Sunburned and Happy

Now playing: Jerry Goldsmith - The Fire Dragon
via FoxyTunes

Just got back from my week-long trip to Catalina Island with the fencers. I'll post a full travelogue later, but for now, here's my final article that I wrote for my Journalism class last year, which I hear has been accepted in Prized Writing. Go Me!

The Sword’s the Thing

Steel and Sweat

A glinting silver blade flashes towards me and I feel the familiar hot pain as its tip buries itself into my gut. “HALT!” cries a voice next to me, and the blade drops away, my very visible assailant (who is dressed all in white) stepping back a few steps. Though I can’t see his expression behind his mask, I can bet he’s got a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face. I rub the now tender spot on my belly, which is covered by three layers of protective clothing. The tough and heavy synthetic jacket and half-jacket underneath have done a good job in preventing too much damage from the blunt blade. But the bruise, now welling up, attests that I still had a meter length piece of steel thrust into me, no matter how safe the sword had been made. I am participating in a Fencing match, and I love every minute of it.

I am currently fencing a tournament at the Davis Fencing Academy, and my smug opponent is a young stripling of about 15. Although he has gotten an earlier start than I in his fencing education and has been under the tutelage of a very good coach, I should be, by all rights, wiping the floor with him. The name of the game is determined by whichever of the three weapons are used. Valid areas to score hits (or touches), protocol for what attacks have priority, and general mindset all vary between the Foil, the Épée and the Saber.

A Gentleman’s Game

The Foil is the most balanced of the three weapons, with valid target area restricted to both the chest and midsection, along with a governing system called “right-of-way.” This set of rules was created based on the idea that, if one was dueling with real swords (and with a weapon like a Foil you aim to kill), you’re still dead if you and your opponent stab each other simultaneously. Thus, right-of-way holds that, if you are being threatened or attacked against, you must defend yourself before you counter-attack.

Right of way is also preserved with the Saber. This time, though, target area is from the navel up, out to the wrists, and includes the head. As the modern sport Saber has descended from the cavalry saber, the target area was based on the idea that it was un-gentlemanly to harm your opponent’s horse, as you would both be mounted. While points are scored in Foil by stabbing your opponent with the tip of your weapon, in Saber you gain points by slashing with the edge. This usually makes the pace of the game much faster, and those who fence Saber are much more aggressive as a result.

Standing on the other end of the spectrum is the Épée. One could argue that it is the most realistic of the three weapons, in that the target area is the entire body and there is no right of way. As its ancestor was the dueling rapier, the idea of “first-blood” determining the winner is still preserved in modern Epée combat, as the sword-arm is the first thing an Epeeist aims for, being the easiest to reach while staying out of harms way.

Dancing with Fortune

Returning to the match at hand, we are fighting with this last type of blade, and though it may be the most slow and methodical in comparison to the other weapons, it still requires a good deal of speed. The thing with Fencing is that you always play to your strengths, always trying to make your opponent fence the way you want him to. As such, I’m a tad on the slow side, but I make up for it by having amazing reach. The little squirt standing across from me has me outclassed in the former, but he’s young and inexperienced, he doesn’t know how to use it. Though he’s now two points ahead of me in a five point bout, I can still pull this off.

I manage three points, or touches, in quick succession. He doesn’t know how I like to fence, and he’s charging in blindly. As he goes to beat my blade aside or bind it in his own, I circle my blade around his and hit his exposed arm, or I simply back away and extend out, my long arms easily outreaching his. Now it’s my 3 to his 2, could be anyone’s game.

The next touch goes slowly. Sometimes it’s only a matter of seconds before someone scores a point, sometimes it takes almost a minute. Time seems to stretch when you’re on a fencing strip, thirty seconds seems like an eternity when you’re testing your opponent’s defenses, feinting here and there, and looking for an opening. I get lucky and he runs on to my blade, forgetting my reach. 4-2.

But then I get too cocky. Fencing to five points doesn’t take very long. If you’re not paying attention, touches can accumulate fast. He draws me in to attack, then beats my blade aside and stabs my arm like lightening. 4-3.

I change it up and do a running attack, or fleche, but I start about a foot too far back. I might as well have started a mile away for how easily he sees me coming. Once more I feel his blade on my chest. 4-4.

