“I’m used to male company”
I started studying historical fencing three years ago. Liked. I got involved. My parents weren't against it at all. To be honest, my dad told me this: “Don’t hesitate, go study.” Mom agreed with him. At first she was worried and even closed her eyes when I fought, but now she says that she wants to try it herself.
I have two brothers: the older (28 years old) and the younger (10 years old). And I am the middle brother in our family. My brothers are proud of me, I think. The eldest now lives in Prague and rejoices at my victories. And the youngest finally began to be afraid of me (laughs). I'm used to male society. My father is a hunter, so as a child I helped him skin animals and did other things that, as they say, are not for girls.
Photo: Maria Smirnova
As a child, I did a lot of things: athletics, gymnastics, wushu, kung fu, swimming, and horse riding.
From a creative perspective, I played the domra for 4 years and painted a little. But then I came to istfeh. Why historical fencing? For example, I don’t like boxing because it’s too contact-based. In fencing, you are more protected because of the armor. I like hitting people, not getting
Footballer-mathematician John Urschel: “I like to hit people” Editorial material
Baltimore Ravens player John Urschel tweeted that he co-authored a scientific paper in the Journal of Computational Mathematics. The full title of his research is “A Cascadic Multigrid Algorithm for Computing the Fiedler Vector of Graph Laplacians.”
My paper, A Cascadic Multigrid Algorithm for Computing the Fiedler Vector…, has been published in the Journal of Computational Mathematics
— John Urschel (@MathMeetsFball) March 18, 2015
Urschel had a 4.0 GPA at Penn State University, became proficient at chess, and had previously published papers in several mathematics journals.
According to Urschel, the family does not understand why he needs American football, and the reason is that he simply enjoys physical superiority over people.
I already have more money in my bank account than I need.
I drive a used Nissan Versa and live on less than $25K a year. It's not because I'm frugal or trying to save up for something big, it's because the things I love most in this world (math, research, playing chess) cost very, very little. I play because I love the game. I love hitting people. John Urschel
As the football player admitted, he envied ex-San Francisco midfielder Chris Borland, who retired from his sports career at 24 because he feared the consequences of head injuries. Urschel believes that playing American football is dangerous to his health, especially since he is considering pursuing a career in mathematics in the future. At the same time, he cannot stop, because he loves to physically crush his opponents too much.
Urshela’s story attracted the attention of the American media and social network users, and also reached the RuNet.
This devil recently published a paper on computational mathematics in a peer-reviewed journal https://t.co/KAG7vndJRt pic.twitter.com/8ZpyFILo4f
— NextGen and Gain (@turbojedi) March 21, 2015
From time to time, journalists come across another story about a media personality who combines his main activity with an unusual hobby. For example, in early March, the American media reported that the vocalist of the popular indie band La Sera, Katie Goodman, is interested in programming and even intends to receive an appropriate education.
“A little more and I wouldn’t have an eye”
“Battle of the Nations” this year became my first serious “steel” tournament . I admit, I was very scared. When other participants tell you something like: “You have nothing to do here, you’re not at all experienced yet,” it’s really scary. You stand in the corner of the lists and in a panic and ask the coach: “What to do?” He replies that he needs to beat. Well, I fenced as best I could.
Photographer: Igor Gerasimenko
It’s like a joke: I had a strategy and I stuck to it. It is important to understand that for fencing it is much more important to have brains than brute physical strength. The girls who competed against me in the tournament were stronger, but they often had problems with tactics.
The tournament is an extreme experience. At the lists, I even accidentally did the splits, although I couldn’t do it in training. There was another unpleasant situation - I almost had my eye gouged out. An athlete from Kazakhstan, in the first fight in the Triathlon category, hit me in the eye with a bastard sword in the first 15 seconds of the fight. Thank God, not in the eye itself, but under the eyeball. Just a little more and I wouldn’t have an eye. For a moment - stabbing blows are prohibited by the rules. She probably didn't do it on purpose. The judges thought so too and suggested that I finish the fight. I said that I didn’t need a doctor: “Give me a napkin, I’ll wipe my tears and go on beating people.” As a result, I went to the doctor only when two of my eyes were already swollen. Yes, it was after I won the nomination.
