In fencing, as in life, our memories of how we felt during crucial moments tend to fade. The intensity of that devastating loss, the thrill of executing a perfect attack, the frustration of a missed opportunity—all become less vivid with time. As a result, we often make decisions without fully remembering the lessons we’ve already learned. If we only could have a way to record these moments for the sake of our future self.

Here’s a simple practice that can transform your fencing journey…

Remember that regional tournament where you were down 8-14 and somehow clawed your way back to win 15-14? Take a moment right now to write down exactly how it felt—the desperation, the shift in mindset, the moment you realized you could actually win. Schedule this note to arrive before your next major competition. When pre-tournament anxiety hits, that reminder of your resilience will be exactly what you need.

Did you skip that optional footwork session last month, only to find yourself gasping for air in the third period of your DE bout? Make a note about how those burning legs and that racing heart felt when everything was on the line, and schedule it to arrive before your next opportunity to put in extra conditioning work.

One more: the next time you try that risky new action in practice—the one your coach has been pushing you to add to your repertoire—and it actually works beautifully, send yourself a reminder for your next competition. Tell your future self how satisfying it felt to expand your fencing vocabulary instead of relying on the same three actions you’ve used since you were twelve.

It’s not just recording your fencing history; it’s sending targeted wisdom to your future self exactly when you’ll need it most.

Remember that time you convinced yourself you didn’t need to check your equipment the night before a tournament, only to discover your body cord was broken during your very first pool bout or the weapon did not pass the weapon check? Write that down, along with the nauseating feeling of receiving that yellow or even worse, the red card before you even started fencing. Schedule it to arrive the evening before your next competition.

Or that wonderful feeling when you finally embraced your coach’s advice about distance control, and suddenly your opponents couldn’t touch you? Send that revelation to yourself for the week after a particularly frustrating lesson when everything feels hopeless.

Think about how you felt after that tournament when you obsessed about your potential opponents, stalking their results online and watching videos of their bouts until 2 AM—only to fence terribly because you were exhausted and overthinking everything. Drop yourself a note about that experience for the week before nationals, when you’ll be tempted to do the same thing all over again.

The future fencer you’re becoming will emerge with or without this practice, but why not give them the advantage of your hard-earned insights at the exact moment they’ll need them most?

Remember how annoying it was when your parents asked about your competition results immediately after that devastating loss? Write down exactly how it felt and what you wish they had said instead. Then schedule it to arrive right before your own child’s first tournament, say 20 years from now, when you might be tempted to focus on results rather than process.

Did you find unexpected joy in helping your younger clubmate fix their weapon before their bout, even though you were in the middle of warming up for your own event? Send that warm feeling to your future self for the day when you’ll be debating whether to volunteer as an armorer at your club’s local tournament.

One more: the next time you decide to skip a post-tournament analysis because “it was just too painful to watch,” but then finally force yourself to review the video with your coach and discover three fixable mistakes that were costing you touches—send that revelation to yourself for after your next tournament, and the next one, and the next one, until you hit the one with a disappointing result.

Remember that moment when you were so frustrated with your results that you considered quitting fencing altogether? Record how you felt a week later when you dragged yourself back to practice anyway and rediscovered your love for the sport. Schedule it to arrive during what will inevitably be another low point in your fencing journey.

The beauty of this practice isn’t just that it preserves your fencing memories—it delivers them precisely when they’ll have the most impact on your future decisions.

The fencing path unfolds, with or without these reminders, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use our past experiences to guide our future selves in a more meaningful, consistent, and ultimately successful direction.

After all, the most valuable coach you’ll ever have is often your past self—if only you’d listen to them.

Image: by Ruslan66 under Creative Commons Licese for free usage