Practice in a Nutshell
Type of Practice: Open
This is our second to last week of Warlords. We are nearly done now! The game is getting intense. Come play, battle for glory, and for fun.
Lessons
- Newcomers: Upon Request
- Initiates: Upon Request
- Novices: Upon Request
- Swordsmen: Upon Request
Announcements
Lessons
If you are hoping for a lesson please contact Evanlyn by Thursday with your request. Please make sure to be early for those lessons, so you can warm up properly and be in a learning frame of mind.
Shay’s Thoughts
I love quotes. I write my favorite ones, or the ones I’m thinking about the most, on post-it notes and hang them all around my desk area. I write them on the covers of my fencing journal, in my fencing journal, I keep them most of them in a file on my google drive. And I reflect on them. Often. I love quotes. I think it’s because I learn best in moments, and through clear, concise language. A good powerful quote fulfills both of those learning styles.
A year ago I received some criticism. I didn’t take it well. The end of the fencing season was a real struggle for me personally because of it. Shortly after I was watching one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, Much Ado About Nothing. In this play, one of the main characters had been very wrong about something, and he happened to overhear his friends talking about it. Their harsh criticism was reflected upon and soliloquized about beautifully by the man, and climaxed in this quote:
Happy are those who hear their detractions and put them to mending.
Benedick
Basically this means, a person who can listen to criticism, and make a positive change because of it, will be happy. I keep this quote right at eye level, off to one side of my main study area, so that any time I look up it is right there to remind me that positive change is one way to be happy on this journey.
On Friday after practice, there were some awesome pickup fights! Some of my favorite fighting I’ve done all season. After we were too tired to keep going, the fighters stayed to chat about what we learned. I got some feedback on my fights. Some I was proud of, some stung a bit. That’s normal, but then I got a challenge to decide what I was going to do about it. Such a good challenge!
So I took some time over the weekend to think about it, and this quote sprang to mind. Happy are those who can hear their criticisms and do something positive about it. So armed with my Swordsman Attitude, I came up with a plan for how to approach my fight differently and how to practice for it throughout the week. I know it could take a while to improve my fight, but I’m excited to work towards that. I’m happy to do it. I challenge you to think about your criticisms and make a positive change. I’m sure you’ll be happier for it.
