ANST - New topic

Michael F. Gunter mfgunter at tddeng00.fnts.com
Thu Sep 4 08:25:53 PDT 1997


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."


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