If you would have told me two months ago, I would get sick of sitting on the couch and watching “Law and Order” reruns on Google Play, I would have laughed at you. And yet here we are.
One thing I particularly miss is fencing. Forte was closed for open bouting from November to March. It was a long three months, but I worked hard to be ready when open bouting came back to Forte. I kept up with my lessons, and I found other places to fence open bouts. We had two great weeks, and then came social distancing.
I am determined to not lose the gains that I have acquired in fencing over the past one year. While I cannot meet with my fencing friends for some friendly bouting, I do what I can. I keep active in a couple of ways. I go for walks and bike rides, since we are still allowed outside (of course keeping safe distances). I dusted off my old WII system, and play games designed to keep people moving (including the cheesy sword fighting game that I have for it). And I have been doing footwork drills. Places like Cutting Edge Fencing in Texas have been doing online footwork classes. Additionally, I have all the lessons from Coach Karen, some of which I even took notes on, that I can practice.
Another way I keep up with fencing is to watch fencing videos on YouTube. Not the instructional videos so much as watching videos of actual fencing competitions. On YouTube, the videos can be slowed down and watched with a mind towards observing the lessons Coach Karen has been instilling in me.
And I read. When I was studying with Coach Mike, he recommended some books to me such as “Modern Saber Fencing” and “The Art of the Dueling Sabre”. I have returned to these books with a new eye based on lessons I have learned since first reading them.
I hope that all my friends are staying safe, but also finding ways to stay active and keep current with their fencing. I look forward to the time we can all meet again safely, enjoy a good laugh together, and cross swords on the strip.
-Jay Lefever