Fencing is a sport of art, grace, refinement, beauty, and pefection of efficient movement and form. When we first learn fencing we learn the simple things: stepping forward, stepping backward, extending our weapons to hit a target. As we journey through the circle of training we add increasing complexity and refinment to our skill. We perform beautify, complex actions woven together as our own musical composition of blade and foot, creating rhythms and patterns to hit or deceive our opponents. We must learn these skills to be good fencers, however, in the end we find our greatest success in returning to our now perfected roots: simple action, simple phrases.
The fencing strip is the mirror of life. We follow the same model, starting at a very basic level and adding complexity. But isn’t is always the simple things, the little thigns that mean the most and provide the most success? After we have learned the complexity of our lives, we return to the roots of our lives: simplicity.
Simple is elegant. Simple is beautiful. Simple is genius.
