[MR] defining terms

[Hrothgar]

Just one old Viking's Thoughts.....

To me, there are few things that are more disrespectful to a fighter, new or 
otherwise, than to belittle their abilities. Whether that's defined as 
taking one's own leg to take away an advantage fairly won, or to take a blow 
as good that isn't up to your normal standards, you're basically telling the 
person you're fighting that they aren't as good as you and should therefore 
be coddled...

Now, when I was teaching, I would take a light blow if it was delivered 
cleanly, but at the same time I would tell the person I was training that 
the blow force was insufficient. After the initial training is ending and 
the individual is ready to authorize, then we fight full on..

Tourney calibration tends to be a bit higher than normal calibration. Crown, 
even more so. But that has more to do with the precision of the blows, the 
intensity of the individuals, and the fact that everyone on that field is 
bringing their best and want the best in return than any real conscious 
decision from the fighters.

A Duke, or any Knight for that matter, has a duty to let a new fighter know 
if their calibration is too low. Far better to learn from someone of that 
experience level and position of respect and authority than to be put into a 
situation where people aren't taking their blows because their calibration 
is too low...

The question of overall Atlantian calibration comes up a lot. Mostly amongst 
non fighters and newer folk. From my experience, Trimaris takes way too 
light. Meridies is even worse. Hardest hitting folks I've run in to were 
from An Tir and the West. East and Middle are pretty consistent with us. If 
we are to follow the idea that we are trying to replicate the medieval 
tournament martial arts, then we are supposed to be throwing with sufficient 
force that, were the weapons real, the blow would have been debilitating 
through the armor.  Having been a part of many tests using real weapons on 
armor, I can tell you that we tend to throw light....

Ultimately, it IS about winning. But it's about winning with Honor. Chivalry 
is the art of dealing with your opponent expediently. Honor and Courtesy are 
what separates those who are or would be Knights from the thugs. Honor 
dictates that I throw and take good blows. Courtesy on the field is to not 
take undue advantage of an opponent and to help them off the field to become 
better fighters.

At least that's the way it was in the long ago days when both I and the 
mountains were young.

Another Completely Unsolicited Opinion from
Hrothgar


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Becky McEllistrem" <bmcellis at yahoo.com>
To: <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 9:23 PM
Subject: Re: [MR] defining terms


These are rhetorical questions I don't want answers to.

These are questions I want all fighters to think about.  Really don't answer 
this because it's a debate that goes on forever.  Especially since most can 
guess my answer.

If a duke and a new fighter are having a disagreement about whether a blow 
is solid or not, should the duke allow it to be a killing blow even if 
that's not the way it is in Crown Tourney?

Are we requiring too hard a hit?

If a more experienced fighter is winning in a tourney with a new fighter 
because of such a great experience and willingly accepts the loss of a leg 
(as an example) so as to make the fight more "even" (for lack of a better 
word) - is that fun to watch?

Are we so obsessed about winning that we can't do things like that any more?

And when we (and by we I mean others not Logan) can call each other lazy in 
the middle of a disagreement because we choose to manage a competition 
differently than what they would like us to do, then no.  I have to say 
we're not using our conscience.  However it doesn't surprise me to be called 
lazy in the middle of a disagreement.  Recent private disagreements from 
peers have been much uglier and nastier than that.  This is why I say we as 
a group don't use our conscience very much any more.

Rebecca