This is it: Four-all, La Belle, the point where the theme from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly starts playing. This next point determines the winner. I steel myself and breathe deeply, trying to keep a calm mind. The blade-work becomes fierce, the bell-guards of our weapons clang sonorously as we deflect each other’s attacks. I see and opening, circle my blade around, lunge…too slow. I feel the tip of his blade touch the underside of my extended sword arm. 5-4. Bout. His game.

Damn it.

My opponent looks surprised, but that’s a good thing. Most good touches come from reflexes and muscle memory, and chances are if you ask the swordsman how he pulled it off, he won’t have a clue. Luckily for me, this is only one bout in a set of five, I’ve still got chances to beat people. He can have his victory now, but I’ll see him again in the next set of matches.

His coach comes up to congratulate him and give him some tips. An action I accept begrudgingly, as he is essentially telling the kid how to beat me even more into the ground. But I have a great deal of respect for the older man, as he is one of the best fencers I know.

Coffee with the Master of Arms

This man is Simon Pitfield, Fencing Master, coach and owner of the Davis Fencing Academy. His figure is that of an Epeeist: a tall, lanky frame (about 6’5”) that may look slightly soft, but hides amazing speed and dexterity. The imposing height is offset by a pair of light blue eyes and a continuous smile, all made more approachable by his Australian accent. He can usually be seen wearing a black leather cuirass, or chest covering, which shows his status as the coach of the salle, or fencing hall.

I met Simon for an interview in the early morning on November 20th. Sitting down for coffee at Mishka’s, he had traded the look of steely fencing coach to that of a relaxed parent. Dressed causally in a T-shirt and warm up pants, he occasionally dandled his 5-month-old son on his knee as I asked about his life as a fencer.

Simon got his first taste of fencing in 1994 at a summer camp in England, which consisted of a single, 45 minute lesson. That was all it took. The next year, as an undergraduate at UC Davis, he actively sought out the fencing club and stuck with it for all four years before he earned his degree. During that time he also branched out into the Sacramento Fencing Club and also became a member of the USFA, or United States Fencing Association.

At that point the UCD Club was still small, only a few dozen members or so (compared to the 50 that currently compose it). The Collegiate Circuit, which is now comprised of tourneys at UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Berkeley and UC Davis, only got started in the 1997-1998 school year. By then Simon had already participated in many USFA Tournaments and had a good deal of experience under his belt. The Collegiate tournaments, which are more geared to novice fencers, presented little challenge to one who had already earned a “C” rating in Foil. The USFA gives out rankings to those who place well in events that have their blessing, ranging from an “E” (“Yeah, you’re all right…”) to an “A” (“Damn, Jackson!”).

After helping found the Davis Fencing Academy in 1999, Simon began a years training to earn his Master of Arms degree, which as he explained meant that “If I went to France, I could run a school myself.” The program involved both his skill at fencing (he had to face an Olympic gold medal Foilist as one of his tests), and his skill at teaching others. He had to demonstrate several hours of coaching and in the end write a 30 page thesis, after which he was given the title of Maître d’Armes I. The next step above that is Maître d’Armes II, which means that said individual is of high enough caliber that he may coach Olympic level teams. For Simon, level one is all that’s needed, as he seems perfectly happy to run local fencing salles, though branching out and shaking hands with other clubs has also been a point of interest.

Training Sequences

But how does one go about teaching how to work with swords? According to Simon, it’s “not what you’re teaching but how you teach it.” As it’s a very individual sport, and can be pursued either for competition, pleasure or both, it all depends on what the student is looking for. It’s therefore a coach’s first priority to find this out, and vary the lessons depending upon age and the desires of the student.

As for what makes a good fencer, it’s “basically a bit of everything.” Speed, stamina and flexibility come foremost, but almost any type of athlete can become a good fencer, “if you work out the kinks.” Fencing also requires a good deal of mental preparation, the ability to think calmly and clearly when the chips are down, and the ability to reason well. It’s “very much like a chess match” in the kind of thinking that needs to happen in order to be successful.
Hand-eye coordination is also incredibly important, along with a well developed sense of distance. The first thing that one works on when being taught how to fence is the precise footwork, which is “key for safety.” Knowing where your body is, how long your reach is, and the same information concerning your opponent is critical so you don’t run them through or get run through in return. While the weapons aren’t designed to pierce, they can break and accidents do happen. But as these concepts are all fundamental, problems concerning them rarely pop up outside of the first set of lessons.

