[Loch-Ruadh] Fwd: [ChivalryToday] Respect Your Rivals

[Terry Sikes]

Good article!  Thanks for sharing!
 
Terence adte Syke


Cat <fem_cat at yahoo.com> wrote:

I thought this was interesting when I read on the DFT
list it so thought I would forward it.




Respect Your Rivals
By Scott Farrell
©2004, Shining Armor Enterprises
www.ChivalryToday.com

Athletes. We've come to think of them as relentless,
even ruthless competitors whose singular goal is to
crush their rivals into oblivion. You can see it in
the words we use to describe their achievements,
words like "stomp," "destroy" and "annihilate" that
imply disdain and antipathy, if not outright
contempt.

Is an attitude of disrespect necessary in order to
inflame competitive drive? There are plenty of
coaches
and trainers that would have their players believe
so,
but that hasn't always been the case. Back in the
days
of the age of chivalry, respect and rivalry weren't
mutually exclusive terms. In fact, one of the most
influential writers of the 15th century, Christine
de
Pizan*, advocated respect among competitors. 

In her book "Faytes of Arms and of Chivalry," which
was commissioned by Duke John "the Fearless" of
Burgundy (himself one of the greatest sportsmen of
his
age), Christine explains how a competitor should
treat
his rivals:

"According to the customs of true nobility a
(competitor) must be respectful in all
circumstances,
meaning that even to his rivals he must be upright
and
truthful in act and judgment. Along with this, he
will honor those opponents who are good and
ritorious
as he would wish to be honored by them ... He should
not be stubborn, cruel or malicious, (but rather)
magnanimous to the vanquished and to his inferiors."

That approach to sporting competitions might draw
scoffs today - but even among contemporary athletes
we
find that respectful rivalry is far from extinct. In
the recent Wimbledon tennis tournament, Maria
Sharapova, an underdog going into the event, found
herself facing Serena Williams in the final round.
When Sharapova won the match, she didn't grind her
heel into the ground and howl, "In your face!"
Instead, she embraced her opponent and said, "I have
to take this trophy away from you for one year. I'm
sorry. I'm sure we're going to be here ... many more
times (to) fight for the trophy."

Similarly, when Pam Reed was running the Badwater
120-mile ultra-marathon (a grueling 24-hour race
where
men and women compete head-to-head), she'd been
trailing behind favored runner Christopher Bergland
for 11 hours. When she finally overtook him late in
the race, she noticed that her primary rival was
suffering severe heat exhaustion. She could have
waved
and shouted, "See ya in the emergency room, loser!"
Instead, she directed her support crew to share her
own limited supply of water with Bergland and got
him
back up and running. (Reed went on to win the race.)

Actions like these (and countless other displays of
respectful rivalry demonstrated by professional and
amateur athletes every day) show that the spirit of
chivalry lives on, despite the popular image of the
merciless, aggressive athlete. On the most elemental
level, respectful rivalry is nothing more than basic
courtesy - we all want to be treated with respect,
no
matter how intense the competition is.

Astute competitors would also point out that there
are
practical benefits to respectful rivalry: Keeping
bluster and bravado in check gives a competitor a
much
more realistic assessment of the opposition.
If you want to know the strengths and weaknesses of
the competition, ask the player who's shaking their
hands, not the one who's baring his teeth and posing
for the sports drink ad. 

Respectful rivalry isn't a genteel throwback to a
dainty age "before people knew what real competition
was all about." Medieval knights were some of the
most
competitive warriors the world has ever seen - their
very existence depended on their ability to compete
successfully. But they also knew that pettiness and
vainglory can taint an otherwise
worthy competition, transforming an athletic contest
-
or a political,social or professional one as well -
into an ugly, egotistical mud-slinging match.

Like great knights of old, the athletes who perform
today's "Faytes of Arms and of Chivalry" are
wonderful
examples of how rivalry with respect brings out the
noble competitor within us all.

(*Yes, one of the most influential manuals of
chivalry
in social practice, military tactics and political
doctrine in the 15th century was written by a woman
... but that's a subject for another column.)



= = = = = = = = = =
Scott Farrell says:
My thanks to Dr. Kathleen Brooks and Prof. Nina
Rosenstand, hosts of "Ethics: From Boardroom to
Bedroom" for suggesting this intriguing topic when
they invited me to be the featured guest on their
show
on World Talk Radio.
To hear the webcast of the July 7 edition of
"Ethics:
>From Boardroom to Bedroom," go to:
http://www.worldtalkradio.com/show.asp?sid=13

= = = = = = = = = =
Readers are permitted and encouraged to share this
article with others as a way of furthering the
understanding of the Code of Chivalry in the
modern world. Scott Farrell's seminars on chivalry
and
the knightly virtues are available to businesses,
schools and civic organizations throughout the
Southern California area; more information can be
found on our website. Please include all copyright
statements and attributions when forwarding Chivalry
Today articles. Copyright 2004
Scott Farrell and Shining Armor Enterprises. Visit
our
website at
www.ChivalryToday.com .

_______________________________________________








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