Recorded "For Training Purposes"

Chris posted recently the lament of the right foot.

Being able to view yourself from the third person perspective is incredibly useful. Chris suggested a mirror, but a mirror makes you look at yourself practising or training. It cannot, under any circumstances, actually help you in a fight. Now I know that practise and repetition are the backbone of fencing, and as such it is imperative to be able to practise correctly. But the coaches are there to help you put your niggly worries and errors at rest.

My point is that, whilst practise can be a realistic simulation, there is never the true aspect of fencing- you are not aiming to get points in a competetive way, so the best true way to correct yourself is to iron out the creases in your fencing, not your training.

I took my camera to the U18s this year, and the footage was incredibly illuminating. I found that I was making little and large errors all over the place, and have been trying to prevent their repetition ever since based on those mistakes.

My point is, take a camera with you and get your competitive matches filmed 'for training purposes'