Hungary Epilogue: Hungary for Success Or A Sucker for Punishment?

The next morning I made my way down to breakfast. I said goodbye to the Americans who were leaving straight after breakfast and made my way back to my room to pack.

A minibus was arranged to pick me up from the hotel. To my surprise the British team, Neil and Julian at least were still alive and we laughed about the previous night's antics as we made our way to the airport. This was followed by some more hanging-around before check-in and yet more afterwards before it was time for my uneventful flight back to Paris.

I had €20 and no more, after cancelling all my cards, as I arrive in the RER station in Charles De Gaulle but eventually made it back to my apartment safe and sound.

...

So, what have I learnt? Now a week or so later I've taken an awful lot from my experience in Budapest. I've made extensive notes about my experience, my fencing and the fencing of others.

Was Hungary a set back? How I would like to frame it more positively, is as a wake-up call that I'm still definitely not there yet and it has made me more fully aware of the level of effort I have to put in if I want to get there. The absolute non-relenting self-sacrificing training of the Chinese has shown one extreme but I've also learned a lot from discussion with the US team who are acutely aware of the mental side of the game. I've began to look at my fencing and my mental state while fencing at a deeper level and I'm now sure that along with hard-work, that being aware and controlling my mental state is a key to achieving the best from myself.

The week afterall was invaluable to me and in that sense it has spurred me on in my pursuit of being as good as I can be.