Next comes blade-work, and along with the basic offensive and defensive moves, Simon likes to teach his students simple sequences that show up often. Although his students often find these sequences useless against each other, as they are all taught by the same coach, they do find that the combinations work on fencers outside their own club. Once the basics of footwork and blade-work are in place, speed is then added over time, and from there it’s working on techniques that work for the individual fencer, as they will have their own strengths and weaknesses.

In the end, it’s important to have a good relationship with the fencer, such that “they trust you instantly.” This allows the coach to suggest and introduce new things without being second guessed, especially in the heat of a tournament. For me, who has had the luck to have a fantastic fencing coach, this concept seemed like a given. But having seen the hard-headed and recalcitrant fencers that are out there, I can see why this is important.

As a Fencer, it was good to hear about these things from Simon. It tells me what to expect when I go up against his students. While I respect and like the individuals that are under Simon’s aegis, a little bit of “Know thy enemy” is par for the course in friendly fencing.

Rematch

An old fencing buddy of mine has a great habit of making somewhat pedestrian truth very entertaining. He’d love to describe someone who fences Saber, as he was, as “A Pirate captain sweeping on to the deck of his ship, shouting ‘Avast, me hearties! All grapple lines across! Forward to Glory!’” Thus I took great pleasure in his description of how one who fences Epée was “A quiet submarine commander, silently moving into position, giving away nothing, and before you know it, ‘BOOM!’ you’re blown out of the water.”

It was with this in mind that I approached my second match with the stripling at the tournament, though this time it was Direct Elimination. These matches are higher stakes, the one who loses a “DE” is then out of the running. As such, they are to 15 points, which usually allows more time for the fencers to get used to each other’s styles, and thus the more adaptable fencer has a chance to shine.

The boy and I salute each other and begin. He initially has the quiet façade of a good fencer, letting nothing show, remaining unperturbed as my blade parries, circles, and feints. Simon has taught him well, so far. But I get a point, then another, then another. We quietly clash in the middle of the strip, the only sound the soft grind of our swords occasionally running against each other. He manages a few good touches, but I’m gaining a wide lead. That’s when it happens.

The Tide Turns

I score a fantastic touch, a clean, clear shot to the arm. My opponent’s frustration finally gets the better of him, and he stomps his foot and lets out a half whine-half growl, almost like he’s throwing a tantrum. It’s very theatrical. But right then, I know one thing for sure. This kid has no chance against me.

You know how in the movies, during the training sequences, when the young protagonist loses his fool head and is promptly rebuffed by the master? The line “never let your emotions get the better of you” is usually used. When you’re angry, you tend to lose focus, concentrating more on the fact that you are getting beaten rather than how you’re getting beaten. That’s when you do stupid things. Some fencers are able to work past that, but this kid isn’t one of them.

Now I know my advantage, and now the mental part of fencing takes prominence. Forget the fact that he’s faster than I; he’s too busy thinking about our wildly disparate score to use it. At the next “Ready, Fence!” from the judge, I bounce forward and hop back and forth in place, displaying one part of my arm, then another. It’s too much movement for him, he attacks simply. I move my arm out of the way and strike him. 12-6, my favor. He stomps and vocalizes again. This kid is losing it.

I still need to stay frosty, but I can have more fun. I inch close to him, waiting until the tip of my blade is past his guard. He’s not paying attention to distance, and though I’m slow on the takeoff, I spring forward and hit him before his blade has a chance to move mine out of the way. 13-6. Another tantrum, but by now it’s gotten old.

We move into distance of each other again. I retreat a step and leave my arm dangling at my side, openly defiant. At this point I could go for the double-touch, that is, let him hit me as I hit him. The fact that we’d both get points doesn’t mean much when I’m this far ahead. I want to keep it clean though, and keep it clean I do, retreating with my arm extended as he charges me. I nick him in the arm. 14-6.

Endgame

Now I’m not worried about losing. At one point away, I can be brash. My opponent, his mind temporarily cleared by the very fact that I’m about to win, has the same thought. He angles for my arm, and I parry wide, not thinking about what comes next. But he’s ahead of me, circling his blade under mine, and wonder of wonders, goes for my knee. I have just enough time to retreat a step and angle my blade toward him before he comes crashing into me.

