I was born with a disability which affects my left leg. Put simply; I have far too many veins in my leg, causing it to swell and hurt constantly. Growing up with a disability is hard; I was always very insecure and shy about my leg, being different can be tough at the best of times.
This is a short post to show our appreciation for the guys at the Fencing Podcast, who are celebrating their first year in the business of all things fencing.
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British Fencing has released a new International Fencing Rules app. It costs £1.99 ($2.60) (€2.25) and is available on Google Play and Apple Store for mobile and tablet use.
A season's retreat
Gaining a title is never easy. In any sport, at any age class, at any time. To defend a title is, it is said, even more difficult. On March 23, 2016, I managed to win the title of the German B-Youth Champion at my first German Championships in Halle, Germany. It was a hard piece of work, but the feeling of triumph was worth all the hard training, sweat and pain. What I did not know by then was that it was only the beginning.
Text: Leander und Timo Helm
Videos: Timo Helm, Oliver Gröteke
The Fencing Podcast was launched by two Scottish fencers/coaches/nerds in the immediate aftermath of the Rio Olympics. Sean Walton and Gavin McMenemy are the voices of the podcast, after a friend suggested they give the medium a try. Gav has a history of online fencing presence - maintaining the peace as a moderator on Leon Paul’s Fencing Forum (and the US-based fencing.net) for many years - and Sean has written fencing blogs, so a podcast seemed the logical next step. While there is a lot of online discussion and writing about fencing, there is little spoken-word output.
It’s fair to say that most of the British fencing community left the Rio Olympic Games behind with a sense of mixed emotions. Richard Kruse coming fourth was an immense achievement but getting so close to a medal meant a slight sense of deflation. As time has passed, I’m sure we’ll all just remember how well he did. All I’ll say about the team event is that it didn’t appear to be our day! Now all we have to do is ponder the “will he, won’t he?” question – will Richard carry on to Tokyo? I do hope so. Last season he showed us that he’s still a major force on the World circuit and he demonstrated that in the toughest environment – Olympic qualification.
There are few people in the fencing world who do not know who Richard Kruse is, representing Great Britain in the men’s foil Olympics. One of the most notable qualities of this man is his dedication to training. I have met few people who work as hard and as consistently as Richard, and the work seems to pay off.
When I get into work at 8AM (not 10), we often see the more dedicated fencers already beginning their warmups and practice drills. Among them is always Richard.
“Surprised to see you here so early.” – I would always say.
We always joke about his training effects his luck, and his response is always
“The more I train the luckier I seem to get”. Kruse
By Jon Willis
Last year, after I had run a cadet competition, I overheard a fencer refer to me as ‘the man who organises competitions’. Initially, it dented my ego to think that I’m known more for running competitions than my exploits with an epee. I only retired a few years ago! However, I’m delighted to have been able to remain in fencing, to use my competitive experience to improve the standard of events in the UK and help the sport grow.
Hungary
Ukraine
