Mark Peros: Diary of a Fencer

2010 World Championships - Paris

2010-11-15T05:55:00.001-08:00

Just back from 30 days in Europe. Tired and sore but with some great results from Worlds. Pictures and post coming soon!

Spain - Italy - New York!

2010-07-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

May and June found me on a total travel frenzy, so I've decided to combine the blog posts and pictures together to end the season for us. The best World Cup of the season is definitely Madrid. It has everything I could ask for. A perfectly well run competition, great hotel, beautiful weather and amazing friends. I know I've mentioned this several times before but this trip wouldn't be the same without our Spanish friends. They welcome us to their country like family. We've acquired our usual spots when it came to dining and social hour and made sure there was an evening out at the Restaurant 'Campeon'. Their specialty....garlic mushrooms with jamon. Mixed into the evening was some really funny karaoke....especially when Olympic Medallist Tim Morehouse (USA) did 'his' version of 'New York, New York'!!!

Sorry Tim, almost as good as Ol' Blue Eyes! I know I make this all sound like a vacation but really its not. We are only allowed a few days and nights off during training and curfew this trip was 11pm. Not easy, especially when the Spanish don't serve dinner until that hour. I did manage to make it to my first bullfight though, and what a scene it was! Talk about tradition....this is dating back hundreds of years and I can swear everything from the stadium to the dress and the actions of killing the bull haven't changed since the beginning. There are a few good pictures to tell the story of my week.

The week later took us to Padova, Italy. A tiny town tucked quietly 40min outside of Venice. I really don't have many exciting adventures from Padova since we were only there for 4 days. It was nothing but resting in our hotel, eating thin crust pizza from the corner store and preparing for the competition. One thing the Italians do know how to do is put on a classy competition. Sponsored by Luxardo and Porsche, it makes love at first sight that much more possible. See picture of me and Mr. Luxardo, the nicest man in the entire world!

Finally, after spending a week at home we made our way to New York for a training camp and the final competition of the season. With some connections (yes, fencers can be somewhat cool) we managed to stay at the New York Athletic Club while training that week. Located at the base of Central Park its the perfect location for doing anything you want. If you haven't been, Central Park is the utmost happiest and energetic park I've ever had the pleasure to run in. The amount of people using it for personal exercises, team rec-sports, horse back riding, sitting in the meadow having lunch and sun-bathing or taking a carousel ride (like Kyle and I did) is nothing but outstanding. It truly is a heavenly place. And what is New York without a celebrity sighting....in my case walking into a tiny late-night dive bar in Soho and having a drink and conversation with Lady Gaga. Priceless!

As for fencing....I had 1 out of 3 good competitions to finish off the season. I must say a little disappointing from the strong and confident beginning I had. Keeping that feeling up for 6 months is hard, and now that I've had the experience of winning more it doesn't feel good not to win all the time. In short, I don't like losing. Especially with thousands and thousands of training hours behind me. But again, that is why I love it too! I must give thanks to those who helped me through the season even with the tiniest of efforts. Coach Mirkin, Rhonzin and Becker....my massage and physio girls Sandy and Sandra.....Pilate's specialist Amy Brown....my nutritionist Trionne Moore and of course my parents for worrying about me every trip! Its been a two week break and I've had the time to reflect a lot and relax my body and mind. But a break should only last so long and with next season being the pre-Olympic year there is much work ahead. I also feel a lifestyle change is in order. Life is good and I'm learning to accept certain things about myself. Could that actually be called maturity.....you never know, so stay tuned my friends. Thanks for reading and see you in September.

The not so good competition...

2010-03-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well, at least I'm back in one piece. Sometimes life throws us things we can't really explain. They just happen. The first leg of our trip was to Dormagen, Germany to train with some of the German National Team. Dormagen is a relatively small city, 15 min outside of Dusseldorf, which was built for the Bayer Aspirin Factory. With a population of about 55,000 most people work for Bayer. Bayer then owns a majority of the town and supports the other smaller businesses...while also sponsoring all the sports teams in the area. The city's Athletic Centre is the best I've ever seen and runs like clockwork. The twice a day training was great and sharing a physical trainer with the German Handball team brought a new direction in how fit fencers should really be....I still have a sore back! We all realized that if you want to excel at a sport full time then the small secluded city is the way to go.....there are no distractions and everyone supports you. Anyways, it was a super experience and with every German fencer standing over 6'2" tall and built like cargo trains it was well worth it.

Second leg was to Tunisia for the third Grand Prix of the season. Last years trip to Tunis wasn't the most organized so we were hoping for a rebirth of the African Zonal competition. The hotel was better than we all expected, from first glance. Yes it was big, yes it looked like a holiday get-away and yes, it had a water slide and two pools...but that was about it. Part of the arrangement was that meals were included. They had a dinner hall that served a buffet, but everyday it was exactly the same and they only served coffee as the beverage?! By day 2 we were already bored of the food but there was no other option (except to stop eating) and that wasn't an option at all!

The first two nights I was there I didn't sleep well....but thought nothing of it. What I didn't know was that the 3rd and 7Th days of any travel are the worst for jet lag. The night before the competition (the 7Th day) was just terrible, on a biological level, and I ended up rolling around my bed until 6am in the morning. It didn't help either that there was a Night Club right next door to my room that only opens for Saturday nights....and it just happened to be Saturday night. I got up an hour later feeling like a wreck with a headache and lazy muscles. I was hoping some food and plenty of water would get me back on target but alas, the 'Man' upstairs had a plan for me that day.....and 'He' wasn't changing it. Fencing is one of those unique sports that takes Mind, Body and Spirit to succeed. With one of those missing you might as well be sitting on the bench. I wasn't alone though, strangely I counted 12 fencers who are ranked in the top 32 in the World who also didn't make it out of the first round....but I can't comment on how they slept the night before. Sure, I can come up with a hand full of excuses of why I had a bad result, or I can just say that it wasn't my day. Everyone has bad days from time to time and there are no excuses and there are no explanations, its just life. But there is no doubt its humbling and without knowing how to lose you can't win. This all sounds like maybe I should write a book on philosophy?! We have a month and a half off now until our next competition so I will use this time to have few days break and think about my goals for the second half of the season and how I'm going to achieve them. Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on our own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon......blah, blah, blah....now where is my incense....?

Budapest - Moscow Extravaganza!

2010-02-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

A Two week trip. Always tough to settle in, and by the time you get properly accustomed to life its time to go home. Beautiful Hungary was the first destination and Budapest, as always, welcomed us. No doubt apartment living is much better than hotel, especially in Europe. And now we know the city almost as well as our own things become much easier and a system happens that helps the comfort level. For instance, Training at Vasas during the day, dinner at Via Luna in the evenings and packs of 10 tickets for the metro bought from the landlord of the apartment for 10% cheaper than at the station....perfecto!

This tournament is always the first Grande Prix of the season. But even though it's the first doesn't mean it's the easiest. Rather, all the teams are there to make a statement and when you see country's like Italy and Russia warming up for an hour longer than usual you know something is up.

I went 4/2 in the pool round, got a "bye" and then won my first Direct Elimination round match 15/14 over Belgian fencer Seppe Van Holsbeke. Standing at 6'4" he caused many problems, especially with his reach but with my new found focus and concentration I played it exactly as planned and made the last touch. The next day I was up against US Olympian and motivational speaker Tim Morehouse. Ranked in the top 16 in the world I had never fenced him before in competition but new his game quite well from watching clips on "YouTube"......or as some say "Internet cheating"! I lost 12/15 but gave him a bout he will never forget. Great first result for me!

We spent the rest of the week training and hanging out in the Buda. Honestly, I don't think we left our neighbourhood once....and when Kyle says "nothing on the Internet tonight" you can obviously imagine how many hours were spent inside, ha!

Flying back to Frankfurt only to take another plane to Moscow turned a 3hr trip into a 13hr trip.

That was rough. Arriving into Russia with -20 degrees and snowy with big heavy fencing bags is not fun.....and then 45min bus ride to the hotel. This is the second time I've been to Russia and I was still amazed how hard it is to get anything done. Life is not easy there...nore is trying to get a pork schnitzel ordered to your room. I think it took me 2.5 hours, 25 phone calls to room service and 3 visits to the manager......and then the ice cream wasn't even free?!

Once again I made 4/2 in my pool. Went through to the next round but this time lost 14/15 to Russian Fencer Matvey Matushkin who just also happens to be fluent in French. We battled it out in front of his home crowd and at times I couldn't even hear the referee the cheers from the stands were so loud (obviously not for me). Still, I was pleased with the bout and how I structured it. Right now that is what I'm focused on....how to win by thinking. Team event went better than expected and we went 2/2 absolutely crushing the Japanese 45/29. I was last to fence, the most important spot, and proved that even after a long day (and 12 days of traveling) that with determination and the will to fight anything is possible.

Letting loose (another aspect of how to unwind) a few of us made it out to one of the biggest clubs in Moscow called LONDON. That was an experience in its own. With "face control" in full effect I've never seen so many beautiful people in one room in my entire life. No wonder drinks were $15. I'll leave it up to your imagination as to what happened but all I will say is that it was EPIC!

On the way home I ran into Daniel Nestor in the lounge in Frankfurt. We ate yogurt together and he signed my boarding pass!!!......we were on the same flight home to Toronto but he didn't want to give up his First Class seat.....hey, if I had one I wouldn't either, ha!

Germany and Tunisia next month. Keeping it real! Ciao

Almost one year later....

