Alright Boys! Whip 'em out & Measure!

I hate politics.

I mean that I REALLY hate politics.

I hate politics almost as much as I hate the Yankees and USC.

So it really pisses me off when things I love get caught up in loads of political bullshit.  What set all this off is this thread at SwordForum ("US puts in a good showing at Fightcamp 2010") discussing the results and aftermath of a Backsword Tournament held at that event.  If you really want to read all 7 pages of it, be my guest, but here is a synopsis:

• Guy who ran Backsword Tournament posts to congratulate American for competing.
• Someone makes a crack about said American being banned from SFI.
• Moderator responds that above person does not know the whole story and to let it drop.

This is where is gets interesting and people start makes insinuations that US instructors and certain "names" don't have the courage / balls / gumption to risk their reputations and enter into "real" tournaments.  Begin the Flame War!

The main argument that follows is based around two camps:

• One that says that tournaments are the closest we will ever come to a real swordfight and should be the acme of our training.
• One that says no, tournaments suck.

Here's the fun part, just like any religious argument, this one boils down to two extreme camps (who are actually the minority) overwhelming the middle-of-the-road people (who are the majority).  If, for instance, you say that "properly done tournaments are all well and good, but they should not be the focal point of our training, because then we risk sportifying the art" you are slammed by one side as being anti-tournament and by the other as being pro-tournament.  >.<

Needless to say, I was willing to let this "mine is bigger than yours" crap slide by with very little involvement on my part.

Then I saw this thread on another forum:


SFI fucktards..

I am not making that title up, click on the link.

So here we have one of the main instigators of the "discussion" on SFI bitching and moaning on his own forum about the "nasty atmosphere" on SFI and how stupid the people who are arguing with him are?

Really?

Especially because one of the people he questions as being...ahem..."mentally handicapped" we'll say, is upset by the fact that the tournament was won by a person who had never studied historical European backsword or single-handed sword techniques.

*blink*             *blink*

To which those who ran the tournament replied that "Well, it wasn't a 'backsword' tournament, it was a...uhhh...singlestick...no wait...a single-sword....uh....ish...tournament"  Yeah, that's the ticket.  When they are called on the fact that that original post included the phrase "Backsword Tournament" they responded by.....you guessed it....attacking the questioner and proclaiming that he had obviously never fought in a "real tournament" and that he should "put his money where his mouth is".

Why?  Because he called you on the fact that you held a Backsword Tournament where you could use whatever style you pleased?  Remind anyone else of this?

"Welcome to first annual Pacific Northwest Longsword Tournament where all style are welcome!  Ready?" *insert sounds of guns cocking*

This is where I got pissed off.  I can accept:

• You trying to asses penis size over the internet.  Whatever.
• You trying to assert that tournaments are the "purest form" of WMA.  Okay, your opinion.

But when you start pissing and moaning and changing your story because somebody caught you with your pants down?  When you start arguing about semantics and minutiae? When you start  arguing with people, not because of what they're saying but because of who they are?  Then:

Really.

Please.



And now for something completely different -