AFM Summer Nationals Prep Camp: A Student's Perspective (Day 3)

 Welcome again to my perspective on the third day of the AFM Summer National's Prep Camp. Today's camp was really fun, and I can't wait to share my experience with you all. 

We started off with warm-up and stretching, as usual. We then suited up and started some timing drills. These drills focused on managing the clock and what to do when there were 2 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds, or 15 seconds. In fencing, you only really need 2 seconds to score a touch without a prep. However, that is incredibly risky, so to score a smart and planned touch, you only need about 10-ish seconds. So, some of the drills were just working around a shortened time limit. We also did drills with not only a shortened time but also a score deficit. So there could be 2 minutes on the clock, and the score is 12-9, and the bout is first to 15 touches. 

After drills and lunch, we reconvened and did a pentathlon pool. A pentathlon pool is basically a regular fencing pool; however, instead of a 5-touch bout, it's only one touch. This was really interesting and enjoyable, as fencers usually say that every point counts in bouts, but for these bouts, this point counts even more because it can win or lose the bout. I actually did very well in this activity, only losing 2 of my 25-ish bouts, so that was very rewarding. 

Overall, it was a very exciting day at camp, and it feels like every day the camp gets better. Once again, I would give the day an 8/10, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Thank you for taking a read; as always, this one was a little brief. Be on the lookout for my posts for days 4 and 5.