I get him in the clavicle, which slightly arrests his motion. I’m sure to keep the weapon loose in my hand so I don’t drive it into his shoulder, my arm arcing upward with the force of his body. He does the same, but he’s misjudged his momentum. Instead of perforating my patella, the tip of the blade slides off and straight down my shin, pushing the sock down and very nearly taking off the top layer of skin. We end in a tangle of limbs and pain, my elation at having schooled the kid blunted by the fire on my leg.

But I’m still in good spirits as we salute each other and shake hands. After he cools down a bit, I go over and congratulate him on a match well fought. His face lights up with a smile and we chat amicably about fencing wounds being like badges of honor. At the end of it all, what makes Fencing like this great is how it draws people together, despite its bellicose nature. Swords and camaraderie, what more could one ask for?

Fin.

Enough, More Later.
- James

Catch Up

Currently in Earphones: "Partition" Soundtrack by Brian Tyler

So I had a wonderful time with the ladyfriend this past weekend, though I caught her cold. Though having pancakes for breakfast, lying in the grass in the Arboretum, and holding hands while drinking tea more than made up for it.

However, let it be said that I do like to get paid for work. Missing my normal hours on account of being told, in a good-natured fashion, to "Go away until you're not contagious," does make me worried. Especially since I had 7 perfectly good sick hours snatched away from me on account of the fact that they were earned in a different department. Robbery, I say.

Need to start work on my papers for Origins of Rhetoric and Medieval Latin. That AND the Berkeley Tournament this weekend AND me being sick may be a little much, but I'll be damned if I miss the third Collegiate tournament for the third time in a row.

And now, a wide change in topics due to my disease-addled brain: This looks really awesome and I want one. And it ages, like a fine wine. The light actually AGES. Flippin' sweet.

Also, my newest flash game fixation: Vector Tower Defense. I can't seem to get past level 40...on the easy maps. Anyone out there with some strategy?

Yeah, that's about it. More after the ensuing academic and athletic craziness.

Enough, More Later.
- James

The Deep Breath before the Plunge

Now playing: George Fenton - The Beach in Patagonia
via FoxyTunes


So what does one do when you're in the 9th week of classes, got papers and projects due soon, and have those few days when you don't really need to start anything, but really should? You Blog!

The Cal Poly Turkey Tourney was all right, fencing wise. I placed middlingly and hope to do better in the upcoming collegiate events. What made it really good was that my girlfriend came up from Santa Barbara to visit, and I spent a wonderful evening in downtown San Luis with her after the tournament.

Ironically, a few days later I returned to SLO to spend the Thanksgiving vacation with my family. I had hoped to piggyback a trip to visit my girlfriend in LA on the last few days, but transportation fell through. And speaking of transportation, I'm still grateful to Daniele giving me a ride there and back. Hopefully I didn't bore her too much with my overly-Tim-O'Brien-ed travel mixes, and hopefully I have found a new Cribbage buddy in her. I'm itching for a good go with the pegs, and perhaps I can get a game or two out of her once school calms down a bit.

The Davis Photo Rally is this Saturday! Toes and I are trying to get at least 3 teams going, though we're rocking the "resource less college student" card, as the scoring ceremony will be at our house, on my laptop. Please let me know if you are interested!

Crap, I just spent half an hour looking at fonts to spice up the Photo Rally packet. Time to get to some real schoolwork!


Enough, More Later.
- James

Observations

Now playing: Solas - Boy / Girl Tune
via FoxyTunes


- Next time we throw a party, we're having more food, or more control over the bar.

- I really want a USFA rating. Evidently I'm good enough, but it looks like I'm really gonna have to earn it through multiple tries at rated events. Look for me at DFA when open tournaments roll around, I should have a new body cord by then (for the record, it's really frightening when you're in your DE's and it looks like all your equipment is failing due to a single wire being out of place)

- I need to start my Latin paper and finish it in a week, and as usual, I'm being a lazy bastard. I'm getting on it as soon as I finish writing this post, damn it.

- I'm really warming up to Umberto Eco. I devoured The Name of the Rose and a collection of his short articles, and am now relishing (mostly) Baudolino. I should get back and finish Focault's Pendulum one of these days.

