My awesome and wonderful Aunt Barbara came by this afternoon and GAVE me her old fencing foil and facemask! And she gave me a very laid-back lesson (because Barbara is always laid-back) on how to stand and stuff, and made me feel A) 1,000 pounds heavy, and B) clumsy in comparison to her nimbleness. Barbara actually won fencing tournaments when she was in college. She says she used to wear old ripped-up jeans with duct tape over the rips. She's so cool.
So now I have to lose weight (trust me on this--I didn't put the pictures up of me looking humongous for a reason) and join a fencing group--either the one at the college where I work, or hopefully one that's a little closer.
And I have a sword!
17 comments:
I love the photo of you laughing as a sword is pointed straight at you! (Reminds me of a sword-fighting demo I witnessed at Dragon*Con this year - check my blog!) Awesome, Kat -- keep on fencing.
Kevin
http://kevin251.livejournal.com/
I can picture you waving that thing and shouting, "Get out of my way! I'm a fantasy writer with a sword and I'm not afraid to use it!"
Just don't get in a match with Laertes. I hear he cheats.
Kevin--I was pretty sure Barbara wouldn't kill me. Also, the tip is blunted. :) I'm definitely going to be pursuing this, although from what Barbara showed me, fencing with sabers (instead of foils) seems more my style. But first I'll learn the foil.
Natalie--Woot times infinity!
Alan--Or just "Stand and deliver!"
Aaron--Yeah, you can't trust that guy. The whole poison thing is really frowned on by most fencers.
Kevin--I just went through all your fantastic DragonCon pictures and now I am JEALOUS. Next year, oh yes--next year I'm going, because I intend to wear my boss down about us even being open on Labor Day weekend. We had three customers this year, three! And two proctors sitting there glumly for five hours with nothing to do but (in my case) bitch about not being at DragonCon. (In 2012, though, I will be at worldcon in Chicago that weekend.)
Your aunt sounds fantastic. I too involved was involved in a sword fight yesterday and I lost - I lost against a three year old with a plastic sword.
Those three-year-olds are vicious. I recommend buying a plastic shield.
Looks like there's a fencing club out by MacKay's (K-ville Academy of the Blade), and another in OR that I think has been dead for the last few years. Found anything closer to home?
Dang, you're more on top of things than I am. I haven't even looked yet. I'll probably have to drive into Knoxville for a club--hopefully on Saturday afternoons after work, which would be ideal (or on Thursdays). For now, though, I'm going to be doing some leg exercises so I'm not such a wuss (I'm sore from a few minutes of practice yesterday!) and dieting a bit. I figure this time next month I'll be looking into joining a group.
Don't forget the cardio. Got an MP3 player? Go take up jogging. :)
Jogging? JOGGING? You know what I look like. I am not built for jogging.
I ought to walk, though. Now that it's cool out in the evenings, I can walk up Oak Road and back at the very least, and go hiking on the weekends (once stupid deer hunting season is over, anyway).
You've got your cause and effect backwards. Jogging melts the pounds off. Plus it makes you smarter, gives your hair a healthy shine and improves your credit rating. Of course it also invokes the evil Shin Splint curse and makes your arches fall, so I guess it's not all cherries. :(
Psyched about you getting a sword. Um, please don't poke me.
You mean you don't know the secret TKD technique for turning swords away with the flats of your hands? What kind of a lousy black belt are you? Pfft.
Please don't kick me.
Oh, very cool. I've always wanted to try fencing.
It's awfully fun, what little I've learned of it so far. I recommend being born into a family with a fencing aunt.
Dammit, my aunts have no swords.
That sounds like something translated from a French primer. 'The sword of my aunt is in the garden.'
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