THRUST AND CUT
Number 2009-11 31 December 2009
In This Issue
New Beginners Class
Fence Til You Drop
Women's Foil and Epee Dry Open
Youth Circuit
USFA Schedule
Skills Development
Strength Coach Certified
Snake Fist Promotions
Quick Links
Welcome 2010!
 
... and thank you for having helped make 2009 a success for the Salle ...
 
A New Year is a great time to set a new set of resolutions and goals.  So here is what we plan for 2010:
 
(1) we will grow our Chanbara program - Chanbara is an extreme swordsport with fast action and a demand for absolute confidence in your tactics.
 
(2) we have added Jukenjutsu (bayonet) to our mix of Asian sword program.  Fencing masters taught bayonet up to the early 1900s, so this is adding another weapon with both European and Asian connections.
 
(3) we will add an empty hand combat method, Snake Fist Karate, this year as a daytime and weekend class.  It will complete our Asian offerings.
 
(4) and we will expand our Shim Soo Gum Do class - a Korean sword form. 
 
(5)  we will start another rotation of our historical swordsmanship classes in late January.
 
(6)  we will continue to grow our Youth 10 program - we have good young epee fencers who are starting to get competitions under their belts.
 
(7) we will refocus our Intermediate and Classical programs on our skills development program with regular scheduled testing.
 
(8) we now have a small group of competitive fencers - we want this group to grow in number through careful selection of meets that will add to competitive skills.
 
(9) and we need assistant instructors who will be reliable and who will develop the skills needed to teach our classes.
 
This is an ambitious program - and we need (1) your participation to make it work, and (2) your help in spreading the word about what we offer.  More fencers means more and better fencing for you - our growth helps all of us.
Next Beginners Class
Our next eight week Beginners starts on Tuesday, 5 January, at 7:00 pm.  This 8 week class includes 5 lessons with the foil, 1 with the sabre, 1 with the epee, and a class tournament.  If you know anyone who wants to learn how to fence, please encourage them to try our favorite sport. 
New Years Day - Fence Til You Drop
On New Years Day we will once again host our traditional Fence Til You Drop Competition from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.  The rules are simple:
 
(1)  You can fence any opponent in any weapon, any number of times.
(2)  Bouts are 5 touches, and you must immediately vacate the piste for the next fencer after completing your bout.
(3)  You must record each bout fenced.
(4)  Overall winners, and weapon winners, are determined by who fences the most bouts - win or lose.  If there is a tie, the fencer with the most victories takes the place.
(5)  Ribbons for overall places 1st through 10th.
(6)  We start on time and stop on time, as set by the clock on the fencing floor - if you start late, you start at a disadvantage.

This is a Fence Dry! event - for those who do not have Fence Dry! membership, you can join at the door (annual fee is $10 and covers all Fence Dry! registered tournaments.  Tournament entry fee is $1.
Women's Foil and Epee Dry Open
On Saturday, 2 January, we will host an open dry competition for Women foil and epee fencers.  The event starts at 2:00 pm, and the format will be determined by the number of entries.  This is intended as a relaxed, informal event, to give our fencers in the variety of different modern and classical programs we offer a chance to get to know each other better.  It is an ideal environment for your first competition.
 
This is a Fence Dry! registered event - for those who do not have Fence Dry! membership, you can join at the door (annual fee is $10 and covers all Fence Dry! registered tournaments).  Tournament entry fee is $1.00. 

Youth Circuit Events

There are two upcoming events that are especially important for our Youth 14, Youth 12, and Youth 10 fencers:
 
Claude Moore Winter Skirmish - Sterling, Virginia, 16 January
This is a Youth 10, Youth 12, and Youth 14 electric epee event, and should serve as a useful warmup for the Super Youth Circuit event.  Registration at FRED at:

http://askfred.net/Events/Prereg/prereg.php?tournament_id=10295

Capitol Clash Super Youth Circuit - Northern Virginia Community College, 29-31 January
This is a national Super Youth Circuit competition open to the following age groups:
Youth 10 - born 1999-2002
Youth 12 - born 1997-2000
Youth 14 - born 1995-1998
As a national event, the competition will be strong, with fencers from all over the country.  All of the standard rules for major competitions apply, including full uniform and the requirement for names on either the legs or the back of lames (if you are going, you must let us know as soon as possible so that we can get naming done).
 
There is a registration deadline - fees before 8 January are $40 for the tournament plus $30 for each event.  After that they are in the multiple hundreds of dollars.  So register now using FRED at:

http://askfred.net/Events/Prereg/prereg.php?tournament_id=9701.    

USFA Competition Schedule

2-3 January - Hangover Classic - Richmond Volleyball Club
Skills Development Promotion
Congratulations to Brandon Hiner for completing the requirements for Foil Level 1. 
USFCA Guild AcademyStrength Coach Certified 
From the day we opened our permanent home we made a commitment that the people who teach fencing and train athletes at Salle Green will be professionally certified in what they do.  This is important to ensure you receive the best possible service from the Salle and that you are prepared for the sport.  Anyone can be a coach - all you have to do is say you are one.  We hang our certificates on the wall and post them on the Website so that you will know our coaches actually are recognized coaches with real skill sets that have been measured against standards.
 
We are very proud to announce that Shannon Rogers, our Strength Coach, has been certified as a Certified Personal Trainer.  We knew from the first class that she was qualified, but now you know that others have evaluated her skills and knowledge and agree that she has what it takes to make you a better athlete.
Snake Fist Promotions
As noted above in our welcome to 2010, one of our goals is to be able to round out our Asian martial arts offerings with an empty handed system.  We selected Snake Fist Karate, a simplified system that offers a combination of external and internal energy, as that system.  We have two individuals with prior martial arts training who are working to become Snake Fist instructors, and we are happy to announce that Michelle Black and Shannon Rogers have earned their Yellow Belts in that process.