- Whenever I have a sip of green Chartreuse, I tend to wig out like Stansfield after a dose. It's that damn intense. I'm switching to the yellow because the taste is darn interesting, but I don't want to feel like I'm drinking straight Absinthe (which is roughly the same proof).


Enough, More Later.
- James

Back to the old rhythms once again

Currently in Earphones: Live Wizardry: The Best of Silly Wizard in Concert


So, class has started up again, and I hope that I haven't signed a death-wish by taking both Latin and Greek at the same time. I figure I only have one more year, and have been told numerous times that I should at least have a little Greek under my belt if I plan on continuing with the Classics into grad school. So, Greek 1 it is, and so far, quite fun! The alphabet is just alien enough to instill a sense of cool in learning it, but is also familiar enough not to be totally incompatible with English (though the lowercase Nu (v) and the uppercase Eta (H) still goof me every once and a while). I'm guessing that I'll be cursing it come the second or third quarter, when its many moods (i.e. indicative, subjunctive, optative) come into play.

Latin looks to be more of the same, though Sallust writes in a really short and halting style. This inconcinnitas is evidently what he was aiming for, though it's fun when you have to figure out what verb he hasn't included in the rambling sentence devoid of anything but nouns and adjectives. And by "fun" I mean "rather annoying, yet still strangely enjoyable."

Classics 10: Mythology looks to be a blast, and only two exams to be accountable for! No homework or papers or anything! And it's all about classical myth, what more could you want?

(un)Fortunately, UWP 104C: Journalism takes up the writing slack. The prof. is wonderfully down to earth and blunt, which is greatly refreshing after endless bland professors over the past few years. He's good natured about it too, so no-one gasped when a straggler showed up 10 minutes late and he wryly quipped "You're late, damnit!" The amount of writing doesn't look terribly much, but enough to drive off the snooty sorority chicks looking for an easy A.

I had a good scare when I found out that the last class that I need to take for my degree isn't offered this year. I had a day where the next two years were up in the air until I chatted with my adviser. Luckily, the Classics department is fairly lenient on the subject, and they'll allow a sensible substitution, of which the Rhetoric class or Greek Tragedy course was offered as an option. I think I'll take the former and be done with it, though I'll stay through spring in order to finish out lower division Greek and maybe take a few more music courses. Still, a mighty weight off my mind, that.

I also chatted with Michael Sands, head of the Baroque Ensemble, when between classes today. He mentioned that we might be doing Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, which would be wonderfully cool. I got a recording of it my freshman year and fell in love with it, so it would be neat if we got a chance to give it a whirl. The first meet is tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to that with excitement.

Fencing has recommenced, and with what a send off! We had at least 20 new newbs show up on the first practice, which is a record since all the way back when I first started with the club 3 years ago. All the officers and elder fencers were ecstatic to see so many fresh faces, I was absolutely extroverted with giddiness. And to boot, a bunch of the elder fencers fenced (and look to be fencing for much longer) Epee, so much that we had two strips going for a time. Toeswas being his usual self; in that he managed to miss my entire body and peg me in the off-hand that I was deliberately holding up and out of the way. On a closing note, it's only taken me 3 years to realize the perks of showing up late, past the unreasonably strenuous warm ups, such that I actually have the energy to fence when free fencing comes up. You'll be seeing me show up on the half-hour this year, folks, and make no mistake! Maybe this time I'll have the energy to learn some quickness and finally be somewhat decent on the strip.

That's about it for the time being, I'll fill in on the ladyfriend when more comes up: If I'm lucky, I'll get to see her at the Cal Poly Fencing Tournament. Until then, folks!


Enough, More Later.
- James

Procrastinaaaaation

Currently in Earphones: the delicate, melodic magic of Danny Elfman's score to the newest incarnation of Charlotte's Web, The Bothy Band!


What better time to post than when you should be doing other things? At least I have one paper out of the way, and the second one is coming along nicely, and the third got it's due date pushed forward by almost a week. Why not goof off and post another entry in the ol' blog?

The quarter is once again coming to a close, what with all these papers come due at the same time. On that subject, I regretfully mention that I'll be missing the Berkeley Tournament for a second time on account of my big "Senior" seminar paper being due virtually the day after I would get back. I'm going to the Davis Tournament this year if it frikin' kills me!

