Monday, September 26, 2011

Blade Caddy

My goodness, it's come at last. I've finally built something! My blog is true to its name! So, I had a problem. Foils are somewhat clumsy objects to carry around. Do you hold them by the points? The grips? Under an arm? They sell individual bags that you can use to carry several at once, but that didn't really appeal to me. So I figured I'd build a blade caddy. I already used lengths of PVC piping to hold cover my blades in my bag, to keep them from being damaged, so I figured that would be a good starting point. I sketched out a basic design, joining four of them together in a square configuration, with four 4.5" lengths of PVC at the bottom held together by three-way PVC junctions.


To hold the top together, I thought I could use two diagonal members, but it turns out that the 3/4" junctions I bought are specifically designed not to have piping run all the way through them, with a small lip preventing passage past an inch or so. So I wound up just using the same scheme for the top as I did the bottom, drilling holes to fit all of the foils. I also drilled some holes in the piping so I could hook in some small bungees that I could use to secure the foils inside, so that they don't fall out if I invert it accidentally. All in all, it seemed to work rather well! Then I tried fitting it into my bag.

So, I'd be a lousy carpenter, due to that whole 'measure twice, cut once' ethos. I knew I could fit a foil into my bag, and the caddy isn't significantly longer than that, so I figured it'd be fine. Turns out that the caddy's width top and bottom stretches the bag too much to accommodate it lengthwise. So, my plan for a caddy that would neatly fit in my bag is dashed, and all is ruin and decay. Woe am I, the engineer who didn't measure properly ahead of time! Actually, what I wound up doing is consolidating my equipment from two bags to one. So it actually still works out! Plus, it's getting some compliments at the club. So that's something.


Anyway, I'll probably wind up keeping it, as my previous 'two bag' solution, one for my foils and various gear and one for all my clothes was somewhat burdensome. I think this will work out better in the end, or I may even make some sort of cloth cover for the caddy, with a pocket or two, and a zipper so I can take it out easily. But that's another project, and thus, another blog post.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Tournament Report: September 18th Three Weapon Open

I return victorious from Long Beach, where I competed in another local open event! Rest assured, they're not actually weekly, unless I'm willing to drive up to San Bernardino on a regular basis to compete (Hint: I'm really not). After last week's disappointing start to the season, with five consecutive losses, my day this time around was significantly better. In the pools round, I won four and lost two. The two losses were probably avoidable, I think they are guys I can beat, but the first one was definitely a wake-up bout, and the second was as close as they come, I lost five to four. So, room for improvement, but a world better than last time.

In direct eliminations, I seeded seventeenth out of fifty five, which placed me in the top eighty percent, and thus advanced me into the next round. Normally everyone advances into direct eliminations, but this tourney had approximately fifty-five entrants, so the tournament organizers eliminated the bottom twenty percent right out of pools. I had my first bout against the sixteenth seed. It was pretty even for the first period, but afterwards I managed to take it by a margin of four touches. That brought me out of the round of thirty-two into the sixteen, in which I encountered the number one seed.

I observed his bout prior to mine, and tried to draw up a strategy. I saw he was really good, but I figured I could beat him on footwork. And I did! I was able to push him up and down the strip for much of the bout. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to land anything and was thoroughly beaten on bladework, and lost fifteen to five. A few friends of mine who were watching my bout commented that my problem was two-fold.

Firstly, my distance was off in that I was getting too close. As a result, my actions were correspondingly larger. The closer I get, the further I have to move my blade in order to effectively parry, beat or evade his blade. This isn't a new problem for me, my distance is perpetually off, always way too close. I get excited, my footwork gets too big, and I'm way too close to hit effectively. It's aggravating, because this has been a problem of mine for a long, long time and I can't seem to get it under control. But, it's good to have something to work on.

So last week I placed fifteenth out of seventeen, and today I placed at the very least sixteenth out of fifty-five. So I'm gonna call it progress, and I have something to focus on until then. And the next tournament is actually in mid or late October, so until then!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Moving on, moving on

I'm about to embark on a new adventure! The grand adventure of grad school! I'll be working on a master's degree in aerospace engineering at my alma mater, UCSD, hopefully on the thesis track. I just stopped by the lab of my advisor, Professor Tom Bewley, and it looks like a really cool place, got to meet a bunch of people, see some cool robots. Check out the Switchblade!



I'm starting to get really excited about this transition. The prospect of not having income is still a bit distressing, but I'm sure I'll adapt in short order, perhaps get a part time job. The idea of working on something challenging and interesting is tantalizing, and to get into a different culture is also appealing. I'm not wholly certain that my current place of employment is a good fit for me. There's a focus on adherence to rules rather than performance, and I've increasingly felt that I have to censor myself in more ways than I think are really necessary for a workplace. It's likely that this is true of any work-environment, but I'll have to wait for my next one to see. My thoughts in this vein are pretty well summed up by one of my favorite XKCD strips ever. It's time to break my routine and set up a new one, and I can't wait.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Tournament Report: September 11th Three Weapon Open

So, I'm having a hard time summing up something. I got whaled on yesterday. I mean, I barely showed up. I got my butt kicked. A fourteen year old wiped the floor with me (on a related note, happy birthday Ryan). There are any number of things I could say, excuses I could offer, but I'll try to do a bit of analysis instead.

