For some reason unknown to me, my darling decided that we should learn (or, at least, be exposed to) a new sport. So he bought a Fave voucher for a 1-hour session at SportivA fencing, which we visited yesterday. Ordinarily, I’d think the units at The Commerze @ Irving (1 Irving Place) would be for offices so I was rather surprised to find that there’s a fencing studio in one of them. It’s air-conditioned and there are fans as well but you can’t help smelling sweaty bodies within this place. Even more surprising was the fact that our coach was not expecting us. The person who had done the scheduling had, apparently, gotten us to come by an hour earlier. So our coach, while pointing out that it was his colleague’s error, also said we *should have* questioned that person and double-confirmed that the timing stated within the email was right or not. Hmm. OK. So we got off on the wrong foot right from the start.
The venue has very cramped seating area, filled with bags and other things the young students had brought. One boy, as he was stepping over a bag to get to his things, even ‘stabbed’ my foot with his weapon (whether it was a sabre, epee or foil, I can’t tell) accidentally.
My darling posing after it was all *phew* finally over:
How would I describe our coach? Hmm. Firstly, very muscular. He had bulging thigh and calf muscles. Which actually isn’t surprising because of the stance you have to hold and the footwork and all. And strangely enough, he seemed a bit allergic to me. He barely gave me any eye contact. I felt he kept looking at a space next to my darling – as if there was a supernatural being right there that only he can see.
Then I felt he was rambling a bit about his background and all, which I totally did not catch. You know, when people aren’t looking at you when they’re supposedly talking to you, you don’t feel like you need to pay any attention?
And then later, when he was teaching us about the footwork and all, he suddenly got upset when I followed what he was doing, before he’d told us to do so. Like when his left leg’s stretched out at the back during the demo, and I do the same while watching him, he suddenly got pissed. And he pronounced “I’m strict. I’m not fierce but I’m strict”. OK (@_@) And once again, he wasn’t looking at me when he was saying that.
And I also couldn’t help but think he actually had a script all written out regarding what he’s supposed to say in class. ‘Cos he was talking like someone delivering a speech on stage and wanting to get every single word in, and right.
(Actually, going to Toastmasters might be very helpful)
I saw some other reviews on Fave that this coach is patient and helpful. I did not find him very patient nor encouraging. In fact, he even told us outright that we are slow learners (thanks ah!) and that OTHER CUSTOMERS do so much better. (@_@) Did we somehow not mention we are absolute beginners? Unbelievable.
Then, at the end, he was trying to impress us with the SPECIAL offer of $20/lesson. Suddenly the monotone became quite dramatic. How come no drumroll? And all the time I’m wondering why he’d want us to even come back since we’re such slow learners according to him. (@_@) Maybe we’ll even cause him to have a heart attack next time just out of pure frustration from teaching us.
And he was so happy in telling us to take photos, and share on social media, and to tell everyone. OK ah… you said it yourself. Don’t let me catch you messaging or emailing me to remove this post. 
~
As for the sport, I’m not going to write it off as something I’ll never be involved in again. Maybe at another school, with another coach, I’ll have a better time. I really need a well-ventilated space – fresh air please. And equipment that looks cleaner. I think I actually prefer something like archery more. More of the outdoors, more green, more fresh air. But for guys who always skip leg day at the gym, and end up with ‘chicken legs’, fencing should be your thing. You’ll get such well-sculpted leg muscles after.
Something I put on to protect my chest area:
And yet, during our sparring, my darling still managed to stab an unprotected area just below my armpit. That hurt. And according to our coach, “no pain, no gain”. HUH?
The fencing mask:
How are these things even cleaned after every use? Ok, maybe they aren’t? I’d actually brought surgical face masks to wear before putting on the fencing ‘helmet’ but I was afraid the coach might say I’m insulting his sport so I skipped it. So far so good. No pimples or rash.
It’s actually quite interesting to meet someone who doesn’t give you eye contact when talking to you. Even though they may think they’re very strict or authoritative, you may not actually feel that way as they aren’t staring you down or using their eyes to ‘dare’ you to step out of line. If I have to describe this coach in one sentence, it’ll be “An introvert with dreams of being a platoon commander”. It’s like he’s too shy to look you in the eye, yet he wants to be respected and taken seriously. Only my darling responded to his army officer-style of talking. I saw my darling with his hands behind his back, as if he’s listening to his parade commander giving instructions. As for me, I was inspecting my hands, I think. Never been in the army. What do you expect?
I’d really like to go for archery again. Or maybe a battle with lightsabers – more epic than fencing. If anything, I’ve found that fencing is not just a sport for the children of the wealthy. The classes are actually quite affordable, especially when the equipment is provided. That said, you may, of course, want to purchase your own equipment for hygiene purposes, and who knows how much that will cost?
~
And while this looks like a delicious meal we treated ourselves to after the fencing lesson, nope, it was our lunch prior to the class. Hawker Chan at 18 Tai Seng. This meal cost $18.10. I LOVE the drumstick and the sauce. It’s tasty without being overly salty. Remarkable balance. 