I'm working on expanding my swashbuckler section in my DVD collection, and I'm just about to round out the "golden age" of Errol Flynn: I've got Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood, and am about to nab The Sea Hawk the next chance I get. The Mark of Zorro is also on my list, though I have yet to explore the Tyrone Power or Douglas Fairbanks niches.

I've now got around 13 titles in my "Swash-swash, buckle-buckle" section, and below, an annotated list, from the least-qualified to most in terms of swordplay realism (in my opinion).

13. The Musketeer - Not even Tim Roth can save this poor pile. Pluses: some acrobatics (seeing D'Artagnan do a butterfly kick off of a table is rather neat). Correct fencing lunges. Tim Roth as the batshit insane Febre. Minuses: choreography was better in theory. Calvin-Klein model Justin Chambers. Not nearly enough of Stephen Rea as Richelieu.

12. Cyrano de Bergerac - I love the story, but the swordplay is at a bare minimum. What is there is lots of fun, and good production values. Pluses: a great sense of humor. Cyrano an extremely sympathetic character. story driven choreography. Minuses: heavy-handed melodrama. Things get really serious without any levity halfway through.

11. The Three Musketeers - Better than I expected when I revisited it after years and years, and surprisingly dark for a Disney movie. Pluses: a suitably cocky (and young, very young) Chris O'Donell as D'Artagnan. A suitably troubled (and mentor-ish) Kiefer Sutherland as Athos. Good swordplay. The incomparable Michael "Kill you with my voice" Wincott as Rochefort. Minuses: that screechy Paul McGann (who I'd love to see tackle something more weighty). The overly slimy and not-nearly-strategic-enough Tim Curry as Richelieu. The Lady de Winter who totally wimps out at the end.

10. The Count of Monte Cristo - incredibly well done and fairly recent adaptation of Dumas' classic. Pluses: Richard Harris as frail yet tough Abbe Faria. Michael Wincott strikes back! The genuinely funny Luis Guzman as Jacopo. Choreography with smallswords! Minuses: Jim Caviezel waxing almost too naive more often than not, but other than that, not much!

9. Rob Roy - because we didn't know Scotsman were tough-as-nails before. Pluses: Liam Neeson as always. Tim Roth strikes back! Gritty and realistic swordplay. The incomparable John Hurt. Minuses: the non-graphic yet rather crude way sexuality is handled. It's the bad guy who's well versed in rapier fencing. The tad-long running time.

8. The Princess Bride - C'mon, who doesn't like it? "I see you are using Bonetti's defense!" Pluses: Memorable comedy. Memorable swordfight. Fun for the whole family. Minuses: a tendency to be over-hyped by those who love it. Cheese, cheese, cheese. Silly and movie-fied swordplay.

7. The Mask of Zorro - A surprisingly fun bit of popcorn with better-than-average swordplay and good humor. Pluses: Cold steel, and lots of it. Anthony Hopkins doing his thing. Catherine Zeta-Jones....wowzers (She's Welsh, by the way, same as Hopkins). Minuses: Matt Letscher as an equal to Banderas?..Maybe in the creepy factor. While a step in the right direction, still very movie-fied swordplay. The requirement that we suspend disbelief even past the crazy acrobatics and riding (the heroes and a couple of hundred oppressed peoples all outrunning the explosion in the end?).

6. The Adventures of Robin Hood - a Classic tale very well told. Watch it when you want some pure escapism and fun. Pluses: Errol Flynn, the only man who can swashbuckle with flair and not have us laugh at him. Swordplay with classical fencing roots easily seen, though it's hack-'n-slash. Basil Rathbone as the most likable (but still sneeringly evil) bad-guy you've ever seen. Olivia de Hallivand. Minuses: Can be a tad too upbeat for some. When did all those pastels exist in nature?

5. Captain Blood - another great golden age swashbuckler, and most of Sabatini's story kept intact! Pluses: a more grounded (but equally suave) Errol Flynn than in the previously mentioned movie. Olivia de Havilland looking much better without the head covering from the previously mentioned movie. Swordplay more reminiscent of actual fencing. Basil Rathbone. Minuses: A long running time. This is a darn good movie.

