Disclaimer:These shoes were purchased by the author and not provided by Nike. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by Nike and/or its affiliates in any way. When I tore my Achilles several years ago, my orthopedist revealed that one of the fundamental problems that led to my tear was … Continue reading Product Review: Nike Ballestra SE2 – Nike Prices Without the Nike Quality →

I didn't know what else to put here. There are two paths you can go by as a parent during a tournament: the path of the “Psycho Parent” or the path of “The Quintessential Fencing Parent.” One allows a strong bond between the trio of coach, parent, and athlete; and the other means that as … Continue reading Eight Rules of Tournament Parenting →

This Article Was Originally Published in the Washington Times. Image Courtesy of Wikimedia WASHINGTON, February 28, 2013 — Prior to the 2000’s, foil fencer Sergei Golubitsky had arguably cemented himself as the greatest foil fencer of all time, winning three world championships in a storied career. At the turn of the millennium, a young German fencer … Continue reading An Interview with 5x World Champion Peter Joppich →

Author’s Note: I am not a podiatrist, nor am I an orthopedist. The recommendations in this post come from common sense and anecdotal experience. For the best recommendations on shoes specific to you, discuss it with a medical professional. The other day I was leading a footwork class. I looked down. I stopped. I called … Continue reading Parents: We Need to Talk About Your Kids’ Shoes →

Another NAC done, another round of 12+ hour days, and some gross food. Here are my nuggets from the Columbus NAC. The P-Card Rules Interpretation will be Changing to that of the FIE’s: Take this section of my write-up with a grain of salt, and consider this the “hey, something resembling this is coming” statement. … Continue reading Epee Referee Nuggets from the December 2021 NAC: P-Card Interpretation Will be Changing →

Note: this post was made on October 27, 2021. Given the nature of this novel coronavirus, data is constantly changing, news studies are being published, and our understanding of this virus and the effectiveness of the vaccination is evolving. The author of this post is not a medical professional in any way, shape or form … Continue reading In Support of USA Fencing’s Vaccination Mandate →

Kick them out of your club until they do. That's it. That's the post. Thanks for coming to my TedXTalk.

Intro If you’ve ever approached Peter Burchard and told him: “I want NAC’s to be exclusively in Richmond, VA,” chances are, you’re talking to the wrong person. If you’ve ever approached Kris Ekeren and said: “I want you to put Justin Meehan in the USA Fencing Hall of Fame,” you’re also talking to the wrong … Continue reading Understanding the Relationship between USA Fencing Operations (CEO) and Governance (Chair) →

Introduction: This post was written in response to ongoing confusion regarding roles and responsibilities between that of the US Center for SafeSport (USCSS) and USA Fencing. It is not intended to go into the weeds of their unique disciplinary processes, rather, to establish who takes jurisdiction over a particular case and why. We also wrote … Continue reading Understanding the Relationship Between USA Fencing and the US Center for SafeSport →

On August 31, 2021, the USA Fencing Board of Directors convened to discuss a number of sweeping new bylaw amendments to overhaul the current Governance Structure of USA Fencing. I previously posted an assessment of the amendments based on a Board Maturity Model, but today’s post will focus on the shortcomings of these changes from … Continue reading Assessing the Organizational Change Management Process in the Passage of the 2021 Bylaw Amendments →