Plateaus

It happens to all of us: we keep getting better and better until all of a sudden, we just can't get any better. This doesn't mean we don't have anything more to learn, just that we've learned as much as we can by what we're doing. We've plateaued. And the sad fact is that this isn't something that happens once, but over and over again.

Usually, the first plateau happens fairly early in your career: you've learned the basics and have started doing pretty well for yourself locally, but then Bam! Your death becomes a common, oft-repeated part of fighter's practice and you begin feeling like the shire pin-cushion. The cause of this first plateau is that your fellow local fencers have learned all your tricks, all your patterns, and can counter them without even thinking about it.

For this first plateau, the solution is to travel. Go to other group's fighter's practices. Do pick-up fights when you go to events. And if you see someone do something really effective, ask them about it. This will expand your knowledge base and teach you new tricks that maybe didn't work for the other local fighters, haven't made their way to your local group, or maybe have been forgotten by your other local fighters.

This will get you going again and you'll start doing better and better at tourneys, maybe winning a few but definitely making a good showing for yourself. You're right on the edge of greatness, then Bam! Another plateau. You're still doing well, but you just can't get your head around those Gold Scarves. So, what do you do now?

You start teaching. You help out at fighter's practice with the brand new fencers, showing them the basics of footwork, parries and attacks. This slows you down and forces you to think about what you're doing and how. And it also starts to teach you how to watch other fighters and take apart their style. And after a while, you begin to make progress against those Gold Scarves who'd been your bane for the past few months.

And things are going great until the same thing happens again. This is when many fencers will begin doing research, either on period techniques or other martial arts, trying to find that certain something missing from their style. They'll start focusing on the why of fencing moves and begin adapting other arts to their needs.

And again, as you get deeper into your research, your skill will begin improving until you're the equal of all but the very best Gold Scarves, but then you hit another plateau. And it's time to change things up again. It's time to start "hunting Dons." You should be taking every chance you can get to fight with the White Scarves, both in tourneys and in practices. Ask them questions. Ask for their advice. Pump them for as much knowledge as you can: after all, many of them have forgotten more about fencing than most of us know.

And just like before, you'll start improving again. And, like before, you'll hit that plateau again. And this time it's back to teaching - but not focusing on the beginners. This time you're focusing on the intermediate or advanced fighters, teaching them your tricks and helping them through their plateaus.

But even after you get past this plateau (and hopefully earned your White Scarf), you're still not done. Every so often, you'll hit another plateau. And the fix for that plateau will always be to learn more or to teach.

As for myself, I've taught beginners, I've traveled, I've done research, and I'm definitely at a plateau. I guess that means I should start hunting Dons.