4. Scaramouche - Another classic from the 50's. Pluses: Longest, Swordfight, ever! Extremely classical swordplay. Swordplay oozing from all the cracks. The sultry and saucy Eleanor Parker (love those redheads). Minuses: I didn't know France looked so much like San Francisco's Golden Gate park! Really, I've got nothing else bad about it.

3. The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers - Richard Lester's best-yet telling of Dumas' classic story. Pluses: Oliver Reed as a pitch-perfect Athos. Realistic swordplay. Christopher Lee bringing a debonair touch to Rochefort. A surprisingly good Charlton Heston as a cool, strategic and calculating Richelieu. Fay Dunaway as the ice cold and eeeevil Lady de Winter. Minuses: The overtly slapstick (and bordering sexist) portrayal of Constance, some scenes played for laughs that shouldn't have been. Not much else.

2. On Guard (Le Bossu) - An almost Shakespearean story with damn good swordplay. Pluses: A very theatrical botte segrete described in classical fencing terms?..Score! A likable Daniel Auteuil as the protagonist. Cool, cool swordplay. Minuses: a somewhat convoluted story. A few bordering-on-"eew" elements, including the ending (though it be a happy one). European languor in storytelling.

1. The Duellists - a film about obsession and it's ramifications, but of good caliber. Pluses: Hands down, the most realistic swordplay and consequences-of-swordplay on film (duels over in seconds, long recovery times between duels). An engrossing story. Keith Carradine a likable protagonist. Minuses: a somewhat dreamlike way of storytelling. Other than that, not much.


And there you have it, my collection at the current moment. Hope that was all informative. And now, time for bed, Procrastination has been accomplished with flying colors!


Enough, More Later.
- James

Cold Steel '07

Currently in Earphones: Crimson Tide soundtrack by Hans Zimmer

On the 6th a small contingent of UCD fencers, including myself, attended what appeared to be the first of a hopefully annual Fencing tournament held at the Santa Rosa Junior College, self-dubbed "Cold Steel" for it's occurrence during the bitter transition between December and January.

All in all, it was a good tournament: a non-league event with a small but fun showing and good times. What was somewhat unfortunate was that even though things should have gone quickly with the minimal attendance, some fencers gummed up the works by fencing more than one weapon. Now, usually this is taken in stride, and the fencers have to take the lumps with the good by being yanked back and forth between bouts with different weapons. However, when you only have a small amount of fencers in one weapon to begin with, and most of them are doing more than one of them, then things start to get annoying.

Case in point, we had 22 Epeeists in total for the whole tournament. That was all fine and dandy, but when you consider that only 5 or 6 of us were fencing Epee exclusively, then problems started to occur. The Epee pools started up, but we literally didn't have enough people available to do the pools as we're supposed to, which is in a pre-determined order such that people don't have to fence a bunch of bouts in a row. Now, this wasn't too much of a problem, we simply dis-regarded the order and worked with what we had. Even then, we could only get through 3-4 bouts before we had to wait for all the rest of us to get dis-entangled from their Foil pools. I literally had to go read a book and have a snack before things could continue.

To be fair, there were two Epee pools, and the one that I wasn't in was able to progress in a fairly orderly fashion and finish out in good time. But the pool I was in that should have taken no more than 30-45 minutes took at least 3 hours to finish. I realize that this was more a problem regarding the fencer's decisions and less the set up by the event coordinators, but I was miffed nonetheless.

Aside from that hiccup, the fencing went quite well. I did middling well in pools, going 2-4 and only getting thwacked by Billy Carson (a very nice fellow, by the way) and to a smaller extent by Andrew Kleinerman. I touched base with Robert Belanger, who's acquaintance I made at the Santa Cruz tournament, but he was in the other Epee pool and I didn't meet him in DE's.

In the DE's I first squared off with Brian Harness, who had narrowly beaten me 5-4 in the pools. I was surprised to take him with little difficulty, landing a square 10-6 and continuing on. My second DE was against Billy, and I planned on getting my ass handed to me, but to go down swinging anyway. Things started off pretty evenly, but he zoomed ahead to 8-(4 or 5, I can't remember my score) and things looked to be wrapping up. Keeping calm, I managed to make a comeback and snatch the victory out from under his nose, 10-9. I was extremely surprised to see that I'd instinctively stopped being sedentary and found chinks in Billy's defense, ending with a face shot that I'm not particularly proud to mention on account of my opponent being such a good sport.

