Intermediate Fencer's Plateau Syndrome!

Fencing Thought of the Day: in several books on the topic, the subject of how to continue improving your game once you understand how to fence and have some skill is often not given a lot of discussion, and that is because it's supposed to be obvious. But in fact it is not; the temptation to always go for the win MUST be put aside for the necessity to experiment in practice. I see students spend money on lessons and then never try to implement what they've been taught. They go off and do the same predictable actions that got them touches in the past, over and over, learning nothing new and teaching their muscle memory nothing new. This is why intermediate fencers get stuck on their plateau. You MUST allow for the fact that when you try something new and unfamiliar in a bout you will probably LOSE A LOT OF TOUCHES. But you must remember this is a small and temporary insignificance compared to the big picture of learning more fencing repertoire. Eventually you will get it right if you keep trying; and then one day you won't lose any touches doing the new thing because you'll have it down pat. This is the ONLY WAY TO IMPROVE!!!