Photo from personal archive
How are our competitions going? I’m telling you for those who don’t understand. We have three rounds in the Triathlon. The first round is a bastard sword (sword in two hands - editor's note), it lasts one and a half minutes. In this nomination, blows to the head and body from both hands are counted as 2 points, to other parts of the body - 1 point. You can hit with one hand, but then you only get one point. Then comes the buckler (a small, round shield 20-40 cm in diameter - editor's note) - there are three rounds of 5 points each. You score 5 points on speed. Whoever is faster wins.
Photographer: Igor Gerasimenko
The third stage of the nomination is shield and sword . This is a fight with a large heraldic shield, which also lasts one and a half minutes. Hitting all zones is worth one point. Only slashing strikes count. Each fight is watched by two seconds and 5 judges who count who got where. Controversial issues are studied on video. Then the judges can order interruptions or additional fights. For example, in a fight with an athlete from Poland, I had 3 or 4 finish-offs.
"I like hitting people." How an American Football Player Prepares for a Career as a Mathematician
Baltimore's 250-pound player John Urschel worries that on-field collisions could derail his academic career.
John Urschel of the Baltimore Ravens co-authored a paper in the American scientific journal Journal of Computational Mathematics. The material is called A Cascadic Multigrid Algorithm for Computing the Fiedler Vector of Graph Laplacians and talks about “a cascade multigrid algorithm for computing the Fiedler vector of discrete Laplacians, namely the eigenvector corresponding to the second from the end magnitude of its own value."
I did not understand a word of the above sentence, an excerpt from the summary of this scientific article. I'll probably never understand. The remainder of the study is written in a similar style. Here's an excerpt:
Urschel, drafted by Baltimore in 2014, was a straight-A student (4.0 GPA) at Penn State and has published in several academic journals. John also plays excellent chess.
In his day job, Urschell uses his body as a bulldozer. According to him, his family doesn’t understand why he wastes his time on American football. The answer is simple: John likes to feel physically superior to people.
“It’s a special feeling when you go out on the field and realize that the success of the team depends on whether you are stronger than the guy standing in front of you. You can consider me addicted to this sensation,” Urschel wrote in a column for the Players Tribune. He says he's jealous of San Francisco's Chris Borland, who retired from football at age 24 because he feared the consequences of head injuries.
“Playing college football [as a lineman] doesn't make you healthy,” Urschel says, listing reasons why staying sane after football is important to him. One of them is “a bright future as a mathematician.” The only problem is that John loves to destroy his peers.
“I like hitting people,” he admits. It is a pity that science does not provide such an opportunity.
Original
PS I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies in the translation, especially regarding mathematical terms. If there are mathematicians among you, correct me, I will edit the text.
PPS Urshela's story can serve as an advertisement for sports for those who consider it a low genre. A man with significantly above average intelligence, in the same column for the Players Tribune, writes that he does not play football for the money (Urshel, who signed a 4-year contract for $2,364,560, lives on $25,000 a year and drives a used Nissan Versa) and not for the sake of glory - he really enjoys the game and the emotions that being on the field gives. This is probably why 71 thousand people will never come to watch the defense of even a landmark scientific dissertation, unlike at a Baltimore Ravens home game.
“Physical strength is not a guarantee of victory”
When you win, at first you don’t understand what happened. The first few days you don’t believe it at all. You think: “Maybe this is an accident. Coincidence". Therefore, the motivation to train is even greater than before the first tournament. I want to prove that I am worthy.
Photo by Igor Gerasimenko
I felt that other fighters didn’t really like me . I came out of nowhere, I’ve only been training for three years, and there are athletes there who have been training for 9-12 years. They spend a lot of money making their armor lighter (it can be made from titanium instead of steel). However, they did not achieve the same results as me. Of course they are angry. After all, it turns out that titanium armor, doping (there is no doping control in historical fencing - editor's note), and physical strength are not a guarantee of victory. It's all about your tactics. If you think and look at the fights of your opponents while they are not fighting with you, then everything will work out. And some fighters hoped that I was just a beginner athlete and it was not necessary to watch my fights. In general, I was underestimated.
Photo from personal archive
What's next? The next “Battle of the Nations” will be in two years. I plan to go there with my coach Galina Kokhvakko. I have no loss of motivation. Why? So you come to training so cool, and then you lose in battles to a novice male fighter or your coach. Of course, I will train even harder, improve my skills, so as not to make the mistakes that I made this time.
