Decision making and fencing

Studies suggest that an adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. If we take away the time we sleep and other necessary activities, we can say that on average we make 2,500 choices every hour. This is an enormous number that shows how much decision-making is a pillar of our lives. So, how can we make the right decisions, how can we improve this skill??

Today we meet Rupert Sedlmayr , Quality Manager at EvidentIQ, who also teaches fencing in his own school for traditional Northern Italian martial arts in Munich, the Scuola d’Armi Tigre di Giada (Jadetiger School of Arms)?to learn more about how fencing helps us learn how to make better decisions at work and in our everyday life.

Gilda: Hello Rupert, and thanks for agreeing to this interview. Can you tell us more about yourself? What do you do at EvidentIQ , but most of all your story with fencing? When did you start and why??

Rupert: Hi Gilda, thanks for the opportunity to share some thoughts here. Looking back at my career, I am a bit of a jack of all trades: I joined Xclinical as a data manager, but in the last 11 years I have also been a project manager, a software trainer, a sales manager, a business development director, and I am very happy that I can now harmonize the quality approaches of all the companies inside the group as a quality manager at EvidentIQ.?

As for fencing, it all started in my early teens when my track and field group fell apart and I was looking for something fun and fast. That was when I tried Olympic fencing, and I really enjoyed it. I was a sport fencer until I went into military service. After the service, I trained in Kung Fu for a few years, but when I saw an Italian maestro showing his knife and stick fencing tradition, I was immediately intrigued and started training. Later he referred me to my current master in Genoa, where I studied the fighting traditions of Genoa. Along the way, I picked up a few other methods from northern Italy, which is why I teach not just one style, but a collection of different fighting methods with various tools and weapons that were and are used primarily by the working and craftsman classes.?

"I teach a collection of different fighting methods with various tools and weapons used primarily by the working craftsman classes."

Gilda: What made you want to give fencing lessons and open your own school???

Rupert: [laughs] It was an easy and unexpected decision. In 2007, my maestro mentioned that he was a bit sad that there was no training group in Munich, and he just asked me if I would like to train some beginners. At the time, I thought I would run out of teaching material after a few months, but it was not until I started actual classes that I realized it takes years to build fencing skills from the ground up.?

Gilda: Can you tell us more about what traditional fencing is??

Rupert: Fencing just means that two people (or group of people) face off with weapons. Nothing else.?

Nowadays, fencing can be divided into five types:?

• Sports/Olympic Fencing: The ladies and gents in white suits with masks that most will recognize from Sports TV. Main Goal: To score points in a fixed set of game rules.??
• Stage Fencing: Fencing for theatre and movies. Yes, this is an art that has its own tradition. Goal: To make the fight look good on stage or on screen.?
• Academic Fencing (aka Mensur): A special tradition of Germany and Austria practiced in student fraternities. Goal: Ritualized dueling is used as a tool to build character and certain values, such as loyalty and a stand-your-ground attitude. On certain occasions, they use sharp blades that can cause a “Schmiss” (a visible scar in the face).??
• Historic Fencing: Fencing based on traditions that have died out and are now reconstructed from historic sources such as fighting manuals. Medieval sword fighting or cavalry saber fencing are good examples. Goal: Understand and reconstruct how people fought in historical eras.?
• Traditional Fencing (What I teach): Fencing traditions that have survived with their line of teachers intact to the present day. Living methods, often adapted to modern times, but still with a clear link to old folk traditions. Goal: Keep tradition alive and connect the students to the culture.?

Gilda: Why is decision making important in life and mostly at work???

Rupert: We are constantly making decisions. Therefore, to think about how we do this is truly relevant. Being aware of how we make decisions can easily improve the quality of our decisions and can therefore increase our performance. This makes it relevant not only in our private life, but also at work.??

"Being aware of how we make decisions can easily improve the quality of our decisions"

Gilda: How does fencing challenge your mind and body???

Rupert: What always intrigued me about fencing was that it is a very intense and fast art that leaves no room for mistakes. It is not like boxing where you can take some hits and wear your opponent down over a series of rounds. It is like lightning chess, where one wrong move brings an immediate end. I found this to be an exceptionally good training for staying functional and alert in moments of pressure or stress.?

"Fencing is exceptionally good training for staying functional and alert in moments of pressure or stress"

Gilda: How does fencing help in decision making??

Rupert: An important lesson from fencing is that, in most cases, a technically correct reaction is much better than an emotional reaction. This is especially true for stressful situations. The higher the stress level, the more animal-like and illogical our reactions get. Hence, fencing teaches us to not react by impulse, which might usually be an inappropriate response, but to try to find a more technical, non-emotional reply which will be better received.??

"Fencing teaches us to not react by impulse (...) but try to find a more technical, non-emotional reply"

Gilda: Which are the main steps to decision making??

Rupert: I would structure it like this:?

1) Gather information. Try to see what is coming at you.?

2) Recognize the problem and categorize it. This can be an instinctive reaction, but training through roleplay scenarios can greatly help build a knowledge repertoire that sets us up for a good decision.?

3) Fencing teaches us to “take a step back”, to distance us from the immediate emotion, to take that “extra moment” to reconsider our impulse. At work this can be an extra breath before answering or rereading an email before sending it.?

4) Take the technically correct decision and apply what you learned to sustainably further your cause.?

Gilda: Aside from decision making, what other benefits does fencing have on the body and mind??

Rupert: One core lesson of competitive fighting martial arts is that it is not enough to train your mind to have control over your body. The mind must be clear and stable enough to connect the body with the perceived circumstances. Mind and body must form a team that must be in tune with the world happening around them. If you are superfast and super strong, but you do not have the right timing and you react in the wrong way, you will never win the fight. A boxer does not lose the match when he takes a lot of beating, he loses the match when his brain gets too foggy and/or too tired to think. Again, applied to the office, this means it is not enough to have top job skills, you must apply them with good timing (which, of course, is a skill in itself). This makes your actions more efficient, which also makes your work quality last longer.?

Gilda: This sounds like it is connected to the hot topic of resilience.??

Rupert: Indeed. In every martial arts training in the world, you will be put in uncomfortable stressful situations. But in fencing training, if you have a good teacher who applies a traditional teaching system, he will first teach you the tools to handle the situation before putting you in a stressful scenario. You might be inexperienced in how to apply these tools, but they will be available. In this way, you have the feeling of mastering the on-hand tools step by step and not just coping with stress. This builds a solid confidence foundation that creates true resilience. This technique can of course be extrapolated to a business situation by giving training or a good introduction before doing roleplaying scenarios.?

Gilda: To round this up, do you have some tips for us that have worked for you??

Rupert: My Top 5 tips:?

1) Ponder: After making a decision, no matter how small, take a moment to reflect on what you have done and why, and try to draw a small lesson that will help you grow.?

2) “Every day is a new day” attitude: Try to make decisions without negative baggage in your head. No matter how shitty yesterday was, today can be the best day.??

3) Become a pyramid, not a spire: Quick success is tempting, but in many cases, it is risky and not sustainable. Take your time to grow a solid foundation.?

4) Be curious: Stay attentive, curious and ask questions. Useful breadcrumbs of knowledge lie everywhere.?

5) Constant dripping wears away the stone: Never believe that you, the environment, or a situation are unchangeable. Work actively and tirelessly to improve the system bit by bit.??

Thank you Rupert, this was quite interesting!?