2010-01-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

There is no excuse my friends.....busy, lazy and just living a precarious but happy life has caused me to fall behind in letting you know just what has happened this past year in the life of a fencer....me! Last we spoke it was Tunis I returned from. And to follow was the extended trip to Madrid and Padoua. That is where I left you hanging. To be honest, the fencing part is a blur but with pictures like these I can only remember the fun and friends that were had. I will leave it to the photos to help you get a sense of what it was like. I was lucky to have both my brother and sister meet me in Italy....as they were traveling on to Croatia to visit the Peros village while I had to return to Canada for business and personal reasons.

Later that year, the decision to send 2 juniors to the World Championships in Turkey, in replace of the two more senior teammates (one being me) was a very bold but important move. Its always a fine line between how you generate experience in the younger ones who are developing and the older ones who guide the team. But the acceptance is a part of any high performance sport and we must focus on 'team' which is the future.

Since last fall, we have bought into a new Russian coach who is very excited about the move to Canada. This last weekend our first tournament took us to San Jose, California for a North American Cup. I must admit that I feel like I'm in a new frame of mind this year. In my head the stars are beginning to align a lot more and the wise words from my father are starting to hold true...."sabre fencers tend to mature later in life". The confidence I had on the strip this weekend was overwhelming....even with a convention hall of on-lookers I felt in control of my actions. On top of that, physically I feel great. All the early morning runs and intervals are paying off...not to mention the continued massages, yoga and ice baths, brrrrrrrrrr.....how that makes me cringe to even think about, ha). For the first competition of the season I placed 12th of 167 (the best result of any non-American) and came home proud that I'm still in the game. This is going to be my season folks. Along with that business is on the 'ups' and family and friends are better than ever. I hope you can be here for the ride! Here are some pics from Europe, but sadly none from San Jose. Next week its a training camp in NYC with the Americans and the week after we're off to Budapest and Moscow two Grand Prix events. This is going to BIIGGGG!!!!

Tunis and back again.

2009-03-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the quickest trips I've taken thus far. Arriving in Tunis on Thursday afternoon yet another three day adventure awaited me. Imagine walking into your hotel room and nearly falling over as you enter the doorway. We called it the "leaning hotel of Pisa", even though it was in Tunisia and the hotel was called The Bahy!~~I think I roughly estimated the slope at being over a foot and a half difference from doorway to window...at least the bathroom had hot water this time!

Strictly a World Cup event, different from a Grand Prix which has a Team event, Philippe and I traveled alone. With Algeria canceled next weekend it was a good way to try and gain some world cup points. Fencing wise, I'm definitely in a consistent mode right now and feeling about 80% smart. Finishing with yet another 47th place in the world I feel content, yes, but my best has yet to come. Thanks Sandra for all those grueling massages you put me through twice a week, my legs are feeling at least 4 years younger!

We ran into our old friend from SENEGAL named KEITA who hardly travels outside of his African continent. After seeing this picture I never thought that maybe I had a twin out there somewhere....except I need more of a tan!!!

The streets of Tunis were far from clean and calm but without a doubt interesting. Its habitants selling anything they could from blenders to underwear...no wonder I didn't find any shopping malls. Endless traffic with no street lights or signs and I could swear the Tunisians have an addiction with honking, it was just the thing to do.

The most populated spots are the Suks (which mean markets). Each Suk is devoted to one particular trade. The shops within the Suks are small cubes, open in the front, in which the trader squats cross-legged amidst his wares. Perfumes, carpets and cloths, saddlery and jewelry are most common. The Suks were formerly slave markets that surrounded the Mosques and now are more touristy than before.

Saturday afternoon at the Suks our guide brought us to the top of a carpet factory which looked over the city. An old mosaic archway stood erected as he explained that if we pass under this archway when we return home Allah will bless us with 15 wives. Of course I JUMPED at the opportunity (what guy wouldn't) and was the first to let fate have its way!!!

By end of this grand tour, our guide who helped take many of these lovely pictures for us....(Philippe, Pablo (from Spain) and his girl).....he was not leaving empty handed and requested we buy something from his brothers shop. With due respect we granted him and his God that wish.

Lucky to say the least. Still I am 'blessed' with the opportunity to do something I love which takes me to parts of the world I wouldn't normally visit. And STILL it makes me chuckle when I can post pictures for you of those timeless instances that I come across. This time in the Tunis airport at 345am....nope, the Duty Free Shop was closed, or should I say THE DUFRY SHOP.

Well, its Sunday afternoon and I'm home. Staring out the front window patiently waiting for my 15 wives to arrive....still, it doesn't matter how long I wait because I'd be happy enough with just one!

Been a while!

2009-02-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, its been a while. After our unfortunate loss to the US last year on the road to making it to the Beijing Olympics it was time for a little break. Actually, a break that was a well deserved time off from fencing to figure out what I would do next. During the Olympic Games, CBC aired live feeds of fencing every night. This was the first time that anyone could see live action from international competition. Pure excitement. It had it all. The drama, cheating, athleticism, upsets, rivalry, brilliance and total majesty...everything a fencing bout strives to achieve. And when a Chinese won in front of his own country, for the first time ever in our event, it was absolutely magnificent. At that moment it was like I was reborn. Its much too hard to put into words but when you know you are meant to do something the feeling is overwhelming. It puts you in a state of mind and gives you a drive to push forward...a drive that can't be broken. Without it I am nothing. So at that point any doubts I had about continuing were no longer afloat. It is my time.

Funnily enough, I wasn't the only one who stood up again from the kneeling of retirement. All the matured fencers that everyone thought would bow out all had a change of heart and appeared at last weeks first Grand Prix of the season in Budapest. Strange as it seemed, yes. But also not. We were all on the same wave-length...the lure is obviously stronger then we think.

The week before there was a Chinese Professional team who were on a "cultural visit" to Canada. We were in Montreal for three days before we left for Hungary training with them which was a great preparation to our first competition.

I love Budapest. I tell everyone its my fourth favourite city behind Paris, New York and Madrid.

This time around we were set up in an apartment rather than hotel. More space, a kitchen (which we only used for breakfast) and right downtown in front of the Parliament buildings. Perfect! We arrived on Wednesday and went straight to training. Three hours of lessons and fencing with the Chinese, Hungarians and Venezuelans after an exhausting flight was a great wake up....and put us to sleep the minute we arrived to the apartments.

I was feeling good. The first day was exciting. Exciting to be back on the big stage and really pumped to see what all the hard work would do. I went 3/3 in my pool round losing 2 of the 3, 4-5. Shturbabin from the Ukraine was the number 1 seed in my pool and I cleaned him up 5-3.

I went straight into the final round of the day having to face Kosa from Hungary. I was amazed. During the past three months I had really focused on building my leg strength. It didn't really show when I was working them, but to great surprise the power and length I was getting that day was beyond anything I've done before. At half I was down 2-8.....and I could see his cocky glances during the break. And why not, he was in front of his fans and friends. Felix Becker, out new National Coach (for the time being) just gave me a few words of advice and a slap on the cheek. I came back and won 15-12. Sadly, my legs had been working so hard that I fell into my chair afterwards with a torn groin muscle. The next day was my round of 64 match which I lost just due to the pure pain in my leg. The German physio girl worked on it for a while and taped it up but the pain was so intense that I couldn't move. Nevertheless, my best result to date, and proof that the harder you work the more you achieve.

Thanks to my 'unknown' magical healing powers I'm back to training this week. Next is Tunisia in March. Look out, that's all I have to say!!

Athens....again.

2008-03-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

So its been a while since we've last chatted. After World's last October we all took a few weeks off to get some descent R&R in....well needed of course.

I injured my ankle just before Christmas and that was some additional time off, but made sure I was still training in the mean time...there is always something you can do!!

The first of the New Year came and a couple of us headed down to Atlanta for a NAC....just to get the season going. Its a great warm up event as there are always hundreds of fencers....man, that US is big! It was obvious that I wasn't quite ready but nevertheless that is why we go, to get our heads around starting strong again.

Our first Grande Prix of the season was a few weeks ago in Athens...the same as last year.

Its pretty much a done deal right now that the US is heading to Beijing (instead of us).....but all these Team competitions are still really important so that we maintain our current standings in the world ranking for next year. Still, its amazing to see the fight of many countries gunning for the last couple of spots available in their Zones. This is the time where a lot of behind the scenes work is done between coaches, fencers and referees....not that anyone can do anything about it but its there, political, corrupt and who's got the most cash...!lol

The couple of days we had off, was spent just lazying around. We stayed in the same hotel overlooking the Acropolis and fortunately the weather was perfect for some runs outside in the morning. The cafes were booming and the tourist's were starting to fill the streets.

This was the first International Senior competition for our newest junior member of the traveling squad, Vincent. He's had some great results so far on the Junior circuit but this is a whole new ball game! Its always great to have a junior with us on trip....to fill the water bottles, carry the bags, make runs to the corner store for magazines...that's his job until he learns the ropes!!! You can see here we are trying to get some shopping in....oh ya, if anyone care Asics runners are taking over as the coolest shoes around....no more Puma's....hint, hint (Sisco)!!!

Check out this shoe store....nothing but Asics...and Vincent was all over that...he bought three pairs...what an idiot!!

Competition wise I fenced great in Team...as usual. First round though we lost against the Ukraine's and then the Koreans. But then finished strong with two wins against the Japanese and Poland.

