How we view a person with whom we fence is significant. In drills, they are "partners" because the purpose is to enhance the skills of both present in the drill. In a bout we face an opponent, or an uncooperative partner because again, it takes both for a bout to be fought. However, I believe that a certain different approach to this situation is required, I like to think of my opponents as "friends un-met", thus there is the potential for something more present in the bout, and a different approach taken to the bout.
If we consider an opponent, a "friend un-met" it changes our thought processes regarding the bout. Rather than a pure focus on the win, or the point, or whatever goal there is present for the bout, we consider this other person as a potential friend. This means we take a different approach to how we play, what actions we perform, and how we perform those actions.
We don't like hurting our friends. If we consider our opponent a "friend un-met" we will consider the safety of the opponent as one of our most important considerations, because we would not like to hurt this individual if they are potentially a friend. With this approach the bout becomes the focus, not the result; ensuring that both parties enjoy the engagement comes to the fore. If a person enjoys a bout with another individual, they are more likely to seek more bouts on a more social basis.
If we take the "friend un-met" as a fencing philosophy in our drills, bouts, and tournaments we have a change of perspective, a deeper consideration for our prospective partners and opponents in the different forms of fencing. The focus changes from achieving an objective (though this still remains in part), to a consideration of how much the other individual will enjoy themselves during the bout. A consideration of making sure our actions are clean, making sure we control our weapon and deliver only enough force that our "friend un-met" can acknowledge the blow we have delivered.
....
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
View the complete article on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/friend-un-met-127475188?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
