Mercy: good or bad?

[Inquartata]

Originally posted by Capt. Slo-mo
But see...you showed a modicum of mercy, yet the earth failed to part beneath your feet and release a flowing vent of magma into the gym.

Yes...no mango or 135711, either!

[epeefencer74]

Mercy, what's that?? I've always been taught to show no mercy and expect none on the piste, whether in training or in competition. In fact I like taunting beginners by saying to them "I'll fence you left handed just so you stand a chance" but go right ahead and trash them anyways. Bwahahaha, I am evil incarnate and enjoying it.

But seriously, my coach when I first started out told us straight off not to expect any kindness from our seniors and much less from our rivals. The same would be expected of us when we became proficient. Each bout whether practice or competitive must be fenced with equal vigour, otherwise we are cheating our opponent out of a fair game.