Every week, we get another hopeful kid sidling up to one of our instructors (sometimes accompanied by mom or dad) to shyly ask:

“How do I get really good at fencing?”

In the words of the venerable Mr. Lee Hyo-kun, head coach of the Korean Mens Sabre Team and childhood coach of world #1 Gu Bon-gil:

“Practice. More Practice. No fun”.

Here’s a translated summary of the typical schedule for a young Korean aspiring pro fencer:

6am : Wake up.

: Wake up. 6am-8am : Go for a run, preferably with hills and sprints.

: Go for a run, preferably with hills and sprints. 8am-10am : Eat breakfast and have a nap.

: Eat breakfast and have a nap. 10am-12:00pm : Footwork and bladework drills.

: Footwork and bladework drills. 12:00pm-2pm : Lunch and another nap.

: Lunch and another nap. 2pm-5pm : More drills and bouting.

: More drills and bouting. 5pm-8:00pm : Dinner and another nap.

: Dinner and another nap. 8:00pm-10pm : In off-season, weight training alternating with rest days. In competition season, more bouting.

: In off-season, weight training alternating with rest days. In competition season, more bouting. 10pm : Laundry, housekeeping, maybe study if you’re a nerd. No video games.

: Laundry, housekeeping, maybe study if you’re a nerd. No video games. 12am: Bed.

That’s the schedule Monday to Saturday. Apparently they get Sundays off.

Coming up: An alternative approach for those of us who have to sometimes do things besides fencing to maximise our training outcomes.

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