Sunday night, I went to a late dinner with Ignacio, Jaime, Jorge and Fernando from Spain. Its always great to see them. Then we heading out to a hot disco tech in the heart of downtown. Awaiting us there was bottle service and a VIP section that some of the Greek fencers arranged. Didn't quite figure out the strategy of the club having both male and female Go-Go dancers but it was entertaining nevertheless.

The most dramatic part of the trip was that there we riots in Athens the entire time. Something to do with city workers.....which lead me to miss my flight early Monday morning. I ended up having to stay alone for an extra day, couped up in a hotel room with no English channels on the TV. Now that was pretty boring. Managed to change my flight to the next morning and got home safe and sound.

So next on the list is Algeria in three weeks. That is going to be INTENSE. Its the last of the qualifying tournaments and everyone is going to win, at whatever the cost.

Maybe we can pull off an upset win over one of the heavy hitters and create some more drama...that would be fun, eh!

Will let know you how it goes. Plus, getting some photo's of Algeria will be another story in itself.

Talk later.

St. Petersburg, Russia.

2007-10-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Finally recovering from a week of jet lag.....which I hardly ever get. An eight hours time difference is stranger then it seems especially when I didn't really sleep while I was away. Russia hosting this years World Championships was pretty ironic, as we found out a couple of days into the event. There is a Russian political figure named Usmanov who's vying to become the President of the International Fencing Federation, a position that is one of the most powerful in European sport history and typically goes to a French man. Usmanov, once a jailed criminal, now a billionaire in the Mafia was out to win votes this Championships. He paid the entree fees for every athlete, individual and team, invited the President of each Federation (ours being Canada) to stay for free in a hotel he owned as well as offering $50,000.00 US to any Country who would vote for him in the next election. A hard offer to pass up by no means, but also difficult to swallow when everyone knows its 'dirty' money. The venue was staged in a massive arena on the outskirts of the city that by my guess could hold nearly 150 thousand easily. The organization of the event was perfect and timed down to the minute. They would post what time your match was the following day and it would happen, no delays. The funniest was seeing a bus load of old cleaning ladies milling around every morning at 7am...and honestly, not a speck of dirt in site. I've taken some shots above that are of the venue and the different sections.....preliminary rounds, elimination rounds and finals. I hope they're clear enough to make out.

St. Petersburg in general was a pretty city, at least for the downtown area. There were two host hotels for the athletes a block apart. One for the richer countries who spoil their athletes and one for the countries who don't have any money, such as Canada. Our rooms where no bigger than a shed with one outlet, three channels on the tube and water that never turned clear. My efforts to make a reasonably priced phone call home were cut short when I had to buy a local phone-card to be able to use my international phone-card to connect to Canada Direct. This of course didn't happen and I was only able to use a direct line from the hotel which I won't tell you how much it set me back!!! Internet was only accessible from a cafe down the street that had 2 computers on hand, no one took Credit Cards for anything unless you were in the rich area of town and taxi's were just regular people with Lada's who wanted to make a quick buck.

But there were some nice things along the way too....like the huge park we ran in every morning that housed a lake and swans....and the Hermitage Museum, one of the most famous in the world, was a buzz in its own. We walked for four hours through it and still didn't manage to see it all. There are some photo's of it above. Now that's real history.

As for fencing.....well, flat out we didn't qualify. As you know our direct competition is with the US. At first we were hoping to beat them, but after the Pan-Am's it was figured that they had an opportunity to place in the Top 4 in Russia which would automatically qualify them for the Beijing....(I know its hard to follow)....which would allow another team from our Zone to go as well. So we were routing for them to win. It was the most intense moment I've had in a long time when they were tied 43-43 with Germany.....but then the bubble burst when Tim Morehouse of the US couldn't deliver the last two points and they lost 45-43. Damn-it!!!

So in the overall world standings Canada is placed 11Th and the US is 10Th, so they are awarded the Zonal position for Beijing.

Individually, I worked at 110% the whole time and pulled out a 64Th place win. My first ever World Championships and the best result I've made all season.....I impressed all.

You can see me in three photo's above fencing, of course Stanislov Pozniakov World Champion and winner in St. Petersburg. A legend in Russia and the fencing world.....but he had to go through me first. I gave him a solid run for his money losing 15-8 but I had the best time of my life during that bout, up to now nothing has felt better.
So where does that leave me? Its been a year and three months that I've devoted to this sport at a full time serious level and without a doubt its been the best experience of my life so far. The travel, the learning, the people I've met and become friends with and the level of sport that I didn't think was possible by training alone in a small warehouse space in Toronto. It all has made me believe in myself 10 times over. So I have decided to continue on and focus on the individual aspect of fencing. I've come so far in the past year I can't help but be curious at where I can be this time next year? So from now, and two weeks off for rest, I'll take it year by year and see what happens so stayed tuned for more.

Some people are just born to be......

Later

Pan-am Championships.

2007-09-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

What a week! All 32 fencers, coaches, physiotherapists, referee's and management met last Saturday morning in Montreal. We boarded a bus, nerves and excitement in hand as we departed for Mt. Tremblant, Quebec.

Since I've been selected (promoted) to Athlete Representative on the CFF Board the last couple of months have been a little nerve racking. The organizational challenges, political blunders and down right no good monkey business from many South American countries had put a damper on these Games.....resulting in some countries pulling out of the event only a couple of days beforehand. I was told not to get the athletes involved with all of these mishaps....(but unfortunately word travels fast).....because our job was to focus on one thing, and that was FENCING!

Granted it was a spectacular venue and location. Whether or not it was absolutely necessary is another story. Having to spend between $60-$80 a day on food wasn't the best of ideas, we all agreed on that. So it was off to the IGA where we stocked up on fruit, yogurt, bread and walnut maple porridge for the mornings. Can't take the porridge outta the kid!!!

Supporting the other team mates at any Games is really important. It can really help the confidence and push you to higher levels of intensity. For me, it was just great fun.....being the social animal I am I was totally in my element.

The first pic here is of Jean-Marie, our National Coach sitting with Ayash, a Canadian referee. Then some scenic shots of the mountain, the village and the hot tub area where Olga, one of our sabre girls, is relaxing amongst the bubbles. Life is tough, eh!

With all that said, unfortunately I must be the bearer of bad news. After beating the Venezuelans in the semi-finals 45-37 we lost in the finals to the Americans 45-34. An explanation............... well, they have the experience of fencing in the 2004 Olympic Games, physically they're stronger and made fewer mistakes. There was no funny business, they just flat out beat us. Honestly they deserved the win. They are all good guys and who work really hard at it, and have a great depth in the sport that takes years to find. I've included two pics of the medal presentation, along with us the US Team consists of Jason Rogers, Ivan Lee, Keith Smart and Timothy Morehouse.

I was really pumped that my family made the trip up too. Mom, Dad and my bro Matt (my sister is in Halifax) who spent the night at a B&B were of great support. PLUS, the presence of some amazing friends who took a day off of work to cheer, heckle and do what they do best...PARTY!!!! Thanks to Devine, Val, Brad and Carrie for making the trip.

So where does that leave us.....???? Well, we have the World Championships at the end of next month in Russia which will be our last opportunity to make any kind of headway. It may end up that we will face the US again in the first round, going by the point standings right now. We will have to go back and analyze the match and come up with some key tactics and a new strategy if we want this win. It will be a story if we can pull it off.

Oh ya, there are a couple of pics of me dancing in a cage (again) on FaceBook......just in case you're interested!!!!!

See you soon.

Team Selection.

2007-07-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

So its official. Last week the High Performance Committee and Selection Committee met in Montreal to decide the roster of teams and who will represent Canada this fall. The two tournaments that remain this season are the Pan-American Championships at the end of August in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec....(not to be mistaken with the Pan-Am's Games next week in Brazil)....and the World Championships at the end of September in St. Petersburg, Russia. After a lot of hard work, and a great season I was officially given the fourth spot on the team...Yehhhhhhh!!!!! Actually, I have to admit, I was a little nervous last week after not performing well in Vegas. I had heard that that spot was still up for grabs.
The team consists of....

Philippe Beaudry - Montreal
Nicolas Mayer - Montreal
Michel Boulos - Montreal
Mark Peros - Toronto

I'm pretty ecstatic right now...(even when I'm still in break-mode)...because it was my goal since last August to make the team selection, and I did it!! Qualifying for the World Championships is a great accomplishment, in any sport. They don't just take you for the sake of taking you. You have to earn your spot and I feel I did just that.
So now it comes to these two tournaments. We are in direct competition with the US who are up on us by roughly 20 points. As the Pan-Am's are our Zone qualifier, it is a must win for us....and then depending on the results at Worlds it will then be decided who will go to the Olympics, them or us. Remember, only ONE team can represent the Zone.
I just wanted you to know that I'm really happy right now, (and so are my parents) and I'm feeling great...just got to build the momentum now. Let's Rock!!!!!

Las VEGAS!!!

