Wishing you the very best of this joyous season

From Eisen, Monica, Meg, & Ella

FOAM SWORDS!!!

they cost less than 100 pesos each and pretty much safe
shown here as ella and meg fence away…

meg gives her cousin a good whacking…

I’ve been wanting to buy similar foam swords from the US but the shipping would cost more than the swords themselves. been looking around here and these were the closest thing we could find.

the foam blades are actually hollow as they have lights inside so not as sturdy but the flexibility makes them a lot safer. though it makes catching an opponent’s blade a lot trickier. a small plastic cylinder inside the bottom half of the blade helps hold them up… and unfortunately has a tendency to come loose making the blades flop around.

we ran off with four of the swords

…9,903 more to go

http://www.tenthousandfencers.com/

“We’ve started a campaign to get ten thousand new people to try fencing. We thought about getting the whole country fencing, but our advisors told us to start small. We love fencing. It’s one of the fastest, most elegant, and unique sports in the world. It’s growing rapidly, and it’s a sport that all ages can play! With the Olympic games coming, why not find out what all the fuss is about?

Whether you’re female or male, novice or expert, knowledgeable or curious, an existing fencing club or a start-up group, or you just want to find out more, click on the Join tab and get started with Ten Thousand Fencers. You’ll receive tons of tips, special offers, and membership goodies by email. It’s a great chance to learn a new sport and meet enthusiastic and fun people from all over the country. Sign up now!

See you on the strip,

Tim Morehouse”

I’ve also started working at a REAL job again but still doing photography so my sched is also a bit cramped. Tuesday afternoon or evenings would be good.

Anyway, let’s work it out!

Monica asked to do a shoot a few months ago and here’s one of the shots…

She lunged and the tip landed perfectly stabbing me in the chest… touché!
make up by Romero Vergara

present: Andre, Donna Crystal, and Monica

touché tots: Isa, Bea, and Red

present: AJ, Andre, Anna, Benjie, Donna Crystal, Monica, Simon, and me

touché tots: Isa and Bea (Donna’s two little girls), Ella, Meg, and Val

Ella takes a whack at the swinging ball

Anna practices her lunges while Monica checks

Andre and Donna work on circular parries

Whoops

and again…

Monica adjusts Donna’s en garde

attack me!

“All for one and one for all!” the three… um… er… drama-teers? (Monica, Benjie, and Andre)

Benjie and Donna go through a drill while Anna (sitting) takes a breather

Anna takes the blade to parry four

Simon goes for an attack during a one-on-one lesson with Monica
where Simon jokingly dubs Monica’s gear as the “bee suit”

touché tots Val and Meg playfully take on Andre. AJ takes a breather on the bench

like a true fashion model Anna knows how to show her form whether on a ramp or a piste

AJ and I finally fenced. Did a few practice bouts first then Andre and Donna eagerly volunteer to preside a short three-point bout. Short was an understatement. Took a long while though as most of the time was spent by Donna and Andre analyzing the phrases to determine right-of-way and the point. But AJ did okay. His movements are more fluid and he knows how to handle his blade. Part of the help is from a summer fencing clinic he took up and the extra fencing time he gets at his new school: CIE.

I led him on encouraging him to go for a point which he landed well. But later he was able to catch me again as he evaded my parry with a very close circular disengage that landed in the same spot without any help. AJ tied me 2-2 but I decided to finish it quickly with a fleche which caught AJ off guard and the hit landed on his chest. Unfortunately Monica can’t handle all the training by herself. So the game had to be cut short and I helped Anna and Simon polish off with their footwork.

But before that I gave AJ some tips in evading a fleche attack. If you’d like to learn how to evade the fleche too then come visit us Thursday nights at Baseline. LET’S FENCE!!!

present: AJ, Monica, and me

touché tots: Meg and little AJ

footwork for everyone and blade drills for AJ

then Monica and I went off for a dinner to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary

She had fun though… especially dextrose stand surfing down the hospital corridors!

present: AJ, Andre, Benjie, Donna Crystal, Monica, and me

touché tots: Ella, Meg, Valerie, and Donna’s two little girls

AJ burn’n up a sweat

Donna Crystal looks on as Andre practices footwork

Monica gears up

AJ and Monica go over parrying positions

Monica gives Andre a bladework lesson

AJ takes a stab at the swinging ball point control development exercise

Benjie takes a lesson from Monica

Benjie lands a touch and Monica checks it