soreness, I’m in really good spirits! I feel like I’m making major progress; something really clicked for me last night, and the front kicks were smoother and better formed than they have been so far. My only real complaint at this point is that my sparring partner’s Velcro on her gloves cut up my arm. Boo hoo, right?

I’ll be at fencing on Friday.

I had a fantastic night at Krav. I got to use my brand new MMA gloves for the first time, and after practicing blocks and counters, we got to do some sparring.
At one point I was working with a fellow who is roughly twice my size: tall, broad, experienced with Krav. Anyway, because his reach is so long, I knew I’d have to get in there to be anywhere close to my striking distance. I did get in there, and I missed a block, and he legit punched me in the face.*

Now this fellow is very kind to his training partners, and it was not his intent to punch me in the face, so I got to see the look of “Oh, shit, I just punched this little gal in the face” flash through his eyes. So before any of that can leave his mouth I started laughing through my mouth guard (I stress-cackle, apparently) and moving in for my next attack. I earned a little street cred and had an awesome practice with some real-life application.

I came home and told Nik that since we’re sparring in Krav, he’s going to need to re-calibrate me each time I fence so that I don’t get too in the zone.

I feel so alive.

*This is why we wear gloves and sign waivers. I’m fine. I don’t even think I’ll have a sweet bruise for work tomorrow.

I realized I essentially taunted anyone paying attention by hyping you up for a visit from my mentor and then never posting about it again.

The visit went really well. I didn’t get to fence with him a lot, but my students did. He had some advice for each one and had nice things to say about everyone. I think everyone had a really good time.

On Friday, we had a short class (Fridays are always 1.5 hours instead of 2 hours), and I spent some time working with a student who has some spatial relation issues. If any of you out there in the fencing world (or the contact sports world in general) have any insight on how to help her, please drop me a line! In the meantime, we’re working slowly with the building blocks we have.

On Saturday, my mentor found out that he has won the new highest fencing award in the SCA. He’ll become a Master of Defense the first week of December. I’m so proud of him, and I’m excited to help him with the event to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Last week at Krav I trained so hard I forgot what day it was. I said, “See you Wednesday!” to my friends as I was leaving, and they looked at me, confused, and said, “…it is Wednesday.” I’d call it a good night.

This is the month that we’ll start training toward passing the proficiency tests. I’m super stoked to see the new curriculum tonight.

On Friday I got to go to fencing. I spent the session helping a new lady fighter. I’m trying to figure out how I can help young women who are new to the sport make it work with their body mechanics.

My mentor is coming to town this week, and he’s going to visit my students. I can’t wait to see him and to see him interact with my “kids.”

All in all, I’m just super excited about all the fighting in my life this week.

Oh, yeah… I dropped one pants size.