2007-06-27T05:51:00.000-07:00

Really wanted to write this sooner, but after a very annoying 6 hour delayed flight in Denver I didn't arrive back to Toronto until 4am Tuesday morning.... then sleeping-in and having a busy day yesterday there was no way I could get this posting before this morning. Las Vegas, the last of the World Cup Season....definitely a great place to hold this event. Unfortunately for me, it was probably one of the worst tournaments I can remember. Nothing at all went right. How can I explain it....? Think "overload", or going "stale" we say in the sporting world which may best describe it. Since August of last year I have been eating, sleeping and breathing fencing. Since January its been a traveling schedule that, as you have read, could make Jacques Cousteau jealous. With all that, and the hours daily I've been putting in at training, it just felt like I had hit a wall. I had nothing to give. Even though my physical, technical and tactics at this point are at they're peak my mind felt like a jelly doughnut had been stomped on. I couldn't focus, I couldn't think straight and honestly I wasn't having a good time. We call this "burn out". Thank goodness there wasn't a team event this time (which is my main concentration at this point)....so it was decided at dinner on the Sunday night that the best thing for me right now is to take two weeks off. Even though I don't want to, but as it goes sometimes you need to take one step back to go two steps forwards. To forget about fencing. To clear my head and think about friends, work and other sports.....maybe throw in a party and some dangerous tricks....so that when I return I'm hungry for it. This is probably the most common issue in sport. Keeping a tight mental game throughout an entire season, tournament after tournament, its feels like being a deer caught in head-lights, you don't know where to turn. So with that all said, your help is needed too. If I'm going to forget about fencing for two weeks, you have to too!! If you see me out at the bar, walking down the street or flying a kite lets chat about, uhmmmmm, something else....the weather, Wimbledon or even Paris Hilton (yes, I would stoop that low)....just remember its all for a good cause!!

Vegas on the other hand, is unlike any other city I've been to. The lights, the casino's, the people...its like a glorified Walt Disney World for adults. Non stop betting, drinking, dinner party's and shows, these people love the life money whether they have it or not!! I must admit I gave my hand to the Roulette table and a little BlackJack just to taste the addiction.....fun it was there is no doubt about it, but didn't win enough to make me want more. Saturday night a couple of us went to see the Celine Dion show at Caesar's Palace. Thanks to Michel's wife, who is family friends with Rene Charles (Celine's husband) made a last minute phone call and managed to score some 6th row tickets. I mean I'm really not a fan of her music (even though she is Canadian) but the show was spectacular. Vegas knows how to do it right...I was in awe the entire time!!!

Sorry, but only three pic's this trip. With such a poor showing I wasn't really in the mood to walk around with a camera around my neck. Except for the last day, when I was chilling at the pool side catching some rays, man that desert sun is hot. Then on the way to the airport I noticed a roller coaster weaving its way through the downtown strip which deserved a quick snap-shot.....but that was it, three shots for good luck!!

As the summer time is in full force now there is a lot to keep me busy. Haven't been able to get the MG out yet, so I think I'll wax it up and take it for a cruise this week. Canada day long weekend too, think I'll head up north for some real Canadian R&R.....sun, a dock and some cold pop's!!! What else does a fencer need?

Talk to you soon.

A Family Affair!

2007-06-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

After nearly a month of travelling I finally made it back to Canada. The first of three back-to-back-to-back tournaments started out in Warsaw, Poland. This was just a regular World Cup so there was no team event but it was still vital for those who are trying to qualify individually. I went 4 and 2 in my pool round beating out some important figures so I was pretty pumped, but then lost to Italy's Tohni Terenzi (2004 Italian Olympic Team member) 15-13 in a grueling and pressured match. It was probably the best 15 touch match I've ever fenced as the crowd grew by every point. I was reading him like a book in the second half of the match but then failed to pull it out at 13-13. I definitely gained some respect. Only three of us decided to travel to Warsaw that weekend, Nicolas, Philippe and myself. The others were going to be joining us in Spain a week later. We were there for only a few days, so there wasn't a lot of time to do any sightseeing. Not to worry though, I've been there before and done the tourist thing so it didn't bother me. On the Sunday night, Philippe and I did make it out to a discoteque and managed to loosen up with a night of cuttin' rug!!! Good times!

Madrid was next on the list. We've been there a handful of times, always staying in the same apartments and shopping at the same grocery stores. We had ten days scheduled in so I was actually looking forward to the stay...sun, eye candy and good food, what else does a guy need?

I managed to pick up a new speedo on the first day but didn't get one chance to wear since it rained for the next 7 days straight. What was up with that? May is supposed to be the best month to visit Spain, weather wise, but it sure didn't seem like it. So the next best thing happened....we fell into the habit of eating, napping and watching German MTV. Well, I shouldn't exaggerate....we managed to get some training in too with a couple of hours a day. That added a special certain dynamic to our routine! I must admit, my camera didn't come out once while I was there because who wants to see a picture of my hotel room?!! The good thing was that we were well rested for fencing come Friday morning. This Madrid tournament is probably the biggest tournament of the year. With 160 fencers its known as being harder than any World Championships or any Olympics. I did a descent 3 and 3 in the pools, which I thought was good enough to pass through to the next day's rounds, but with the amount of fencers they cut after the first round now-a-days it was not going to happen. Pretty shocking, eh? Disappointed yes, but my confidence was still very high from the week before and especially with how I'm preparing on the strip and the points I'm getting I didn't feel too bad. Still, my focus was on the team event. Once again, we kept our team ranking after the day was over and I was stronger then ever.

Lastly, our trip as a team took us to Padova, Italy. A small industrial and University town about 30 miles outside of Venice. Actually, Padova was not that exciting of a town but it was my first time to Italy so it didn't really matter. We took one day off before the competition and spent a day in Venice. Exactly like you see on TV or the movies (James Bond) the city of Venice is a pure masterpiece. The architecture, the layout and just so picturesque. The photo's you see above don't at all do it justice. The Square of St. Marks, the oh so friendly pigeons and the classic gondolas winding through the maze of buildings and hanging laundry! The only downside was the influx of tourists. Meeting a local was simply impossible. I guess it was to do with the time of year but I hope it doesn't ruin the city. On to fencing. Its more than clear to me now, and my fellow fencers that I perform so much better in the team event. And the strange thing is, is that I can't explain why? Both in Madrid and Padova I made over half of our total points for every match all my by myself. I guess when it comes down to it, I'm just a team player plain and simple. Unfortunately, in our third match of the day I had to pull out with a broken toe. I tried to continue, but by three o'clock in the afternoon I could no longer stand on it.

Funny, over a three week period (and hardly doing anything except for fencing, eating, sleeping and watching music videos) I received a broken tooth (by a girl), a broken toe, a torn Lat's Dorsey muscle, a pulled tricept muscle and shortage of tanning time....what's going on here?

Anyways, on to what I really want to tell you about. Monday morning I jumped on train heading to Croatia, land of my roots. My dad was meeting me later that day at the train station in Zagreb. We were spending the week with his family, something I've never done. I had to change trains in a small boarder town between Italy and Austria called Villach. A tiny little place...paradise rather, that is tucked in between mountains and forests......right out of The Sound of Music...beautiful! I can see why taking the train is so popular in Europe, because you just can't get the picturesque views any other way. This was going to be great! Zagreb is the biggest city in Croatia with a population of about 1 million. You can see some classic Austro-Hungarian architecture here with the Church of St. Mark. Just look at the tiled roof! The biggest excitement for me though was meeting the family. And exciting it was. My first meeting was with Magda, my dads cousin and her husband, Milan. I have to tell you that the moment I met her and she wrapping her arms around me and kissed me, it triggered something that I haven't felt in a long time. The memory of my grandparents who I have not seen in over 15 years. It felt like I was seeing them again. I didn't want to say but I could have broken into tears right then but I tried my hardest and kept it in. The most important day I think was when we took a train out to Zagorje, a village about 20 miles outside of Zagreb. This was the village of the Peros' and where my dad was born. Beautiful countryside, rolling hills of corn and grapevines (what the region is known for) and just simple people living simple lives. That's my dad there speaking with the daughter of one of his cousins. You can see here the tombstone of my dad's Grandfather and his second wife who he married at 55 and she being 38 years his younger. Together they had 14 children. Along with those, he had another 14 children with his first wife...making that a grand total of 28 children, so you can imagine how many family members that makes right now!! For people I've never seen before and never even heard of I became like a son to everyone. I could have sworn I had inherited 5 more mothers who were all worried about me....if I was eating enough, sleeping enough, even wanting to clean the dirt from my shirt and shoes. By far the most exciting part was when we took a trip up to the tiny old house where my dad was born. Classic wooden doors of the house that led into the single room....we even found the old bed-frame and headboard that he was born in. Amazing to think, eh! I don't think in one entire day have I ever eaten that much food and drunk that much wine and brandy. Each house we went into had another feast ready, how do they do it? I loved it there. So unfortunately the day had to come to an end. Even though everyone wanted us stay the night, we had other obligations the next day. So back on the train again and to the city we went.

You know, as much as I love the city life, more and more I am falling for the countryside. Maybe its because of situations like this, or the fact that I'm just growing up and discovering more about life. Everyone has their own fancies, maybe mine is to be on a farm.

Anyways, back in TO now, nursing my wounds and having a lazy weekend. Start training again on Monday and getting ready for Las Vegas in 2 weeks, our last major competition before the Pam-Am Championships. Will I be getting married in Vegas you're asking? Well I don't know, its not in the plans but you never know...!!!!
Talk to you then. Later!

Welcome to Plovdiv!

