On the banks of the Yangtze River under the city of Jinling, young swordsmen from China, the United States, Italy, South Korea and other countries forged the sword of friendship
2024-08-17
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Nanjing in August was scorching hot. The afterglow of the Paris Olympics had not yet faded, and the sound of the swords of more than 80 young fencers from China, the United States, Italy and other countries rang out again on the banks of the Yangtze River. On August 17, the eight-day "Ivy League Champion Coach Training Camp" came to its last day. The last day was a practical training, and each player was fighting for victory, showing the results of the eight-day training.
Four coaches lead the U.S. national fencing team
Michael Aufrichtig, the head coach of this training camp, is a well-known figure. He is not only the head coach and admissions officer of Columbia University in the United States, but also served as the coach of the US national team many times. Under his leadership, the Columbia University fencing team has repeatedly achieved great results, winning 16 NCAA championships, 40 NCAA individual championships, 56 Ivy League championships, and the team members have also won the honor of world fencing champions many times. The head coaches of the three swords in this training camp are all senior coaches of the US national youth team, which shows their strength. Jiangsu Defit Fencing Club sent nine experienced coaches to serve as assistant coaches, injecting more Chinese elements into the training camp.
Gidon Retzkin, the head coach of the foil training camp, expressed his love for China to the reporter. "I really want to stay here and see the progress of the students." Gidon Retzkin said that Chinese children are very humble, good at thinking, and good at asking questions, always asking all kinds of questions. Gidon Retzkin believes that these questions reflect the students' thinking about fencing and life, which is a very good thing.
More than 80 young fencers from 5 countries participated
It is understood that this training camp attracted more than 80 young fencers from China, the United States, Italy, South Korea and other countries. The oldest was 17 years old and the youngest was 10 years old.
What kind of sparks will be created when teenagers from different countries and speaking different languages gather together? Xiao Liu, a 12-year-old student, is a "busy man" after training. "I took the initiative to do some translation work." Xiao Liu speaks fluent English and Chinese is his mother tongue. The American coach spoke English, and some children could not fully understand, so Xiao Liu took the initiative to translate. After training, many foreign children asked Xiao Liu to teach English. Xiao Liu was full of pride and told reporters that foreign children were very interested in Chinese. After the training camp ended, almost every foreign child said "hello" and "have you eaten yet" when they met and greeted each other.
I hope to have more opportunities to exchange and learn from foreign players.
The organizer of this training camp is Zhong Yuting, the chairman of Jiangsu Defit Fencing Club. She once participated in the Youth Olympic Torch Relay as a torchbearer in Nanjing, and also had a "fencing debate" with IOC President Bach on CCTV's "Dialogue" program. Zhong Yuting told reporters that the main purpose of this training is to hope that domestic young "fencers" can have more opportunities to communicate and learn from foreign players, and be exposed to foreign training concepts and training methods. In this way, they can integrate and find their own fencing methods.
Zhong Yuting said that the coaches at the training camp would make scientific adjustments and plans for the day's training almost every day based on the feedback from the previous day's training. The coaches would also share their knowledge and feelings about fencing with the students to help them improve faster.
It is understood that in order to support this event and promote the development of the youth fencing team, the Fencing College of Nanjing Institute of Physical Education has also sent a number of athletes and coaches to participate in exchanges, training, observation and guidance, and better promote fencing to clubs and communities, and to the majority of young people and students. It also built a bridge of communication and friendship between Chinese and American youth through fencing.
During the training camp, the Yangtze River International Conference Hotel in Jiangbei New District, Nanjing, sent a special team to support and ensure the exchange activities.
Proofread by Tao Shangong
