SPORTS SCIENCE
BY JUSTIN TAUSIG
FIGHT WITH YOUR OPPONENT
NOT THE REFEREE! O
ne conversation often overheard at competitions is when a fencer complains to a teammate about how a referee cost them a match. They bemoan the poor quality of the referee and how they didn’t call the actions “correctly.” There are two distinct problems with this conclusion: The first problem with this line of thinking is it takes away the fencer’s perceived agency to do anything to help change the outcome into a more positive one. Following this train of thought, if the fencer doesn’t have any agency, then there is no reason to practice or take lessons. Just show up and hope the referee allows you to win. Read that again and understand how foolish it sounds. The second problem is it doesn’t help to put the result at the feet of the referee. Imagine the following: In pools, the match is tied at 4-4 when you execute a beat-attack. Both lights go on and the referee calls it as a parry-riposte for your opponent, so you lose the match. The referee’s ruling cost you the match, right? Not necessarily! In this scenario, when its 4-4, if you execute an action where both lights go on you have given the referee the power to decide the outcome of the match. Single-light actions make much more sense since that turns the referee into a scorekeeper. The referee decides the conditions under which the bout is fenced. If a beat-attack is judged as a parry-riposte, you have two choices: you can continue to execute beat-attacks in the hope the referee with start calling it the way YOU think the action should be called, or you can change what you’re doing and avoid actions that could be interpreted in that manner. Only one of these options is useful for you! (Hint: it’s the second one!)
28 AMERICAN FENCING B