2007-03-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

Bulgaria's second city, Plovdiv, is a worthy rival to Sofia, the country's capital. About an hour and a half ride from the airport we had a bus waiting for us and Belorussian Team who arrived at the same time. The first thing we were told by our trusty Bulgarian guide was to NOT leave anything out of sight, or you won't see it again!! So I took that advise to heart and made sure I tied my hands to my fencing bag. The weather was surprisingly pleasant, I'd say roughly 10 degrees and mainly sunny most days...so out came the flip-flops and many confused glares from on-lookers who quickly realized I was from Canada! Arriving into the city centre of Plovdiv, a modern town they call it....to what standards I wasn't sure....is a huge square. The square leads to Freedom Park, and its fountains and coloured lights are the main attraction to the crowds and the daily promenade. There are worn out old cobbled alleys and wondering streets that don't exist on city maps. Astonishing Roman theatres and architecture to discovery and distinctive Mosques that attract most visitors. In some ways it reminded me of typical European small towns, but in other ways it was also new and like an untapped centre for travel.
We spent the first day just walking around and exploring. Funny, the first thing I really noticed was how much the Bulgarians were passionate about their jeans....and stylish ones too. Armani, D&G, Diesel....the hole sha-bang!!! So, when in Rome......we found an under-cover jean dealer who apparently had the hippest jeans in town....for cheap....what a deal, or should I say what a scam?! I guess its all about the moment. You're there, in the basement of an old stone building, he can't tell you where he got them but the price seems right....? Anyways, that was the days story, and plus we got some sick denim too!!!
The first day of March in Bulgaria is called Babu Marte day - which means welcome March - a traditional celebration welcoming in Spring. So everyone gives out red and white bracelet's with blue beads in them. The more you get the cooler you are, kind of like a Mardi Gras thing with the beads around your neck except you don't have lift up your shirt to get them!!
Thursday, we were invited to spend the morning training with the Korean and Chinese Teams at the Bulgarian National Training Centre. A National Training Centre, in Bulgaria we thought????? Well, there is one but its nothing more than just an abandoned old warehouse space with no electricity and colder than a fridge. You can see in the picture that the pistes are nailed to wood planks to prevent getting wet from the leaking roofs! Kyle, Philippe and Nicolas are having a laugh about it, Michel is still injured with his back and didn't come on the trip.
The competition went OK. I did much better in the pool round beating out Medina from Spain and Suelez from Venezuela and an unkown Bulgarian junior. Ended up 3-3 and happy. Except for when a German junior, Klebes, knocked me out of the round of 64's. My next steps are to concentrate more on how to construct a 15 touch bout. Its much different than fencing a 5 touch bout....got some work ahead of me.
The team event was good, but inconsistent. We all had good bouts and bad. The hardest thing for us as a Team is to all be "on" at the same time. How do you do that, especially when there are four of you fencing? Anyways, we keep our ranking of 10Th and the US, who fenced better than us are still at 8Th.
Oh, funny...in a restaurant on Friday night two young girls sitting behind us turned around, as they heard us speaking English, and said.."you're obvious Americans?" How typical, we thought. They had been there already 2 years as part of the Peace Core. We chatting for while but decided to leave it at just that!
Another interesting aspect about the competitions is that they've introduced 'slow motion replay' for the judges. A screen sits in front of the referee which, after each point, plays the action back so he can see what happens. NOT GOOD!!!! It ended up that the referee's were only looking at the screens and not the fencers. Plus, when watching a fencing match there is a certain tempo that you see that happens in 'full speed'....and a different tempo that is created when watching it in slow motion. So there were a lot of mistakes made, many unhappy fencers and of course three days of red cards given out to yelling competitors. We'll see what happens with that in the coming months. Check out the video system picture above.
As you can see, there are a bunch of photo's.....the competition hall and Team Venezuela, our corner store which sold only liquor, cigarettes and drinks, the cobble stone street our hotel was on, the restaurant in the square we ate at everyday (talk about cheap food, I was paying no more then $10CAD for a full meal) and finally my artistic photo-craftsmanship taking a picture of myself...!!
Didn't get a chance to party too much on the Sunday night....our bus for the airport left at 2:30am..... so I had to leave the club and my friends early. I hear they went until 7am....oh well, next time. Next trip won't be until May, so until then CIAO!!!

Athens/Budapest Project #1

2007-02-13T06:20:00.000-08:00

Geez, I've been away for so long that I have forgotten what snow looks like! First off, a huge respect pump to Paul Sisco who has been acting as my chauffeur for past couple of trips. I have been taking the same Tuesday afternoon Luftansa flight into Frankfurt and it works out that his schedule is best 'organized' to get me there on time. Thanks dude!!! So my first time to Athens. What to expect? Well, I guess we all know a little bit of Greek history. I can remember small doses of it being taught in school (the times I went to class) and funny images of the first Olympic Games in 1896...naked athletes running around marble columns with leaf head pieces, or something along those lines!! A city of 6 million people, our hotel was in the dead centre of it. It was quite nice, a melange of both ancient and modern arcitecture....but difficult to pick-out when walking down the street. Nearly every building in Athens is no more than 5 stories high and painted white (by law supposedly). But they have the good idea of active roof tops. Patio's, lunch-in bar's and decks were the norm all with amazing views over the entire city. For us, most days after lunch we took to the hot tub which over looked the Acropolis..I know, life can be difficult sometimes. Here I am there, limbering up waiting for a warm-up lesson....and just hangin' out....I mean sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

We were lucky with the weather there too. Sunny and 18 degrees most days, with only a little rain. The day before the competition we took to some of the sites that were within walking distance from the hotel. The Acropolis being the main one and a beautiful old amphitheatre where you know that at some point was the place of a death and tradegy. Under re-restoration, the Acropolis is not in very good shape. It's a shame to see such an impressive piece of history damaged and worn from pollution...I could just imagine how pristine it would have been years ago....now you can't get within 20 feet of it, but the 15 euro fee I think is worth it.

The competition was Friday and Saturday in individual and Sunday for team. It was held in the Olympic Stadium that unfortunately isn't used very much anymore. Only a few national teams are in training there, like basketball, volleyball and fencing and the rest of time it remains pretty empty? For the first Grande Prix of the season all 110 ranked fencers in the world were there, so no doubt a strong field. Its tough for me to arrive at a World Cup and be ready to compete at that level. Because I train a lot by myself, it usually takes me a day to adapt to the speed and sharpness needed to perform well at that internation level. I found myself falling short of my potential in the first round of pools and not making the second day of competition. But I wasn't called up to the team this year for nothing. For some reason, I seem to perform over and beyond my ablities in the team event. I feel more comfortable and love the pressure and excitment of the team atmosphere. Its like I need that intensity to fence well. We fenced four teams that day...first the Romanian's who beat us 45-39, then the Greeks who we cleaned up 45-34.....the bout against the Italian's was our closest losing out 45-42 and then finally missing a win against the US 45-37. What the results don't show is how well I fenced. Coming in half way during the Romanian match and replacing Michel, who has an injured back, was like karma to me. The entire day I never let any other fencer get more points than me. I stunned the Italians by taking their number one fencer Gianpierro Pastore 9-1 and then doing the same with Ivan Lee from the US Team 8-5. So with these personal results I feel I've secured a solid spot on the Canadian Team and become an important player.

We ended up staying four extra days in Athens to train with the Greeks before heading to Budapest. Probably the highlight of that week was watching Philip and Jean-Marie polish off
1 kilo of baklava in one sitting....yes, 2.2 pounds of pure sugar, made by a singing pastry chef.....wish I had a picture of that!!!

Now off to Hungary! Budapest...my first time there too, what a beautiful city. Everything about it impressed me. The food, the arcitecture, eastern European women, the fencing....my kind of city...especially when there's the Hungarian already in my blood. A walking tour the day we arrived was the obvious. A classic European city, separated into the old and new by a river called the Danube. Castles atop hills, cobble stone roads only wide enough for one car, cafes and restaurants full and markets for shopping....and I reading this from a book? I could have walked for days it was so humbling. Check out Nicolas here giving the thumbs up to the fidler and his counter part....yes we threw them a couple of coins!!! The market was great...actually similar to that of St. Lawrence Market here in TO but about three times as big. I went through yards of that spicey sausage with bread....you can't get any better than that, trust me!!

The competition is a historic event for the city of Budapest. Started during the fifties is has been running annually ever since, and I could swear that the men organizing it are still the same....it was so well run. Fencing in Hungary is like me getting parking tickets....its a national sport. Televized, sponsored to no end and crowds that could fill the SkyDome! But once again, I fell short of expectations. My individual World Cup IN-experience showed through for a second time, winning only two bouts in the first round of pools and losing the next three 5-4. Why does that happen...getting to 4-4 and not being able get the last point....in baffles me??!!
Actually, all four of us had a poor showing there and didn't make the second day. Even watching some poor judging and ecstatic angry Polish Coaches throwing chairs around yelling 'SCANDAL'....you never know what is going to happen....after a great first round you may not make it to the second day, or vice-versa. Still, how well I am fencing now adays is not being shown in the results. Our main objective as a Team is qualifying for Beijing with the Team. There may even be some more strategic ways around it to know that the US is closing in on being top 4 in the World. If we face them again in the next six months, giving them the win could be an advantage to us....keep that a secret though!!

Anyways, we ended up lighting up the town that night since none of us were fencing the next day. Dinner and dancing at one the coolest clubs in town...The Old Man's Pub. I think I lost another 6 pounds that night....after 6 hours of dancing in the dirty basement, my clothes drenched to the bone stinking of euro-cigarettes and my head in a daze from shots of Unicum (hungarian alcohol) it was one of the happier moments of the trip!!!

Oh ya, forgot to mention, there was a Short Track Speed Skating World Cup going on at the same time as us. Sunday, after the fencing finals we went to see the finals of that. WOW, talk about speed. Its one thing to see these skaters on TV, but when you're up close and at ice level it can't put it into words how fast they go. Everyone was staying at the same hotel too. What a great atmosphere...traveling athletes from all around the world, all there in the same place for the same reason....awesome! We stayed and cheered on the Canadian Team who won a total of three medals.

