What's your definition of winning?
On June 14th, I competed in the Michigan Division Fencing Tournament hosted at my club, the Plymouth/Ann Arbor Fencing Academy, and I came in 8th place in my division.
Why am I thrilled?
I went home with hardware. This always feels good.
Everyone I have competed against in the past made a point to tell me I have greatly improved. Ego boost!
I could tell I improved because situations that vexed me before were no longer issues. I handled them and scored.
And I know I improved because there were opponents who I could not win against and instead of feeling like a failure, I mentally gathered information about what to do better in practice and now I’m armed with stuff to bug my coach about.
I won my first bout during this competition (5-2) and lemme tell you that I now understand why competitors yell so loudly when they win. It's such a dopamine rush.
Another reason why this was a groovy outcome? This:
Take from this what you will, Educators.
