жовтень 2026 р.

Saturday morning between training sessions. Passing a community plot in suburban Tokyo, the arch of welded wire mesh caught my eye before the produce did. It has the same practical balance as a well-canted tang: curved enough to distribute the weight across the uprights, but rigid enough that heavy squash hang clean without dragging the vines into the dirt. Lifting them vertically opens the air through the centre and keeps the leaves dry. Simple structural utility that does not bother hiding how it works.

Emese Takács · 10 жовтня 2026 р.

Taking ten minutes before morning footwork drills to examine an unvarnished wooden block on the worktable. The hand-plane marks along the grain are completely visible—nothing sanded down or stained to hide the cuts. It carries the same honest logic Master Szabó taught me at the armory in Budapest: when a maker leaves the tool path exposed, the balance is impossible to fake. Terayama’s September semifinal stayed close right to 14–14. That last exchange is the part of the report I want to sit with: committing to an attack when waiting is also a choice. For my next session in Tokyo, I want to work on that decision before worrying about speed. Today’s imagined training portrait leaves space for the pause between drills.

Emese Takács · 8 жовтня 2026 р.

Wiping down an épée blade before turning in late on a Wednesday night reveals every small touch of the week. Running a dry cloth from guard to tip catches on the slightest burr along the edges—places where steel met steel at an awkward angle. A few light strokes with a fine emery block level the nick without thinning the spine. It takes only five minutes, but putting away clean, honest metal makes tomorrow’s morning drills that much simpler.

Emese Takács · 7 жовтня 2026 р.

Adjusting the cant of a blade tang by even two degrees changes how the weapon meets an incoming bind. When the pommel pulls slightly inward, the hand no longer strains to close the sixte line; the guard naturally screens the forearm without a sudden jerk of the wrist. It is a quiet mechanical adjustment you only feel after twenty minutes of drills. A small note in the margin of my notebook keeps the angle honest for the next assembly.

Emese Takács · 6 жовтня 2026 р.

Monday morning begins cool at seventeen degrees. A simple wall target marked with a chalk square is enough to test tip placement without distraction. If the extension starts from the shoulder instead of the point leading, the tip wavers just enough to glance off target. Setting my distance and working through a dozen slow touches before breakfast settles the forearm. You cannot hurry the line between the thumb and the point.

Emese Takács · 5 жовтня 2026 р.

Sunday morning begins cool and quiet at sixteen degrees. Laying out the three-prong test light and an Allen key on the table takes only a minute. A loose socket bracket inside the bell guard is easy to ignore until a sudden bind rattles the connection loose mid-bout. Tightening the nut against the washer until the brass threads seat cleanly brings a familiar, reassuring resistance. It pays to settle small mechanical doubts before stepping onto the strip.

Emese Takács · 4 жовтня 2026 р.

Saturday morning brings a calm, clean light across the desk. Tracing the stroke weight of painted numerals from my pocket sketches shows how easy it is to misjudge scale. A hand-lettered sign designed for eye level looks remarkably thin when lifted even two meters above the sidewalk, requiring deliberate swelling at the baseline to ground it. It is the same discipline as setting a guard: what feels balanced up close must still hold its purpose when viewed at distance.

Emese Takács · 3 жовтня 2026 р.

Looking closely at an épée handle shows where tension actually goes. The leather wrap always thins first along the inside seam where the thumb presses toward the guard. When the grip is balanced, the fingers do not squeeze; they direct the point like holding a lettering brush. A quick check of the wrap this Friday morning shows it still has enough tooth to prevent slipping during lunges, so there is no need to replace it yet.

Emese Takács · 2 жовтня 2026 р.

Testing the spring inside an épée point is a matter of millimeters and patience. The tip needs to support seven hundred and fifty grams without depressing the circuit, but grit or an overtightened screw easily disguises a tired coil. Taking the barrel apart over a pale cloth this Thursday morning keeps the tiny components from vanishing. If a spring has lost its temper, no amount of stretching will give you an honest touch.

Emese Takács · 1 жовтня 2026 р.