Ok, enough for now. I'm heading to Bulgaria at the end of the month so I'll talk to you after that...later kids!

Grande Prix - #1 Kish Island, Iran.

2006-12-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

WOW, made it back alive!! What a trip...funny how sometimes when you have certain expectations about (in this case) going somewhere, and they turn out to be the opposite of what you imagined....yup, you guessed it, this was one of those times! After 8 hours to Frankfurt with a 6 hour layover and then another 6 hours to Dubai we spent that first night in Dubai at a hotel near the airport. There is no doubt that this is one of the richest city's I've ever been to. The airport was a city in its own...it was just sooooo big it can't be explained. The hub of the middle-east, there are 24hr a day flights to every destination in the world while the biggest luxury chain stores line its 5 terminals. It's a little surprising when you first come out of the gate having to go through a controlled line of Sheik's who all look like their beards are painted on, they're so perfectly groomed. After collecting the baggage our driver was patiently waiting for us among the sea of on-lookers, family and friends...he, like all those we had spoken to thus far, was pleased to see we had made the trip. Canada had been well received!

The next morning we were up fairly early, having to make it back to the airport for our short plane ride over to Kish Island. This was in a seperate off-grounds airport that was run by Kish Airlines. Tickets to Kish were not available to purchase in advance, we could only get them at the airport that day, which wasn't the problem....rather waiting 7 hours for the tickets to be hand written out by two Iranians behind a glass case for over 100 fencers!!! Then finding out they could only be paid for in CASH, Iranian Rials to be exact....so there was a mad scatter of coaches and athletes who all gathered what they had to pay for these so called tickets. Finally making it out to the landing area I was stopped twice trying to take a picture of the plane we were taking. I had to act fast and discreetly...and managed to click it at the very moment the security man wasn't looking!!!

After the 25min flight over the Gulf, and getting off a plane that started to taxi the runway with its passangers still finding their seats (and the door open?) we landed on Kish Island. A holiday get-a-way for the oil-rich of the middle-east, the weather was pleasantly sunny and warm. We were met by a hand full of buses that were to take us to the hotels, but they had miss-calculated how many fencers there were and that each fencer had his own bag...so instead of fitting 12 fencers per bus they fit only 6. Check those pics!

Getting to the hotel ended up being the next disaster to face. The so called reservations that had been made were not listed, or at least not organized properly. So we were told to wait until things could be sorted out. Well after about an hour we, along with the Chinese, Italian and Ukranian teams decided to walk down the street, throught the rubble of rocks and unfinished buildings (as seen on CNN) and look for another hotel. The ANA Hotel was a five star spot and looked great from the outside....perfect we thought, what could possibly go wrong? I think we spoke too soon. Greeting us on the way in, planted right in the middle of the lobby was a Christmas Tree and 'dark' skinned Santa Clause...? (that baffled me the entire time, I just couldn't figure it out).
So here's the low-down on the hotel....passports had to be submitted (for scanning purposes) and not given back until leaving, payment was to be in cash only, (credit card's are not accepted anywhere in Iran), there is no maid-service - so we never had a change of sheets or towels, (even when a light bulb blew in our room they didn't have a spare to replace it), there was no pool, no internet, out of country phone calls took 24hrs to process, the hotel restaurant had two meals on the menu that were identical each day, there was no fruit or juice and the bread was stale. The only good thing was that there was a TV in the room that had one english movie channel, the bad thing though was that the same five movies ran at the the same time every day...!!

Ok, so on to the fencing. Surprisingly enough the Olympic Sport Hall was set up pretty well. I mean it was a Grand Prix event and they had to follow at least some of the rules since the competition was being monitored. I went 3-3 in my pool round, won the first DE round then lost to the World number 4 ranked Alexie Yakimenko from Russia. On the positive side I was hoping to get at least 8 points on him and ended up scoring 9. It was my mistakes that cost me the match, which means he is totally beat-able, so I was happy with the outcome and know what I have to work on. Our first team match was against the Italians, who we beat in Chilli last year, so we were looking for a win. But it was their day...they won by a small margin of 45-41....and then ended up going on to win the team event beating out the likes of France, Germany and Romania. Scoring 40 points is not a hard thing...scoring 45 points is the hardest. You learn as you go and that's what we're doing. The US didn't get past that first round either so nothing has really changed in terms of ranking.

Back to the adventure. On our day off, we took to the beach with our Spanish friends. It wasn't too bad, the water was clear all the way down and seemed pretty fresh. There were some SeaDoo's and boat rentals along the way, so we decided to rent a couple of SeaDoo's and have some fun in the Persian Gulf. 10 euro's each for an hour seemed like a great deal....we paid and were told to wait. A short while later, after some foolish picture taking we were told that our rentals had to be cancelled....and we couldn't get our money back because the boss had left for the day?? What a scam, right from under our noses they smelled tourist! Taking a dip anyway was good enough, I mean how often will you get to swim the Persian Gulf, eh?

Checking out of the hotel was another headache....with only one person working behind the reception, three hotel staff and one chef, who also moonlighted as the waiter....the entire trip was just a big game of "how long can YOU wait?". No one works in Iran, there are no restaurants to eat at, and no stores to go shopping in. You have to call 2 hrs in advance if you want a taxi and have to wake up listening to 30min of prayers that are broadcasted through speakers over the entire city at 6am. Men converse with men and women are hardly seen.

Fun is looked on as a negative thing, at least the fun I'm used to and alcohol is the devil. Can't remember when I went more than five days without a couple 'pops'...?

Our flight back out of Kish was on the sunday night. We spent the six hours in the First Class Lounge in Dubai waiting for the 3am flight to Frankfurt. I never thought I would say this but thank god for the internet....!!! Once again, our Spanish buddies kept the travel fun, as we ended up sneaking their entire seven man team (plus coach) into the Lounge! Then with another 7 hrs layover in Frankfurt I made it back to 'civilization' last night...MINUS my fencing bag. Supposedly it never left Dubai....???? Next trip is a double competition ten days to Athens and Budapest in the first week of Feb.....finally some good 'ol Euro-dishes like souvlaki, baklava and goulash to fill my hungry tummy. Rumours have it that those Hungarian girls are to die for....we'll see!!!

Richmond, Virginia - USA

2006-12-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

So Wess and I decided to take a road trip down to Richmond, Virginia this past weekend to compete in a NAC - North American Cup which is basically the elite circut for the USA. I met up with him in Brockville then from there we took the long 10 hour drive due south. As per usual, the USFA (and their multi-million dollar business) rents out the most lavish of Convention Centres to host the tournament. This place was huge...with 40 plus strips in a room about the size of a football field!!! You can see it in the first photo. With a field of about 140 fencers, (in my weapon) the US is reaching a world class level when it comes to skill and winning. But like everything else they think they are the best. I sailed through my pool round and first elimination round until I was cheated out in the round of 32's. YES, thats right..there is cheating in this sport. When a referee is friends with your opponent and his coach, there is nothing you can do except pray for 'one light hits'. If 'two lights' appear on the scoring box, he will always give the point to the fencing he wants to win. Still, my concentration was missing that day...and still I'm struggling with sorting it out. The most challenging thing, I guess in any individual sport, is the constant focus that you need. Making sure that for everypoint whether you're winning or losing, you are working at 100% and not letting anything distract you from the task at hand. That is what seperates good athletes from great athletes. On the bright side of things, this tournament is not on our required list, it was just meant for practice. Once again, we left as soon as the finals were over....that 10 hour drive back now seemed longer then ever! We actually took a wrong turn on the I-95 North and ended up in Washington D.C. - yes, the Nation's capital. Took some pictures of The Pentagon, The Washington Memorial and Wess and I trying to look for directions....?? Unfortunately, George Bush was busy practicing his golf swing so he didn't have time see us...the nerve!!!! Well, driving through the US for me has always been tough on the ol' stomach. As pretty as Virginia is, and most other States, you just can't find a decent meal anywhere? Nothing but fast-food and burger joints...oh ya, and a Coke with that? So luckily packing a few lunches, courtesy of Mother-Peros was the way to go!!!! Thanks Mom!! Didn't get back to Brockville until 3am monday morning but still managed to crack a smile.

Vancouver Nationals - 2006

2006-12-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

Probably one of the shortest trips I've ever taken, to a destination inside of Canada was last weekend. Vancouver was the host site for this years Senior National Championships. Usually held in June, they made the switch this year so that there wouldn't be any comflicting international tournaments - alas...finally some decent planning by the federation!!!
The venue was one of the coldest I've been in. Just an old sports warehouse without any heat to keep out little fingers warm....damn it, forgot my gloves! You can see in the first picture how busy it gets. I took it through a screen on the second floor where the bar is....of course...that's where we hung out during breaks...!! Tarsh Bakos, a good buddy of mine from Saskatoon won that day in the Men's Epee class - NOT my event. He's quite the dude, a part time kendergarden teacher during the winter and a tree planter in the summer and finishes every sentence with..."ya know"....love it, Tarsh!! As for me, I lost in the Quarter finals to Philip Beaudry, the yongest on the Canadian Team. At only 20 years old, he is the future of fencing in Canada, by that I mean a true talent. I have beaten him before, but that day was his. There was no doubt he was in the 'zone' all day and deserved to win. I've been having some concentration problems the last couple of weeks and couldn't put it together in time. No worries though, we were told beforehand that results at national competitions are not very important at this stage, its how we place internationally that counts. The picture is of Wess Ross, trying to gather up his things in a sea of fencing bags. You really have to watch your stuff carefully at these places because things can go missing like that!!SNAP!!! Anyways, they had called for so much snow in Vancouver that week, that many of us were worried about the travel. But when we got there, all I could do was laugh!!! Six inches of snow to them is a blizzard....and still the city can't handle it?? Sally, Sally..tehe, tehe! We only needed a hotel room for one night, since the return flight was leaving only six hours after the last match. So what did we do for those six hours you ask?...well, lets just say that whatever it was helped me pass out on the plane like a baby after its done sucking on a warm bottle of milk!!! I had to add this one photo of the dude 'working' outside the grocery store. Santa Clause to some kids.....but a hilarious, bored and not so cheery man to us!! Awesome. Sorry about the blury photograph, we did a drive by camera shoot...so he wouldn't run after us!

