[Ansteorra] Story from Crown Tourney

[Liam Gordon]

Greetings Garreth,

I would like to address a few of the things you brought up in your email.
And I will be pulling from both SCA and Mundane experiences.

 "Arguably I guess safety is a seconary consideration to most who fight. I
> don't want someone else telling me if I am able to fight. Or I am not
> calling my shots. Or my armor is unsafe."
>

I am a Ground Safety officer for the U.S. Army mundanely, and Hellsgate's
Knights Marshall.  In both those positions, safety is NOT "a seconary
consideration."  It is at the forefront of everything I do.  I do not allow
my Soldiers to get onto a vehicle, motorcycle, or even use a weed-whacker at
drill without the proper safety equipment.  Nor, do I allow folks to fight
on my practice field if they do not have the proper equipment.  Most of the
time, we have some source of water at the field.  When I help a new fighter
into armour, I ensure they have everything, to the point of sending someone
to the store to get a cup...

>
> "Whatever insanity that compels us to strap it on one more day. Is the same
> insanity that pushes us to continue to fight past the point that a sane
> person would have given up long ago."


I have pulled myself off the field because I was fast approaching an unsafe
condition.  I have to watch out for myself because I am a heat casualty.  If
I feel that I'm getting light headed or can't see straight, I come off the
field.


> " And the fathers of ansteorra whos bodies have been broken by this sport
> are proof of this. We say this won't happen to me or whatever to override
> the fear of disability or death. We give our bodies up to the dream perhaps
> when we should be on the sidelines."
>

For those of us who are younger fighters, yes, we learn from those who are
more experienced than us, who have been around a heck of a lot longer than
us.  And we learn what NOT to do, from those who have been broken by this
sport.


>
> "I don't see us letting those with broken legs take the field because it is
> unsafe."


Earl John Peregrine, back before he was Knighted, fought in a tourney with a
broken arm.  He took the nessecary precautions to protect his arm and hand.
The MIC checked him out and let him fight.  He even went to win the tourny.


> "Sadly, the only thing that motivates people to exact change is when
> tragedy strikes."
>

Unfortunately, your are correct.

 In Service to this Dream We Share,

Centurion Liam Gordon


-- 
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit
materiari?