ANST - New topic

[Eoian]

Well spoken Sir Gunther!  Rarely have I seen someone so eloquently speak of
the virtues that most attract me to this fair society.  I had many thoughts
and opinions,
on this subject but felt unequal to the task of expanding on them due to my
limited experience in the SCA..  

Eoian
(going Back to Lurk mode now)
----------
> From: Michael F. Gunter <mfgunter at tddeng00.fnts.com>
> To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG
> Subject: Re: ANST - New topic
> Date: Thursday, September 04, 1997 10:25 AM
> 
> 
> Good Day All,
> 
> > 
> > Honor and Chivalry are two topics that seem to be talked about 
frequently.
> > I've been thinking about another spin on these venereable subjects. 
> > 
> 
> Ah, stuff that I live and breathe on!
> 
> 
> >         1: Do you give an opponent choice of weapons?  Let's say you
are
> > paired with Joe Newcomer in the first round.  What about Sir Supercool?
Do
> > you insist on your favorite? Does it matter if you're Duke Hotottrot
and he
> > has no chance? Does it matter if he's the Duke?
> 
> 
> As a knight, a supposed master of weapons, I feel it is my duty to be
proficient
> in all styles. So I usually request my opponent to select the weapons,
especially if
> the opponent is not a member of the Chivalry.  Although I do admit to
waffling when
> it comes to florentine/florentine, I hate that match!  If my opponent
does suggest
> a style or combination that seems a little weighted I will request
something I feel
> is equal but not so weighted.  (For example if I draw the best Bastard
Sword fighter
> in the Knowne Worlde in the finals of Steppes Warlord,  I may ask if I
can take out
> my glaive.)
> 
> 
> >         2: Do you give a point of honor to your opponent?  Arm or leg
him,
> > and would you give up your own? What if he's a superior fighter?  An
> > inferior one? Would you want the same treatment? What if giving up an
> > advantage *is* an advantage to you? What about giving an advantage to a
less
> > talented person to start the bout? (ie: fight offhanded against Joe
Newcomer
> > in his first tourney) Is that insulting to the other person?  What
about
> > accepting an advantage from a more talented person? 
> 
> If I gain advantage over an opponent I always ask them to yield first. 
If I take an
> arm I will throw my shield.  Me fighting right-handed with both arms
against an
> opponent fighting off-hand still should give me plenty of edge.  I
sometimes go to
> my knees against a legged fighter but it's rather rare.  A legged fighter
is still
> very dangerous against a standing opponent.
> 
> If I am armed or legged I will usually not yield but I also request that
my opponent
> not lose the advantage he has gained.  The main reason for this is that I
enjoy the
> challenge.  Usually I'm beaten but every once in a while I pull something
off.
> 
> 
> >         3.Do you *try* to win every bout?  Give 110%? Maybe only 75%?
Does
> > it dishonor your opponent (or yourself) to *not* try to the greatest of
your
> > ability? Is it ok to "throw" a bout? What if the person is  very
deserving
> > of victory? What if they are new? Or your friend? 
> 
> I don't know if I "try" to win every bout.  One of my failings is that I
don't go
> after fighters of lesser abilities with the same percentage as I go
against fighters
> of greater ability.  I have lost many matches against fighters who are
not up to my
> skill level because I "fought down" to theirs.  I will never throw a
fight, even 
> against someone who I would really like to see win.  They have to deserve
it and I
> agree that it would be an insult to the winner.
> 
> 
> >         4. Now to the odd one... Is it honorable to *want * to win?
("huh?")
> > I mean, everyone wants to win,(and have fun) but where do you draw the
line?
> > No one thinks it is a "good thing"(tm) to take *unfair* advantage of
your
> > most noble opponent, but  how you answer the first three points
determines
> > what you feel is a fair or an unfair advantage, and leads to your
personal
> > choice of "how bad do I want to win?".  From insisting on a specific
weapons
> > style to refusing to call blows is a VERY wide spectrum of "want".  Do
you
> > want to win enough to change your view on points 1,2, or 3? If it's the
> > tourney of the Canton of Wayoutthere?  If it's your local group's
event? If
> > it's Crown?
> 
> The question is not odd at all.  Everybody who walks on the field of
Honor "wants"
> to win.  The question is: Is winning a fight more important than gaining
the respect
> of your opponents.  I enjoy winning but I'm strange in the fact that I
hate winning
> because that means that I had to beat someone who has trained hard and
truly wants
> to win also.  It's not uncommon for me to go up to someone and apologize
for knocking
> them out of a list.
> 
> I truly wanted to win last Crown.  I trained very hard for nearly two
years just for
> that tournament.  I swore to my lady and friends that I wouldn't do the
stupid 
> gestures that I usually do in tournaments.  Unfortuantely I failed in my
quest and
> did those stupid gestures.  I granted a win to a fighter who did not hit
me hard 
> enough but felt he did.  I threw my shield when I took an opponents arm. 
I asked
> a highly skilled opponent to not join me on the ground.  And the most
stupid act of
> all...when Kein and Jean-Richard struck me with a good blow I acknowleged
it and
> walked off the field I had trained so hard to win.  I didn't win the
burden of
> the Crown that day and I may never have a tin-hat.  But when I saw the
tears in my
> lady's eyes, not from loss but from pride that I'd fought hard and done
so honorably
> then the loss wasn't as important as the prize of her tears.
> 
> 
> Okay, back to silly Gunthar!
> 
> Yers,
> 
> Sir Gunthar Jonsson                      "It is better to lose well than 
> Kingdom of Ansteorra                               to win badly."
> 
> 
>               ()      
>    _          ||_________________________________________  
>   ( ),,,,,,,,,||                                         \  
>   ( )========{[]}>----------------------------------------> 
>   (_)'''''''''||_________________________________________/
>               ||
>               ()    
>
============================================================================

> 
> To be removed from the Ansteorra mailing list, please send a message to
> Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe ansteorra".
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ansteorra.org/pipermail/ansteorra-ansteorra.org/attachments/19970904/ae23f817/attachment-0001.htm>