This one small step will truly change your life as a fencer. That’s not an exaggeration. 

First, let’s look at what a competitive fencer’s routine might look like. 

• Get up. 
• Check your phone calendar for what practice you have today.
• Do some quick cardio. 
• Take a shower
• Head to school or work.
• Chug down a protein shake. 
• Attend fencing class.
• Have a fencing lesson.
• Go home. 
• Grab dinner.
• Do schoolwork or catch up on chores.
• Go to bed. 

It’s so easy for fencers to go onto autopilot, especially when the training regimen seems to be working. The routine of training and competition becomes something that the fencer doesn’t even think twice about. They just do it. That works, for a while, but it’s not a path to growth. Not only that, but it’s a life that’s not as fulfilling as you deserve.

Without a conscientious focus, we lose sight of what we’re doing all of this for and where the fun is. Drudgery is the opposite of passion. The daily intention is a way for fencers to remind themselves what they are capable of. You are capable of so much! What you need is the right focus and the right mindset to get you there. 

Set a fencing intention every day

Breaking free of that autopilot isn’t hard, but it takes effort. A great way to do it is to simply set an intention in the morning. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be personal. 

Start every day by setting a fencing intention. Every single day. Clarity is the key to feeling confident in life and moving forward towards your goals, and the only way to get clarity is to make it happen or yourself. You’ll want to choose a time in the morning to do this, and to start with you can associate it with something you’re doing anyway. It might be when you drink your cup of coffee or whatever else works for you. After a couple of weeks, you won’t have to remember to set your intention anymore because it’ll be an ingrained habit. 

You should have a varied fencing intention each day! It might be something that you complete really quickly or something that dominates a large chunk of your day. What matters is that you are training with purpose.

Here are some examples:

• Fence from my head, not my emotions
• Be intentional with my class training
• Stay focused on my form
• Engage in cross-training
• Review my last competition mistakes with my coach
• Review what I learned in the last private lesson before the class
• Focus mostly on my weak actions today

Using a fencing journal is a great way to keep yourself engaged with your intention, whether that’s through writing it down on paper or through setting it as the background on your phone. You can also set an alarm reminder called “intention” that dings throughout the day to keep it fresh.

The intensity of your intention will wax and wane with the fencing season. You might have something intense when you’re preparing for an NAC or Fencing Summer Nationals, then have something less prominent during the off season or around the holidays. Fencing isn’t always the center of life, but daily progress towards your fencing goals is important for competitive fencers. 

Emotion drives growth

An intention works because it’s backed by emotion. How do you want to feel?

• Like a powerful athlete?
• Like a master strategist?
• Like a champion fencer?

Choose the thing feeling that is most organic and appealing. It doesn’t have to be the same every day, and you’ll hopefully veer far beyond this quick little list. It might be that you want to make your coach proud or that you want to be a fantastic opponent. Whatever it is, say it out loud to yourself in the morning. Try to feel that emotion, the pride and happiness that will come when you hit the mark you’re aiming for. 

For instance, if you want to feel like a powerful athlete, then you’ll want to put effort into your cross-training. Get that cardio in or make time for agility training. If being present during your lesson or your match is the most important thing to you, then work in fifteen minutes of meditation. Maybe strategic thinking is your intention and you want to use your fencing lesson to get strategic growth going with your coach. There are so many possibilities.

This can also keep you from falling into emotionally driven decisions that are not moving you towards your goals. For instance, that big pizza dinner might not be the best thing if you’re wanting to increase your agility. Sure, it sounds great to your tastebuds, but it doesn’t support your goals. By setting a clear intention, you’ll have a much easier time channeling your behavior in the direction you want to go. Even on days that it’s hard.

On the other side, remember that setting an intention that’s too big can cause you to feel overwhelmed. Intentions have to be something that you control, like your presence during training or your focus during a bout. When you set an intention that you can’t control, that’s only going to make you feel frustrated. The cycle of not meeting a goal that you’ve put out there can be demoralizing, which will only set you back.

When it comes to competition days, it’s important to set your intention to do your best on a specific skill or to use a strategic method that you’ve been working on, not to reach some specific finish in the standings. 

By setting an intention for your fencing every day, you’ll not only find that you can better make steady progress, but that you also become more invested in your fencing work. There should be a joy in both training and in a competition! Even though it’s not always roses, using a tactic like setting daily intentions will help those tough training days become less common. 

Photo by Kristin_Hardwick from Freerange Stock under free lincese