Saturday, June 27, 2009

Don't Fence me in

After a break of, oh, about, ahem, twenty years I have finally got back into fencing, and have joined the Salle Angelo in Dunedin, a group of fencers who's aim is classic style and enjoyment rather than blood thirsty competition (although, it's pretty damn competitive). For this group a vital part of the ritual of fencing involves retiring to Rhubarb Cafe afterward for lunch. Well, I say I have joined, but I have to undergo an admission initiation as it were - a duel in public. Just as well we wear masks.

It's been a long time between bouts, and there are advantages and disadvantages to going back to a sport after a lengthy spell.

Disadvantages:

Today I ache in places I had forgotten were capable of aching.
The moves I used to think I was crash hot at, are no longer quite so flash.
Did I mention the ache?

Advantages:

Sport is so much more fun when you're not all young, stupid and intense.
The fact I ache means I actually moved.
The boost to the ole self esteem to discover my old fencing gear still fits.
The ear to ear grin because damn that was fun!

Allez!

2 comments:

DaveB said...

Ah yes, the age-old backbreaking work of digging a hole with a crowbar and shovel, dropping the post in, checking it's vertical and then replacing the earth and tamping it back down hard.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Hard enough in private, but in public? That's cruel.

Engarde!

Vanda Symon said...

Touche!