What sports to do: Fencing for the development of body and logic
Who's a child never he did not try to imitate the Musketeers or Zorro, even on baguettes, he did not have a heart or, at least, no childhood. But seriously, we can not imagine the same fabulous - immediately recollected heroes and a few heroines of fairy tales and movies - and an elegant way to dilute a sedentary lifestyle, like practicing fencing. We talked with coaches and athletes and found that even for a busy and not very developed physically urban citizen, fencing is available just like bored aerobics and yoga (or boxing, crossfit and climbing mentioned by us).
For some reason, I don’t want to start talking about fencing by describing practices or even costumes that look, let's say, worse than Wang’s latest collection (“For real athletes, they are made from Kevlar — the Batman costume, you know?” Digital October Fencing Club "Anna Anstal), and with elitism, which from this serious sport blows to all who know him from afar. Romanticism of fencing is quite easy to explain, even without delving into the lexical interpretation (with a sword, a brave prince or at least a musketeer with a noble mission immediately appears). First, it is beautiful. Secondly, fencing developed as a noble occupation available to the nobility — such a reputation now adds points to it in the eyes of a certain beholder. Thirdly, in the fight with swords (rapiers or sabers - depends on the choice of exercising) the head works almost more than the body. "Fencing develops thinking and logic - it is not for nothing that they call it fast chess. In a battle, you need to see the enemy’s weaknesses in a short period of time, lead him to make a mistake, and make an accurate, fast attack. Or just have time to react and defend if the enemy I guessed you before, "says Yana Zvereva, Honored Master of Sports. In this mode, the maximum involvement in the process allows you to abstract from the routine: "People who really think a lot at work say that training is" cooler than alcohol "because it’s impossible to concentrate on anything other than fight during them" - confirms Anna Anstal.
Immersion in the process is characteristic not only for the battle itself - long fencing exercises change the attitude to all processes - external and internal. “Fencing is about the right action at the right time,” Darya Tymoshenko picks up, also training on Red October. “There are no former fencers, so you stop doing extra workouts and reacting to false actions outside of training.” "Now I practice fencing less often, because I study at the theater academy, and sometimes amazing things happen to me. For example, on the stage I train myself to instantly enter the role, immediately dive into my character, and therefore I come to the gym and understand that I’ve become much faster to join the fight. And vice versa: in training I try to understand my opponent, predict his behavior, respond to his actions. I come to the rehearsal after the training, and my master says that I began to feel much better my partner in the passage. Fencing is always somewhere nearby, I think about it, I draw parallels with life, I keep diaries of fights, ”writes Ekaterina Dar, actress and master of sports in fencing with epee.
The ability to think tactically in fencing, really, will come in handy more than a pumped muscle corset. The latter never hurts, but if the cognitive abilities leave much to be desired, it will not succeed. “I remember two girls of about thirteen began to go to workouts at another club (this is the most suitable age, because by this time the children are well able to build movement tactics). One of them was already a master of sports in figure skating, and she was extremely clever at moving he was a supertrainer, but, um, she couldn’t be called smart. The second one was much worse physically developed, but at 15 she entered Moscow State University and generally showed herself to be a good girl. And guess who became the master of sports in fencing and got into the national team, and who even candidate “didn’t get? Deut I'm a girl perfectly analyze the actions of the opponent and, in spite of the poor coordination, managed to stab him and deceive Fencing -. it is a small war ", - says Anna Anstal.
The ceremonialism inherent in combat fencing did not disappear from sports, so that every fight and even training is a vent for a city dweller, who is used to, what to hide, to rudeness. The obligatory greetings and handshakes at the end of each competition ("We are friends beyond battle") instill in the youngest athletes - as well as the ability to adequately accept defeats, not to jump for joy after victory and not to prick the enemy with urine. "The ability to control one's emotions is the main quality of a good swordsman, it is brought up from childhood. Any defiant behavior on the track: loud obscenities, angry shouts towards the enemy or judge, rude behavior during a fight, deliberate body collision, strikes with a guard (part of hilt). - Approx. Ed.), Uncultured hand signs - everything is punishable, "lists Yana Zvereva.
With all its sophistication, fencing is an affordable sport. A tolerable suit costs about ten thousand rubles, there are sports schools in all federal districts, but there are no strict requirements to the body. “It’s very hard to be a good basketball player with a height of one and a half meters or a long-distance runner with a weight of 90 kilograms. In our case, the main role is played by how a person can manage their capabilities and use the opponent’s shortcomings,” says Dmitry Rigin, master of sports of international class . “There is no division into weight categories that is obligatory in other martial arts. Athletes with different physical characteristics can compete with each other - and those who are stronger than their body do not always win,” said Artyom Mezenov, master of sports in fencing. With such a democratic approach, there is one rather serious psychological obstacle - and the point is not the fear of injury. “Beginners may not be afraid - the goal of sports fencing is not to inflict painful blows and causing bodily harm, but modern equipment minimizes risks,” explains Lyudmila Zherdeva, candidate master of fencing with epee. The most difficult thing is to prepare for the fact that you have to attack another person (with this, the most problems arise for girls - due to the fact that it is unusual for them to use physical force). This fear of causing harm to another person passes, according to the athletes, quite quickly, and the maximum return from classes arises and increases six months after the start of classes - then clumsiness is replaced by understanding, and the necessary muscles come into working condition.
Where to work out: "Digital October Fencing Club", School "Youth of Moscow", clubs "En Garde", "Dinamo-Moscow".
Photo: cover photo via Shutterstock, 1 via Flickr