<html><head></head><BODY bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><p><font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial">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,<br>on this subject but felt unequal to the task of expanding on them due to my limited experience in the SCA.. <br><br>Eoian<br>(going Back to Lurk mode now)<br>----------<br>> From: Michael F. Gunter <<font color="#0000FF"><u>mfgunter@tddeng00.fnts.com</u><font color="#000000">><br>> To: <font color="#0000FF"><u>ansteorra@Ansteorra.ORG</u><font color="#000000"><br>> Subject: Re: ANST - New topic<br>> Date: Thursday, September 04, 1997 10:25 AM<br>> <br>> <br>> Good Day All,<br>> <br>> > <br>> > Honor and Chivalry are two topics that seem to be talked about frequently.<br>> > I've been thinking about another spin on these venereable subjects. <br>> > <br>> <br>> Ah, stuff that I live and breathe on!<br>> <br>> <br>> > 1: Do you give an opponent choice of weapons? Let's say you are<br>> > paired with Joe Newcomer in the first round. What about Sir Supercool? Do<br>> > you insist on your favorite? Does it matter if you're Duke Hotottrot and he<br>> > has no chance? Does it matter if he's the Duke?<br>> <br>> <br>> As a knight, a supposed master of weapons, I feel it is my duty to be proficient<br>> in all styles. So I usually request my opponent to select the weapons, especially if<br>> the opponent is not a member of the Chivalry. Although I do admit to waffling when<br>> it comes to florentine/florentine, I hate that match! If my opponent does suggest<br>> a style or combination that seems a little weighted I will request something I feel<br>> is equal but not so weighted. (For example if I draw the best Bastard Sword fighter<br>> in the Knowne Worlde in the finals of Steppes Warlord, I may ask if I can take out<br>> my glaive.)<br>> <br>> <br>> > 2: Do you give a point of honor to your opponent? Arm or leg him,<br>> > and would you give up your own? What if he's a superior fighter? An<br>> > inferior one? Would you want the same treatment? What if giving up an<br>> > advantage *is* an advantage to you? What about giving an advantage to a less<br>> > talented person to start the bout? (ie: fight offhanded against Joe Newcomer<br>> > in his first tourney) Is that insulting to the other person? What about<br>> > accepting an advantage from a more talented person? <br>> <br>> If I gain advantage over an opponent I always ask them to yield first. If I take an<br>> arm I will throw my shield. Me fighting right-handed with both arms against an<br>> opponent fighting off-hand still should give me plenty of edge. I sometimes go to<br>> my knees against a legged fighter but it's rather rare. A legged fighter is still<br>> very dangerous against a standing opponent.<br>> <br>> If I am armed or legged I will usually not yield but I also request that my opponent<br>> not lose the advantage he has gained. The main reason for this is that I enjoy the<br>> challenge. Usually I'm beaten but every once in a while I pull something off.<br>> <br>> <br>> > 3.Do you *try* to win every bout? Give 110%? Maybe only 75%? Does<br>> > it dishonor your opponent (or yourself) to *not* try to the greatest of your<br>> > ability? Is it ok to "throw" a bout? What if the person is very deserving<br>> > of victory? What if they are new? Or your friend? <br>> <br>> I don't know if I "try" to win every bout. One of my failings is that I don't go<br>> after fighters of lesser abilities with the same percentage as I go against fighters<br>> of greater ability. I have lost many matches against fighters who are not up to my<br>> skill level because I "fought down" to theirs. I will never throw a fight, even <br>> against someone who I would really like to see win. They have to deserve it and I<br>> agree that it would be an insult to the winner.<br>> <br>> <br>> > 4. Now to the odd one... Is it honorable to *want * to win? ("huh?")<br>> > I mean, everyone wants to win,(and have fun) but where do you draw the line?<br>> > No one thinks it is a "good thing"(tm) to take *unfair* advantage of your<br>> > most noble opponent, but how you answer the first three points determines<br>> > what you feel is a fair or an unfair advantage, and leads to your personal<br>> > choice of "how bad do I want to win?". From insisting on a specific weapons<br>> > style to refusing to call blows is a VERY wide spectrum of "want". Do you<br>> > want to win enough to change your view on points 1,2, or 3? If it's the<br>> > tourney of the Canton of Wayoutthere? If it's your local group's event? If<br>> > it's Crown?<br>> <br>> The question is not odd at all. Everybody who walks on the field of Honor "wants"<br>> to win. The question is: Is winning a fight more important than gaining the respect<br>> of your opponents. I enjoy winning but I'm strange in the fact that I hate winning<br>> because that means that I had to beat someone who has trained hard and truly wants<br>> to win also. It's not uncommon for me to go up to someone and apologize for knocking<br>> them out of a list.<br>> <br>> I truly wanted to win last Crown. I trained very hard for nearly two years just for<br>> that tournament. I swore to my lady and friends that I wouldn't do the stupid <br>> gestures that I usually do in tournaments. Unfortuantely I failed in my quest and<br>> did those stupid gestures. I granted a win to a fighter who did not hit me hard <br>> enough but felt he did. I threw my shield when I took an opponents arm. I asked<br>> a highly skilled opponent to not join me on the ground. And the most stupid act of<br>> all...when Kein and Jean-Richard struck me with a good blow I acknowleged it and<br>> walked off the field I had trained so hard to win. I didn't win the burden of<br>> the Crown that day and I may never have a tin-hat. But when I saw the tears in my<br>> lady's eyes, not from loss but from pride that I'd fought hard and done so honorably<br>> then the loss wasn't as important as the prize of her tears.<br>> <br>> <br>> Okay, back to silly Gunthar!<br>> <br>> Yers,<br>> <br>> Sir Gunthar Jonsson "It is better to lose well than <br>> Kingdom of Ansteorra to win badly."<br>> <br>> <br>> () <br>> _ ||_________________________________________ <br>> ( ),,,,,,,,,|| \ <br>> ( )========{[]}>----------------------------------------> <br>> (_)'''''''''||_________________________________________/<br>> ||<br>> () <br>> ============================================================================<br>> <br>> To be removed from the Ansteorra mailing list, please send a message to<br>> <font color="#0000FF"><u>Majordomo@Ansteorra.ORG</u><font color="#000000"> with the message body of "unsubscribe ansteorra".</p>
</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></body></html>