ANST - laurels competing

[LordVoldai at aol.com]

continued from a previous rant:

lastly in my tirade, (the crowd cheers) when said individuals begin to 
adjudicate competitions, they stop competing due to a conflict of interest of 
a monetary nature.  this is where i feel the similarity (see previous rant) 
should become a difference.  many feel that laurels competing is unfair.  i 
think it is just the opposite, to deny them competition is unfair.  how else 
are the rest of the A&S community to judge ourselves worthy if we are afraid 
to match or "beat" the best of the best.  i have a great deal of respect for 
the laurelate.  the devotion to the craft and prowess at it's execution is 
more than words on a patent scroll.  the laurelate is my role model.  one day 
i hope to return my green belt to my laurels and claim a place as their peer. 
 how can i do that if i am afraid to measure myself against them.  a laurel 
for cooking would mean nothing to me unless i could match Mistress Mave(just 
an example).  then i _would_ be her equal and her _peer_.  that is the 
definition of the word in one of the stricter senses.

IMHO to restrict the laurels from competition or restrict them to competition 
in crafts that are new to them lessens the A&S community greatly.  let them 
be an example to strive for.  after all, it's not about the goodies ones 
wins, it's about bettering yourself and your craft (tho the goodies are nice 
too).  and if you do beat the laurels, well then there's something to be 
proud of.  i've heard of red belts winning crown, why not in the A&S 
community too?

in service
Volodislav ludozertzça z Karpat
mka chad graber
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