Weekend fun

It's a good thing that the weather is going to be cold in Rochester this weekend. The women's foil team is having a three day national camp at the Rochester Fencing Club-Saturday through Monday. Putting on all the fencing equipment (equivalent to a heavy blanket) isn't as tough when it's not as hot outside. I know, complain, complain.

This was my subtle way of saying that this is going to be a long weekend of fencing fun. The women's foil team is all here-or at least their plane just landed a few minutes ago. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again and getting ready as a team for the World Championships that is coming up in a few weeks.

Hopefully I will remember my camera this time so I can take some fun photos of the team for my blog. I know I always say it but it doesn't always seem to happen. I guess my excuse is that I am so focused on fencing that I can't be bothered with taking photos. It's not really the truth because the real truth is that I have a tough time remembering where I put the camera in the first place.

I want to leave you with an unrelated note. My parents are spending this evening at the October Fest. Not only that, my Mom brought her two Chinese friends with her. It sort of brings a smile to my face to think that my mom, two other Chinese people, and my German father are drinking beer, eating wursts, and listening to German music. Welcome to the Zimmermann family.

Relax?

A raise of hands of all Americans reading this blog. How many of you know what the word relax really means? Do you even know what relaxation even entails?

This may seem counterintuitive to all of you but I have been spending most of my energies on trying to relax. Yes, I am currently getting ready for World Championships (coming up at the end of September/beginning of October) but my path to getting there has never been so interesting.

I'm a type A personality all the way. If there is a way to over achieve at something, I definitely know how to do it. I will always go above and beyond what I'm asked to do or what I think I'm expected to do. What can I say? I have German and Chinese parents. If that isn't organized, strict, and driven, I don't know what mix of cultures would be?

I had a serious talk with my coach over the summer about some things that I can do to improve my fencing for the next year. Her biggest concern? My ability to let go and relax. She asked me what I did for fun? I said, blog about my experiences and read informational books that will help me further my fencing. She said, no really, what do you do for fun? FUN? Relaxation? This was a crucial problem.

This conversation led me to take drastic measures (I'm an overachiever-there are no measures that aren't drastic). Over the summer I blogged about how I took the month of July off and did some other activities that didn't involve fencing. I think some of you commented that it seemed a little strange for someone training for the Olympic Games. Well, it would be strange if you didn't know me.

I would have to admit that I never really took a vacation or really relaxed in my life. I don't even know how to do it. I've been striving towards big goals my whole life-the Olympics, world championships, Stanford, overseas studies in Russia, working on a political campaign, etc. I don't know how to do things if they aren't done on a large scale.

So, here in lies the lesson and the title of this post. Now I am spending a lot of my energy on learning how to relax. Don't laugh. I'm serious. I've gotten into doing more yoga, stretching, and taking it easy on my body. This isn't to say that I am not intense on the strip when I fence, but I am learning about how to relax and be in the moment.

Yoga has actually been a great practice for that. When you are in a yoga pose you have to relax into the pose rather than work to push the pose if you want to get a benefit out of it. Yoga is my antithesis and practicing it has been an eye opening experience.

Of course I can't completely change myself. I went out and bought two yoga books, a yoga mat, cool yoga pants, and a pass to a yoga studio in town. I have come to love my antithesis because each class has become a time where I learn to unwind, slow down, breathe, and rediscover myself. For someone who is always about pushing, it has taken me a couple months just to breathe and let go. Letting go is my new "new agey" mantra. Let go, Iris. Let go.

Believe it or not I am starting to see some big results on the fencing strip. Not only am I more present and focused but I am actually relaxed enough to enjoy myself. I'm definitely grateful for these tools since I'm always a nervous wreck before big fencing tournaments. As a self-prescribed type-A personality I like to get really nice and anxious about three weeks before any big competition. Apparently I think that it's important to stress yourself out before you really stress yourself out. Good thing I found yoga to help me breathe.

So, through yoga I am learning how to relax and it has manifested itself into some major benefits on the fencing strip. Now, if only I could get my leg behind my head and then I could really do some damage on the strip.