Renaissance Cafe.

2006-11-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the kind and diligent efforts of Catherine Penny (a good friend of mine in the fashion industry who has been following my progress over the years), there will soon be a 'fundraiser of fun' to help support my international fencing goals! This event will showcase a bonanza of local talent. There will be music performed by First Nation's Photobased Artist Arthur Renwick and his band The Shakedown Crew! Arthur will also be having a solo show of his work at the AGO in February 2007 which has been linked with Emily Carr. Brendan Seaton, another photographer and musician, has created the posters for the evening which have been posted around the community. At the fundraiser of fun, Brendan will be exhibiting a photo-diary of his trip to Beijing last fall. Quite good timing since Beijing is hosting the 2008 Olympics!!

The number of door prizes is building by the day!! So far, these include a hockey stick signed by the players of the Toronto Maple Leafs (thanks to the Leafs and Mike Penny, the Leafs' AGM); CDs from Canadian Juno Award winning musicians, donated by AM640 Sports; coupons from our very own Chris "The Hamburger" Bower of BetterFoods; jewelry from the lovely Danielle Sweeney; and beer stuff from Brad and Premier Imports! You can see Arthur in the photo above with the stick...he shoots, he scores!!

The details are as follows....
When: November 24th 2006 at 9pm
Where: Renaissance Cafe - 1938 Danforth Ave. Toronto
Tickets: Prices are $25.00 per ticket
Contact: Catherine Penny - 416.422.1883
Renaissance Cafe - 416.422.1441

Finally, I'd like to thank Catherine for all her hard work in setting-up and advertising the event. I really hope you can all make it out that night.

Take care...

Mark.

Holloween Party!!!

2006-11-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

A BIG thanks must go out to Gord Woods and Nick Tomko who organized a party for halloween last week where the proceeds of the evening went to my Olympic Fund! It was perfect timing for all of us as they just moved into the place a few weeks ago. So the combination of a house-warming, halloween, and fundraiser party was perfect. There had to have been at least 100 people that night, most of whom I knew and some I had to figure out because of the great costumes. Props go out to the Giant Banana (was that you, Ian Grey?) who stayed true to the fruit...(no matter what happened)...and Liese and Al for their scandelous rendition of Tie Domi and Belinda Stronach....who would of thought that hockey and politics could make such...music!!!! (I guess there's a first for everything).
If anyone has any photos please send them along so I can post them. I still have yet to see a
picture of me dressed as a construction worker....black eye included. And actually, I think someone stole my measuring tape....has anyone seen it?
All in all, it was a great night from start to end....especially the late-night fooze-ball game which really pumped-up the crowd! Thanks boys!

Commonwealth Championships

2006-09-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

BRONZE MEDAL....BOOYA!!!!!!! So just back last night from Belfast and good times all around. It all started when I was waiting in line at the AirCanada check in last saturday night. I joined the back of the line at 8:35pm with six check-in attendants. By 9:45pm I was next in line and there was only one attendant left...the five others, during that 1 hr and 10 min., were fired on the spot. I can't tell you about the anger in that queue that night....heckles, bottle throwing, police, threats of suing coming from the back of the line...it was pretty funny. Don't know how it ended up, but thanks to my parents for dropping me off earlier then usual, even though I didn't feel the need!

So Belfast, smaller than I expected and populated with only 280,000, was a neat little city similar to those that I've visited in England and Scotland. I had a driver waiting for me when I arrived at the airport to take me to the hotel. He was in a pleasant mood, considering that I was the second of 10 pick ups he had to make that day. We had a nice chat as he listed some of the city's must see's while giving me the run around of what and what not to expect. Check out this first photo of political propaganda that tatoos nearly every bare city wall space around Belfast. What a great way of greeting tourists....images of guns and iron fists, Welcome to Belfast buddy!!!

Usually, when we travel the first few days are taken up by sleeping and eating, eating and sleeping. And in between, trying to get around the city to see some of the sites. Tuesday, our day off, we went around to the Belfast City Hall. You couldn't miss it coming into the city because it was probably one of the biggest and most impressive buildings there. The free tour sounded like a great idea so Kyle and I (my canadian team mate) signed up in the main hall and waited for the guide. Opening its doors in 1906, it ran a price tag of only 30,000 pounds. Made up of four types of lavish marble, three from Italy and one from Greece, the main entrance and staircase are most impressive in design and size. The dome rises to 53 metres and is similar to that of St. Paul's Cathedral in London...I'm sure some of you have seen that one. The Belfast City Council sits in the Chamber on the first working day of each month, with 51 members its a great privilage that the building is still in full working force. There's a grand reception and banqueting hall that fits four hundred that's filled with light from the massive stained glass windows that fortunately survived WWII. A must see for anyone visiting Belfast....it was designed by the same man who designed the Titanic, also built in the famous Shipyards of Belfast....who's name has since left me, so if anyone does the research and refreshes my memory there's a prize for you!!!! Check out the pics.

To our luck, eating in pubs was less expensive than restaurants. We all know how pricey it is living and traveling in the UK, and N. Ireland was no exception. Actually, the cheapest thing you could get on a menu was a pint of beer, less than 3 pound, and well worth it. The photo here, was the local pub (actually, the closest one to our hotel because there was a pub on every corner) which we found ourselves in every night. Pretty classic, with the low ceilings and barrels of beer staked everywhere. Funny, there's a rule of 'NO Sport Team Jersey's Allowed' in the pubs because of the fights that would break out... I guess a good rule by the owners if they didn't want a destroyed bar every weekend!! Oh ya, I think I saw at least a dozen churches while I was walking around the block of the hotel....so I had to take a photo of at least one!

Wednesday was competition day. An eleven o'clock start time was listed but the first round didn't get going for about an hour later, how typical. The venue was set up superbly. In a huge exhibition type facility, it actually kind of looked like a barn from outside...and the inside, made you think that there would be farmers walking around with cows on ropes auctioning them off!!, we had some laughs about that! But seriously, I wish the pictures were not so fuzzy, becuase it was impressive to see...the set up, the flags, the pistes and colours.

I had a great day of fencing. My focus was on, my physical was on, it was all working for me...except for my luck in the semi-final round. But all in all, I went with hardware in mind and came back with hardware. It was presented to me by the President of the FIE (International Fencing Federation) who's presence was a surprise. A man with so much power in European sport, he was ushered in by five body guards and the paparozzi...so it was a privilage for me. A bottle of Irish Cream Whiskey and a bouquet of flowers (which weren't allowed on the plan) were a part of the winnings. The medal podium was swamped with photographers and press, and I was fortunate to get the contact of one of them who is sending me A-plus photo's which I will post in the next coming weeks. These ones just suck, so please bare with me.
Anyways, it was a great day and I am very pleased with the result. Its pretty neat when your on a program that has its peaks and lows. For example, this was a peak tournament for me, so the morning of I felt so ready (even a little nervous) and the total outcome was even better. The effort and planning all comes together and you do things that you really don't think you can. My legs were firering on all pistons and felt amazing, and my focus was there the entire day. Man I love it.
There was also a team match planned for three days later, but the third member of our team has recently quit the sport to pursue more schooling in hopes to be an astronaut....and our Federation decided not to send anyone else...?????? typical politics that I will never understand.

That night, we ended up out with the British and Scottish Teams for drinks. They do like to drink but, of course, I held my own and made it through to the next morning when I went straight to the airport for an 8am flight. The only problem was the transfer at Heathrow where I had to wake up and change planes. But, made it home alive and in one piece. Now I have two weeks off to rest and regroup before training starts for Nationals in December. I'll let you know when the good photo's come in. Later!

