Jeff Bukantz Celebrity Guru

The son of legendary fencer Danny Bukantz, Jeff Bukantz managed to become a great fencer in his own right. Born in Forest Hills, New York, Jeff did not take up the sport until he was 15, but he eventually carved out an illustrious career for himself, winning eight U.S. National Foil Team Championships with the New York Fencers Club, qualifying for the 1983 and 1987 World Championship teams, winning the bronze medal at the 1987 Pan American Games, and taking the gold medal at the 1989 World Maccabiah Games. In addition, Jeff became an internationally renowned referee – refereeing the Men’s Individual Foil Finals at the 1996 Olympics – and was the captain of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Fencing team. Currently, Jeff captains the US Fencing team through 2008 and is the NCAA's head referee, is a member of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) Rules Commission, the United States Fencing Association (USFA) High Performance Committee, and a member of the USFA Fencing Officials Commission.

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Play the Odds at CRUNCH TIME!

In Game 4 of the 1996 World Series, Atlanta Braves’ fire-balling closer Mark Wohlers, whose fastball reached 100 miles per hour, was facing Jim Leyritz of the Yankees with the Braves leading 6-3 in the eighth inning.

With the count 2-2, Wohlers inexplicably hung a slider which Leyritz blasted for a game-tying three-run homer. Instead of the Braves gaining a commanding 3-1 lead in the World Series, this one pitch led to the Yankees changing the momentum and winning the Series 4-2.

In fencing, if the score is 4-4, 14-14, or 44-44, the next touch wins. Since you have battled to reach the ultimate touch., you have to put the odds in your favor. In order to do this, you must go with your best action, plain and simple.

It is best to have two options, one offensive and one defensive. However, the defensive action cannot be passive. If you decide to go on the defense, set it up with the intention to turn the defense into an offense. The rule of thumb is that the attacker will score about 70% of the time. So, you do the math, especially on the deciding touch.

Whatever you decide to do, there is no room for hesitation once the referee says, “Fence!” And, if you have a world class fastball, don’t try to get cute with a slider.

Bottom line for fencers: Stay with your best stuff, especially at crunch time!

Develop Your Homerun Move

I once asked Billie Jean King why, with so many great tennis players, only a few become champions. She replied, “The champions all have a homerun move. Jimmy Connors had his backhand, John McEnroe had his serve, and Martina Navratilova had her net game.”

If you want to become a champion, you’ll need to develop a move you can rely on at crunch time.

When you absolutely need to get a touch, you’ve got to have your homerun offensive and/or defensive move.

I nicknamed my homerun defensive move, the counter-four riposte, “Ol’ Faithful,” and my homerun offensive move, a beat-attack while fleching, “The Blaster.”

What are you going to name yours?

Stop the Bleeding (Timely TIME-OUTS!)

Forget that tired cliché, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

The reality is that when the momentum is going against you, the avalanche is coming, the wheels are falling off, and it is time for the tough to be smart. And smart means you’ve got to stop the bleeding immediately.

Do whatever it takes to initiate a timeout ASAP! Tie your shoelaces, fix your hair, use whatever stall tactic you can think of. And, while you are taking this breather, use the time-out to plan your new strategy to stop the bleeding.

One country actually had a three-touch rule. If the opponent scored three in a row, this country’s fencers were instructed to untie and retie their shoelaces or change their weapon. It was a hard and fast rule.

Another country’s momentum breaker was to feign an ankle sprain. After being pampered by the trainer, and getting a needed breather, this country’s fencer invariably exploded off the en garde line on the very next action.

Was it because their trainer was a miracle-worker? No! It wasn’t because of a good trainer, it was because of good training to stop the bleeding.

Fence the Ref!

Champion fencers learn to “fence the referees.” The objective is to win the bout utilizing whatever it takes. Don’t waste time and valuable energy trying to prove the referee wrong. If a referee doesn’t “see” your attack, try something else!

Here are a couple of rules that I abide by. I strongly suggest that you abide by them too. Nothing ruins your focus more than focusing on bad calls and blaming the ref.

Rule #1: The referee is always right
Rule #2: If the ref makes a mistake, see Rule #1!
Rule #3: The champion fencer battles the opponent, not the referee!

As someone who earned the unique tag of, “The John McEnroe of Fencing,” it is fair to say that I didn’t always practice what I’m now preaching. But, occasionally giving the ref a hard time can work to your advantage, as long as you don’t push too hard. “Working the ref” a little may get the ref to call in your favor next time, and will also create some distraction that will allow you to catch a breather and plan your next action.