I think my technique was pretty solid all day. I could complain about the slippage on the floors (Mira Mesa High School's gym is well maintained, but it apparently doubles as an ice rink), but it wasn't a huge issue. My problem was that I didn't fully get into, or at the very least didn't maintain a competitive mindset. I was treating the bouts like practice and taking my time to get mentally warmed up and engaged. And this didn't just happen early on, it lasted until my elimination bout. I remember an old teammate used to tell me to 'be hungry', and I don't think I accomplished that today. Not even a little bit.

So, proceeding under the assumption that I've found the problem, it's time to find a solution. My physical warm-up works out, now I need a mental one. I could do a decision drill beforehand, or do something to psych myself up. The thing about individual sports is that it's hard to do a rah-rah cheer when it's just you. The UCSD team used to do a couple different cheers, but they were pretty graphic and not really appropriate for the local opens I'm attending, which are all-age events.

I've got another tournament next weekend, so that gives me a week to come up with a plan. 'Til next time!

Updated: Here's a link to the results. I wound up placing fifteenth out of seventeen. So, not dead last! That counts for something, right?

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Mesa Rim

So this blog is called 'Watch Ed Build', so you probably expect me to build something at some point. To write a post where I talk about fixing or creating something. Well, this post is not that post. This is the post in which I discuss the wonders of rock climbing, and my gym in particular!

I've been climbing off and on for several years, but in the past year I've started going regularly to a gym with a buddy and working on my top rope and bouldering skills. I have to note about Mesa Rim, it is for certain the best climbing facility in San Diego, and I can say that, having tried them all. The walls top out at fifty two feet, the tallest indoor walls in San Diego, and the routes are constantly being updated by a really talented setting team. There are about seventy individual top ropes set up, plus a number of routes for lead climbing (lead climbing being the practice of bringing the rope up with you as you go). The ropes are also regularly replaced, which matters rather a lot, as ropes do not age well.


The bouldering area is also pretty excellent, offering a variety of inclines and heights and a couple of caves. The best part to my mind is the fully padded flooring, which makes any fall a painless tumble. In many other gyms, they keep a number of pads that you have to drag around and put down underneath where you'll be climbing, which provide all the cushioning of a sack of rocks. Actually, that may not be strictly true of all of them, but I had a bad experience the other week, so I'm gonna assume that they all do. For reference, if you're going to Vertical Hold, get two or three pads to make sure you're covered. Whatever part of your anatomy absorbs the impact will thank you.


A final word on the facilities: they evidently have a hot yoga room, a really solid gym, showers and a sauna. I haven't taken advantage of the sauna or the yoga room, but it's nice to know they're there. My last word on the place in general is that the staff is pretty excellent. They're helpful and friendly as all get out. And Allyson Boyd's boot camp class regularly beats the living tar out of me, and keeps me coming back for more.


Now, I've had a hard time trying to come up with a way to show my climbing on this blog. I've seen very clever things done with photography, taking a number of pictures and then making a mosaic out of them to show the progress up the wall. I've thought about using one of those nice GoPro cameras to perhaps record my ascent, but I don't have one, and also I'd look really silly wearing one on my head around the gym. So I'll work on coming up with a good way to demonstrate that and get back to you. 'Til next time!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Fencing Video Breakdown

So this fencing recap video is a little different, as I actually took the time to examine all the individual clips and group them into something that's almost coherent. I broke it down into three basic actions, counter attack, long attack and ripostes, and then good and bad examples of each. I went through several hundred clips, which I eventually whittled down to less than a hundred, for a three minute video.



On the counterattacks, there's not much to say. I tend to succeed when I step into it with a my arm high and fully extended. I bring it back in to close out a lot, which isn't ideal, but it gets the job done. The failures are often because I'm not properly countering, but rather sticking my arm out while being run down, or because my hand is low and arm isn't properly extended.

As for long attacks, I'm landing when I've got the distance right and my hand in the right place. A lot of the time those two are linked, as when my arm isn't extended, I take an extra step in to make up the distance, which puts me in the way wrong distance to hit. Also, the most successful touches in this set are when I vary my acceleration on the attack, to draw a parry or force another reaction.

Moving onto ripostes, it seems I'm hitting when I properly disengage or feint past the first parry and then hit. I'm also hitting from prime (the top-down shot) a lot, which I need to clean up, as it's a bit of a desperation move. My lesser/lousy riposte moments come when I'm too close, or parrying in weird positions. It helps to keep the blade right in front of me so I don't have to bring it back into center to riposte.

Well, that's it! Stay tuned for more fencing fun!