Montreal CSC #1

2006-09-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

So, back from Montreal yesterday. The actual day of competition was Monday, but we had two days of mandatory training after that. It's always good to get in some work-outs the day after the tournament, because it reduces the stress the muscles go through and lets you focus on some of the mistakes that are still fresh in your mind....Damn it, what was I thinking when I did that???!!!!
I'll explain, in brief, the format of the event. The field is limited to the top forty-eight fencers in Canada. In the first round everyone is put into a pool of 6 or 7 which is a round robin with bouts up to 5 points. The field is then ranked in order, and put into a tableau based on your results from the pool. The top four fencers go directly in the round of 16, while the rest go into a direct elimination (DE) format with bouts upto 15 points...which means the 5th place fencer fences the 48th place, etc., etc. I ended up in the top four after the first round, so I had a bit of a break...actually almost 2 hours!! From this DE round they go down to 12 fencers, which are then added to the previous four, creating the final 16. Get it so far? Now, the 16 left are put into 2 super pools of 8 fencers each, with a round robin format up to 5 points. The 8 fencers with the most wins go into the final DE tableau while the others ranked 9-16 are sent packing. In this final round of 8 I faced my good friend Michel from Montreal. An experienced fencer to say the least, he was in Athens last Olympics. I was ousted by him 15-9.....but if there's one thing about fencing, is that if you have a name you get the points. Clearly, I had 4 points taked away from me purely from him having a name that the judge knows. Hard to explain, but think of it as getting free drinks at the bar because you know the bartender...and there's nothing anyone can do about it!! These National tournaments are not as serious as they seem. I mean, at this point in the game the selection commitee is looking at International results over what happens Nationally. For example, you can be ranked 12th in the country, but if you can perform better than the 3rd place fencer in an International event you will be selected for sure. Anyways, I ended up with a 5th place, retaining my overall ranking. I haven't added any photos this trip, since I think we all know what the streets of Montreal look like!!! See you after the Commonwealths!!!

2006-09-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

The next week went by fairly smoothly. And what great weather we had: 30-35 degrees and pure sun. But there was still somthing missing. The week before, Pierre-Philip and I randomly came across a street party, which was actually an annual holiday called La Paloma. They have no rules for drinking in the streets in Spain so you can imagine that this was quite the party. But everyone kept telling us about the disco-tecs. So what was a trip to Madrid without a couple of nights of shaking da'hips?! On our last friday, we went out to a very local restaurent with the Spanish Team called La Marie. It is best known for its cuts of meet grilled to perfection, sausages and grilled cheese. It's even better when the company you go with are friends with the owner, because la cuenta (the bill) doesn't make your eyes pop out! That night we made the best of the situation and 'threw it down' at two great clubs. The rumors were right. Actually, everything was right. The atmosphere, the music, the beautiful women and drinks that I never knew existed...all until the wee hours of the morning. If you're ever in Madrid, just ask me where to go, and I'll give you the map!!

The next day, we were invited half an hour outside of Madrid to Jaime Martis' parents house for a traditional Spanish barbeque. Of course, the main reason for the afternoon was the meat and sausages. Here, Fernando Medhina is showing his skills off the fencing piste and on the grill. Spain's most famous fencer and 1999 World Champion, he really knows how to skewer meat...gee I wonder why?!! The house was probably the most ornate and interesting home I've ever been to. Apart from being massive and set on an acre of land, it was totally amazing how you went from being inside to outside without even knowing it. I guess that's one of the luxuries of a country without a harsh winter. Inside, the walls were decorated in tapestries like the ones you'd see in museums, and a wine cellar that is filled with over 3000 bottles just made our mouths drop; the earliest wine being from 1935. Outside, crisp maples and pine trees surrounded the house...the old spanish gardener raking up the day's fallen leaves, while beautiful horse buggies and a walk-in bird cage of Chinese singing canaries made it seem like we were on a tour of their national park. It was outstanding.

So that is the story of Madrid. I really love how they have a unique appreciation for life which you don't find very often. There's no rush, there's no stress and when there's a job to do they get it done because they want to, not because they have to. A lesson in life I think we should all take.

2006-08-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

The rest of the week was much of the same. BUT, who would go all the way to Spain and not take in the night-life? Dinner tended to be served later than usual....I guess later than what we are used to here in Canada. The first course of appetizers wouldn't hit the table until roughly 10:30pm, when the restaurants would start to fill up. We would finally finish the five course meal at midnight with a digestive alcoholic liquer called Rojo (I hope I spelt that right). Served right from the freezer, I was amazed how good it made me feel after such large serving of beef and sausages.

2006-08-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday, we traveled to the very historic town of Toledo. Holy Toledo!!! Famous for making swords and daggers, the city is engulfed by a castle wall atop a hill. Only 30min outside of Madrid by train, it has become a very popular spot for travellers and tourists...nearly hostels on ever corner. Winding little cobble stone streets, a massive church that was the most ornate I've ever seen, and quaint cafes that pop out through stone walls make for a lovely and relaxing afternoon in the sun.

2006-08-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Training usually started at 930am and went to 1230pm. Most of the morning was spent doing physical excercise, footwork, then fun and childish games of football to lighten up the atmosphere. From 2-5pm the city would shut down for the all famous siesta. I never realized they took it so seriously that we couldn't even get a sandwich made, it was that important to them. So we just ended up sitting by the pool of our hotel, sipping "agua con gaz", sunning our aching bodies and taking in all the female sites...I mean who wouldn't? Training would then start again at 5pm. This was the time to get in as much sparring as you could in the three hours. Bout after bout, even if you hadn't any gas left in the tank, it was the reason why we were there....international experience is what improves a fencer. During this session we would also take lessons....here I am taking a lesson with National Team Coach Jean-Marie Banos of Montreal. Look ma, no jacket!!!

Madrid Training Camp

2006-08-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

So the squad just returned from a twelve day training camp held in Spain last week. My first time to Madrid was an amazing experience. The Spanish are probably some of the more social on the International Circut so we always enjoy spending time with them. Their National Training Centre is host to all their National Teams so its great to see so many athletes all in one place. The fencing salle, a room totally dedicated to fencing was a treat to use. Pistes and electric reels sunk into the floor so that their are no wires to trip over, and scoring boxes hung from the ceiling so that everyone can have a good look. Here I am finishing a bout with Pierre-Philip (my Canadian counter-part) at a late night practice.

Format and Schedules

2006-08-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

The 2006-07 season starts in September with three National competitons that are referred to as Elite tournaments, or CSC's. These tournaments are limited to the top 48 fencers in Canada and are worth the most in National Level points. The International season begins in January of 2007. Six Grande Prix events have been selected by the FIE (International Fencing Federation) which take place on three continents during the following six months. Grande Prix events are the toughest of all International tournaments, hence they count for double the International points which ultimately is how a fencer is ranked.

This year is known as the pre-Olympic season and most points are rolled over to the following season (which is cut short) due to the Olympics which are being held in Beijing in 2008. Qualifying for these games are typically very difficult and political with the selection being held to only 45 fencers including the three wild card spots. The FIE has always been struggling with making this a truly International field as most of the top ranked fencers in the world come from Europe. So, it goes by Zones, which are basically the continents. Eight Teams of four fencers are selected to compete plus the top two fencers ranked the highest per zone.

There are six of us in Canada...(known as the "Squad") who travel the world representing this fine country of ours. Four from Montreal, one from Ottawa and one from Toronto...ME!!! But, only four can be selected, and that is the challenge ahead, my friends. Take a look at my National and International Schedule of competitions below....

Sept. 2-4 Montreal, QC - CSC #1
Sept. 20-25 Belfast, Ireland - Commonwealth Championships
Dec. 2-4 Richmond, BC - National Championships
Jan. 12-13 Tehran, Iran - Grande Prix #1
Feb. 2-3 Athens, Greece - Grande Prix #2
Mar. 2-3 Sofia, Bulgaria - Grande Prix #3
May 16-20 Montreal, QC - CSC #2
May 25-26 Madrid, Spain - Grande Prix #4
June 1-2 Pardou, Italy - Grande Prix #5
July 20-21 Las Vegas, USA - Grande Prix #6

With two back to back tournaments (Grande Prix #4 and #5) and a break in the month of April the plan as of now for me is to live and train in Madrid with the Spanish team for about a month before. Arrangements can easily be made since I have become good friends with the Spaniards who have welcome my stay already. I will be tracking and telling stories from each of these tournaments, so make sure you tune in! Traveling by far is a major plus of this sport. That's why I enjoy it so much.

Fencing: A Modern Sport

2006-08-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

The sport of fencing is fast and athletic, a far cry from the choreographed bouts you see on film or stage. Two fencers perform this intense match together on a 6-feet by 44-feet strip of copper as touches are scored electrically because the movement is too fast to track by the human eye.

Competitors win a fencing bout by being the first to score 15 points against their opponent. Each time a fencer lands a valid hit - a touch - they receive one point. We are penalized for crossing the lateral bondaries of the strip while retreating off the rear of our side results in a touch awarded to the opponent.

Sabre is my weapon of choice. Hack and Slash is more like it in our lingo - as the sabre is the modern version of the cavalry sword. The major difference between sabre and the other two weapons, Foil and Epee, is that saberists can score with the edge of their blade as well as the point. The target area is the entire body above the waist, excluding the hands. In addition, sabre employs rules of "right-of-way" which means the fencer who starts to attack first is given priority: should his opponent counter-attack. However, sabre referees are much less forgiving of hesitation by an attacker. It is common to see a saber fencer execute a stop cut against their opponent's forearm during such a moment of hesitation, winning "right-of-way" and the point.

A mere graze by the blade against the lame (the outer electric jacket) registers a touch with the scoring machine. Under these circumstances naturally make saber a fast, furious, aggressive game, with fencers rushing their opponent from the moment the referee gives the "aller". In fact, a lopsided sabre match can literally be over in seconds. As fending off the attack of a skilled opponent is nearly impossible, the defensive is much harder than it looks. However, when forced to, we often go all-out using spectacular tactical and athletic combinations that make the crowd hold their breath.

Great! Now you have a brief explanation of the sport and a couple of the rules. Of course, I couldn't go through everything because it can get pretty detailed, but you can always just ask me questions if you feel the need. I would love to answer the best I can so that everyone gets more familiar with the sport.