My parents will be here on Thursday for some vacation & hanging out. I look forward to showing them the fencing club here in Missoula. I am very happy with the progress that the club is making and remain optimistic about the future of fencing in Missoula. The next big step involves recruiting at schools, which will be a whole new challenge. The first & second months will be consumed by intro classes outside the normal class time of the club, which will be chaotic and busy.
Recruiting is a new challenge that I'm not entirely certain how to approach. I want to pull in the nerds who never knew fencing was available, the athletes who want a new challenge, & everyone else who always thought fencing was cool. My overall approach is going to center around pulling in other athletes, as the nerds will likely fall in line because they get to play with swords. The real shock for both of those types of people will be the realization of how much physical fitness is required to succeed at fencing.
I've taught enough intro classes and lessons that I have it down to a science. The biggest challenge for all fencers is to forget about defending yourself with the useless piece of scrap metal in their hand and follow my Golden Rule of Life: If you are not there, you cannot be hit. It is an incredibly simple idea that is very hard to implement. It involves deception & manipulation of the distance on defense and it is the first thing I teach before any type of attack.
In other words, defend like a Brazillian Midfielder. Creativity (Samba) is one of the hardest things to teach & instill in students, but it is necessary for a good attack. And most importantly, If you can't blind your opponent with brilliance, baffle them with bull$(@*#*.
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