But be wary, as arguing with a ref is a slippery slope. If you push too hard, you’ll wind up getting penalty cards instead of the calls! That’s a classic “lose-lose” scenario, and one you must avoid.

No two refs call the actions exactly alike. All you can ask for is consistency. Adjust your game to what the ref consistently calls.

In the case of extremely weak and inconsistent refs, you must rely on the clearest actions possible and hope for the best. With these refs, follow the credo of Yale University Coach Henry Harutunian: “Make so deaf man can hear and blind man can see.”

Always remember that the opponent, and not the referee, is the enemy. Champions learn to fence them both.

Pre-Competition Sleep Habits

There’s nothing worse than arriving for an early morning competition and still feeling a bit groggy and sleepy. It is absolutely imperative that in the few days prior to the competition, you not only get a good night’s sleep, BUT that you start waking up at the same time as you will on the day of the big competition.

You train your body for competition. Don’t forget to train your body clock!

Dealing With “Off Days”

You had a good night’s sleep. You are in tip-top shape. You are mentally prepared for the competition. You’ve been practicing at your best. You are ready!

And then, when you get out on the strip, you just “don’t have it.” Your reactions are off, your game is off, and nothing feels right. What can you do?

First, you must recognize that this is officially an “off day.” In order to compensate for the sluggishness, you need to lengthen the distance a bit to allow for your slower reaction time.

Next, you need to craft a game plan that will limit your exposure (such as avoiding long attacks, where speed, timing, and accuracy are key), and try to provoke your opponent into mistakes (lots of second intention without really committing).

Finally, you must work extra hard to keep the distance and keep your legs moving.

Enjoy the Fight

We all focus on the destination, which is hopefully the medal podium at the end of the day. Visualizing yourself on that podium is healthy; but, you’ve got to learn to enjoy the journey, as well.

The competition is both a test and a reward. You have trained and sacrificed to get to this point, and you have to appreciate the effort you have put forth.

Appreciate the victories, learn from the mistakes, and enjoy the competition.

Arrive at The Strip in Ill Humor

The Philadelphia Flyers won back to back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. Their coach, the late Fred Shero, was considered a master at motivational tactics.

Shero, also known as “Freddy The Fog,” was famous for writing cryptic statements on the Flyers’ locker room black board.

Possibly his most famous one was: “Arrive at the puck in ill humor.”

In other words, two players go into the corner for the puck, and only one of them would come out with it.

For fencers, Shero would have said, “Arrive at the strip in ill humor.”

This doesn’t mean you need to be snarling and foaming at the mouth. Rather, it means you have to have the attitude that you “want it” more than your opponent. Champions possess THE WILL, as well as the skill.

Two fencers come to the strip and only one leaves the winner. It may as well be you!

Close the Deal…or Else!

In any sport, the most dangerous time is just before someone is about to win.

At that moment, it is human nature for the athlete to think, “OK, I’ve worked my butt off to get here, now I can take a little breather.”

The opponent, on the other hand, can taste defeat and is mentally down.

Then, in the blink of an eye, everything can change.

At the 2003 World Championships in Havana, a fencer was leading 14-11 and about to close out the bout. The fencers had fought tooth and nail for about twenty minutes, and there were no “easy touches.”

Until now. The fencer leading 14-11, just one touch from victory, had a mental lapse on the next action. He tried a lazy counterattack, hoping to close out the bout on a low intensity and lucky touch. The opponent scored on an much-to-easy simple attack.

After the gracious gift touch, the score was now 14-12. The leading fencer, now a little rattled, immediately attacked from out of distance on the next action, and got hit with a demoralizing riposte.

Now, it was 14-13, but the momentum had flip-flopped. After twenty minutes of concentration, the fencer’s extremely brief lapse had allowed the opponent back into the bout. Sure enough, the fencer who relaxed at 14-11 lost the bout 14-15.

The lesson: Close the door on the last touch. If you open it, your opponent might just come in and take away your hard-earned victory.

Have an Actual Competition Checklist, and Pack the Night Before!

The morning of the competition is always hectic. You are always excited and nervous. You often have to wake up earlier than you are used to. You are in a new room, generally with a roommate, and both of you are in a hurry to get to the site.

In the short amount of time you have to wake up, take care of bathroom stuff, pack, go down for breakfast, and catch the shuttle, the odds of forgetting to throw something important into your fencing bag are great.

The LAST thing you need on game day is to forget something! You need to focus on competing, not on borrowing or buying a piece of equipment because you didn’t pack it.

So, have an actual written checklist. Pack everything on the night before you fence. This is one of the aspects of the competition you can control.