Then came the mirror match DE; I went up against James M. Whenever we fence during practice, our matches are always close, but he usually ends up the winner by a small margin. When we began the DE he got a good lead on me, eventually culminating in 6-1, his favor. Buckling down, I pulled my points on par with his, matching his sweeping parries and wide arm shots with some very precise and delicate hand shots. In the end, he won 10-7, but it was a neat and well fought match, punctuated by the equal-opportunity and wry shouts of "Go, Davis!" and "Go, James!" from the team-mates.

I regret to say that I didn't catch as much of the Sabre pools and DE's as I would have liked, and as a result missed out on how Mr. Preston Thomas did. Toes was a good sport in coming along with us, but a screwed up back and only one set of Sabre gear had him pass it off to Amy Chi, who did fairly well, as I seem to recall. She may say differently, but she gave her opponents a run for their money, even being sick and unsure of herself. I'm anxious to see how she does in Berkeley, when she ISN'T feeling under the weather!

Some shout-outs to the novices; Will, Laura and Lizzy, who placed highly in the Newb Foil section. Also to the incomparable Mike Jumper, who whupped ass as usual in Sabre. Also of note was that the Epee semi-finals were dominated by UCD, with Me, James M., Chris Wild and Vinnie filling the slots. Vinnie placed first, James M. second, and Chris and I tied for third.

Anecdotes of note include watching the slow-motion train wreck that is Chris Wild, who even being the exceptional fencer that he is, does all three weapons and cramps up like a mother near the end of every tournament. He fenced Vinnie for the same position in the semifinals of both Foil and Epee, the former of which happened after the latter. Vinnie toned down his speed so as not to totally break Mr. Wild, but there were some fun touches and moments on the strip as the two teammates fenced.

The first was during the Foil match, in which Wild's movements were severely limited due to the cramping in his leading thigh muscle and sword arm. Vinnie charged in for some in-fighting, standing abreast with Wild for some close parries and behind-the-back ripostes. After a few clashes, however, Wild stopped, or they both reached a stalemate in that neither could get a clear shot. Then the both kinda paused and looked at each other, Wild clearly in pain and Vinnie concerned, and Vinnie reached his off-arm around and gave Wild a pat on the back, then retreated a few paces and snapped back into en guarde. Everyone laughed and Andrew Kleinerman (who was reffing) did a double take and scratched his head.

The second, and more fun anecdote, was a textbook example of what not to do on the strip. This was once again during the Foil match between Vinnie and Wild. They once again were infighting, and Vinnie had thought he scraped a point off on Wild's chest. No light had gone off, and the box was behind Vinnie and to his left. He pauses, turn around to his right, the long way around, to try and look at the box. Just as his eyes reach it, Wild thwaps him smartly on his exposed chest and Wild's light goes off. Cue uproarious laughter and and a hearty "AW CRAP!" from Vinnie as he realizes his juvenile mistake.

It's too bad this wasn't a league event, seeing as I did pretty well in it. I'm even getting a medal to boot! And now back to homework, for Monday is drawing nigh.

Enough, More Later.
- James

Haec mala sunt, sed tu non meliora facis.

Currently in Earphones: Captain Blood Soundtrack by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Alas, another interim post. I'm currently besieged by 3 papers (Philosophy, Classics and Latin) which has resulted in my dropping out of the Turkey Tourney. Hopefully I can finish the first and get started on the second this weekend, that is, when I'm not watching Casino Royale and making yummy food with my housemate, Sophia.

"A Story of Swords" is coming along, I'm partway into chapter 3 at the moment, but scholastic writing has to take precedent. Look for the next installment a week or two into December.

On the good news (yet somewhat poorly timed), a bunch of leisure items have collected in my room over the past week. A bunch of soundtracks must have all decided that after some crappy deliveries of previous items, they would arrive early and sequentially by day. In addition, Cindy is letting me borrow a bunch of fantasy novels, which are all turning out to be made of awesomeness. All of this would be excellent if I had more time to enjoy them, but as stated before, I've got a lot of academics on my plate at the moment.

That's all for now, tune in next time!

Enough. More later,
- James