In The Presence Of Greatness

Every so often you look up and realize how lucky you are to have encountered certain people. This happens to me from time to time and I try to take note of it. Just last night I had that realization about my fencing instructor, Gennady Klimanov. Or at least I was reminded of it.
   Just to be clear, I knew he was a champion - there is a picture of him hanging in the fencing salle as he received his gold medal at the Soviet championship in 1963 - and I knew he had far more experience than I could ever get, seeing as how he started fencing when he was four. If I live to be 100 or so and keep fencing the whole time I'll have that kind of record. But I didn't really appreciate the level of professionalism and expertise I benefited from until last night, when Gennady brought a few of his awards.
   I knew he held a Master of Sport of the USSR* in Modern Pentathlon, the sport he won the gold medal for in 1963. Modern Pentalthon is the five-sport 'soldier's competition' consisting of riding (a horse), swimming, running, shooting, and fencing. So, yeah, he's kind of a bad-ass just for those two things alone. But there's more. Until last night I did not know he also holds a Master of Sport in Fencing.
   See, competitors in Pentathlon use an epee, one of the three weapons in modern fencing. And the Pentathlon fencing competitions are one-touch only. If you get touched - just once - that bout is done. And every Pentathlete fences every other one. So for Gennady to have won the epee part of the Pentathlon in 1963 (he also won the whole competition) he had to have fenced sixty or seventy equally-skilled fencers and beaten them. More serious bad-ass-ness. But to be a Master of Sports in fencing means he has to be an expert in all three weapons, epee, foil, and sabre. That's just above and beyond, especially when you consider the fact that sabre fencers are all certifiably insane. It's true, look it up.
   Last night I came home, sat down, and considered the quality of the fencing instruction I have received for the past six years or so, and realized exactly how lucky I am to learn from someone like Gennady. If I were a religious man I'd say 'blessed,' but I'm not so I'll stick with lucky.
   I urge everybody to take a moment and think about someone you're lucky to know, your own Gennady. Maybe you should thank them. I know I should.

* this means he was a Soviet national champion. Really.