Interesting Conflicts Of Sharp Swords And Sharp Words

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76 – April, 2025

By Wayne Cavanaugh

Chivalry, in its original medieval form, is indeed dead. And that’s a good thing. No one needs knights with their clanking armor riding around on dressed-up horses slaughtering people with swords and lances anymore.

Knights served kings and feudal lords. There were plenty of medieval conflicts. Many were of interest. The kings and feudal lords needed bold and violent men to solve interesting conflicts, seize land and wealth, and to enforce religious and social beliefs. The kings and lords didn’t want to look bad while their knights were out pillaging and slaughtering, so they created a code for the knights to use during conflicts–it was called “the code of chivalry”. To soften the required gruesome conflicts, knights were held to a code of respect, ethical conduct, loyalty, and honor–within their knightly class, that is. For example, while destroying and taking a nearby village, women and children were off limits. Everyone has their own interpretation of respect I suppose.

Each year, in our sport, it seems we’re losing more of the best parts of chivalry; that is, manners, loyalty, and respect. Yes, the vast majority of folks in our sport are indeed respectful and courteous. But the sour side is growing, and the individual instances are more out of line. In some circles, disrespect among exhibitors, and “telling off a judge,” is bragged about like some childish badge of honor. But how can we expect the sport to survive, let alone grow, if spectators and exhibitors–new and old–keep walking into hornet’s nests of bad sportsmanship? How can the sport stay vibrant when we allow bad behavior to fester and grow without doing our part to address it?

Could bad sportsmanship reflect the lack of civil discourse in society? Are we so hung up on ourselves that we forget about acting in the best interests of the sport? Could it be the increased pressure and intensity of the rankings chase? Could it be that winning is everything more now than ever?

Click here to read the complete article
76 – April, 2025

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Posted by AnthonyA on Apr 5 2025. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.