When I was at junior school we used to do something called "comprehension". It was pretty simple stuff, you read a short piece of writing and then answered some basic questions on it in order to show that you had understood what it was that you had just read.
I suspect this sounds familiar to a lot of you.
However this basic skill seems to be beyond the capacity of a large number of WMA practitioners.
Take for example the recent comment on my post "A Victory" by Baskethit (sic) Broadsword boy. Now let's ignore the fact that he cannot tell the difference between "your" and "you're" and look at the line "BTY, what your problem with Page?"
Leaving aside the somewhat maverick approach to grammar let's just focus on the question.
I have mentioned Page it is true. In the post entitled "Removed post 2" I wrote the following paragraph:
"We have Stephenpaul Wagnerhand, the amorphous Australian duo who have so far managed to get I.33 wrong, Silver wrong and are currently working on getting the collected medieval English manuscripts wrong. Did I mention Page?"
I was initially thrown as I didn't think I had expressed any problems with Page. But perhaps I had implied something without realising it. I read it again No, there was still nothing more than a clear implication that Stephenpaulwagnerhand have yet again got it wrong, but nothing related to a problem with Page's system.
The reason that there is nothing related to me having a problem with Page's system is simple.
I don't have a problem with Page's system.
I do have a problem with the interpretation demonstrated by Stephenpaulwagnerhand.
I also have a problem with anyone claiming that what Page shows is "Highland Broadsword" when there is some clear evidence (you will note I use the word evidence, not the word proof, they are not the same thing) that it is not. I am referring of course to the excellent essay by Bethan Jenkins that you can read here.
What fills me with a sense of sadness approaching despair is the fact that the same people who cannot read and understand simple English, are the ones trying to recreate dead arts from the written word. We need more people like Bethan Jenkins if we are to stand a chance.
As to "Baskethit Broadsword Boy", well he should never have progressed beyond comprehension.
Saturday 25 October 2008
Friday 24 October 2008
A Victory
Congratulations to Greg Mele on a stunning victory recently.
Not only have you managed to remove Scott Brown from SFI, you have sent Dave Rawlings packing with him and somehow managed to even remove another moderator who had a habit of disagreeing with you.
I am truly impressed.
Of course it is a shame it has made you look like a petty, scheming, manipulative child, but well done all the same sir!
Not only have you managed to remove Scott Brown from SFI, you have sent Dave Rawlings packing with him and somehow managed to even remove another moderator who had a habit of disagreeing with you.
I am truly impressed.
Of course it is a shame it has made you look like a petty, scheming, manipulative child, but well done all the same sir!
Monday 20 October 2008
Competitiveness
I hate Monopoly.
It all stems from my childhood when I used to play against my brother. He was, and still is, the most competitive person I have ever met. We never actually finished a game, it always ended in a fight. He'd cheat as much as he could and do whatever he could to beat me and anyone else that happened to be foolish enough to think it was an enjoyable game.
With a game like Monopoly you can get away with acting like that because the end goal is to win. Not to increase your level of knowledge of Monopoly.
Unfortunately HEMA is full of people like my brother.
People that simply have to win whatever the cost.
You know who I mean, every club has at least one of them. They don't acknowledge their hits when they are sparring, they sabotage drills in order to be the one that wins. They always react just a little bit faster than you, even when you are supposed to working slowly. They always hit you as hard and fast as they can and then moan when you hit them.
In short they are wankers.
They stop their own development and that of anyone unfortunate enough to have to partner them.
Drills are there to help develop technique and understanding, not just to prove to everyone how big a cock you've got.
Sparring is about applying the knowledge gained in drills and exercises in a stressful environment. It is about improving your ability by pushing yourself. It is about learning. It is not simply about being better than everyone else.
If you ever catch yourself not acknowledging a cut, or moaning about being hit, or trying to win when you should be concentrating on just getting it right then stop what you're doing right away. Take deep breath and apologise to your training partner. If you've noticed then you can bet your life they noticed first. Then start again and try and do it properly.
If you want to win then there are plenty of competitions you could enter. There's even a website specifically for them now.
Just don't play Monopoly with my brother, you won't stand a chance.
It all stems from my childhood when I used to play against my brother. He was, and still is, the most competitive person I have ever met. We never actually finished a game, it always ended in a fight. He'd cheat as much as he could and do whatever he could to beat me and anyone else that happened to be foolish enough to think it was an enjoyable game.
With a game like Monopoly you can get away with acting like that because the end goal is to win. Not to increase your level of knowledge of Monopoly.
Unfortunately HEMA is full of people like my brother.
People that simply have to win whatever the cost.
You know who I mean, every club has at least one of them. They don't acknowledge their hits when they are sparring, they sabotage drills in order to be the one that wins. They always react just a little bit faster than you, even when you are supposed to working slowly. They always hit you as hard and fast as they can and then moan when you hit them.
In short they are wankers.
They stop their own development and that of anyone unfortunate enough to have to partner them.
Drills are there to help develop technique and understanding, not just to prove to everyone how big a cock you've got.
Sparring is about applying the knowledge gained in drills and exercises in a stressful environment. It is about improving your ability by pushing yourself. It is about learning. It is not simply about being better than everyone else.
If you ever catch yourself not acknowledging a cut, or moaning about being hit, or trying to win when you should be concentrating on just getting it right then stop what you're doing right away. Take deep breath and apologise to your training partner. If you've noticed then you can bet your life they noticed first. Then start again and try and do it properly.
If you want to win then there are plenty of competitions you could enter. There's even a website specifically for them now.
Just don't play Monopoly with my brother, you won't stand a chance.
Sunday 19 October 2008
Masters and spoilt children
When I was at school my biology teacher hated me.
Not a surprise I hear you say, we don't even know who you are and already some of us hate you.
I suggest you learn to live with it. I manage somehow.
Anyway we were talking about my teacher.
He hated me because I hated him.
Actually it wasn't quite that simple. I didn't just hate him. I went out of my way to prove him wrong at every opportunity because he simply couldn't abide to be wrong.
I'd sit up long into the night watching the Open University on tv and reading my dad's geology books in order to be able to prove him wrong. It was the high point of my week if I could do it in front of the rest of the class. I managed it quite a few times, and so he grew to hate me.
What on earth does this have to do with WMA I hear you ask.
Well it's simple.
I hate people that can't admit that they may be wrong.
We are recreating lost arts from historical texts. There is no direct lineage, and there are no masters, so anyone who won't admit that they might not have all the facts is either a fool, or a conman.
Possibly both.
The great thing is that, if you only let it, this becomes your biggest strength. You don't have all the facts, and so you better yourselves and your martial abilities by constantly striving to improve your understanding. Every facet of every interpretation is tested to the extreme, and then tested again. Every single technique is shown to work or it is abandoned and you go back to the drawing board.
If however you choose to stop questioning and start to believe that you have all the answers then you have failed. You have no masters, no direct lineage and no desire to better yourselves. You have nothing.
You might think that it makes you look as if you are a master in your own right, but to the rest of us who are still learning, questioning and growing, it makes you look nothing more than a spoilt child who can't bear to be proved wrong in front of other people.
Much like my old teacher.
He got away with it because he was a washed up old cynic who never taught anything more important than high school biology.
I'm aiming for something better.
How about you?
Not a surprise I hear you say, we don't even know who you are and already some of us hate you.
I suggest you learn to live with it. I manage somehow.
Anyway we were talking about my teacher.
He hated me because I hated him.
Actually it wasn't quite that simple. I didn't just hate him. I went out of my way to prove him wrong at every opportunity because he simply couldn't abide to be wrong.
I'd sit up long into the night watching the Open University on tv and reading my dad's geology books in order to be able to prove him wrong. It was the high point of my week if I could do it in front of the rest of the class. I managed it quite a few times, and so he grew to hate me.
What on earth does this have to do with WMA I hear you ask.
Well it's simple.
I hate people that can't admit that they may be wrong.
We are recreating lost arts from historical texts. There is no direct lineage, and there are no masters, so anyone who won't admit that they might not have all the facts is either a fool, or a conman.
Possibly both.
The great thing is that, if you only let it, this becomes your biggest strength. You don't have all the facts, and so you better yourselves and your martial abilities by constantly striving to improve your understanding. Every facet of every interpretation is tested to the extreme, and then tested again. Every single technique is shown to work or it is abandoned and you go back to the drawing board.
If however you choose to stop questioning and start to believe that you have all the answers then you have failed. You have no masters, no direct lineage and no desire to better yourselves. You have nothing.
You might think that it makes you look as if you are a master in your own right, but to the rest of us who are still learning, questioning and growing, it makes you look nothing more than a spoilt child who can't bear to be proved wrong in front of other people.
Much like my old teacher.
He got away with it because he was a washed up old cynic who never taught anything more important than high school biology.
I'm aiming for something better.
How about you?
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