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Violence v. Sportsmanship

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Lord Tristin:
I have been thinking about what the appropriate level of violence is in a sporting event like a tourney. I am not a reckless fighter, however, I fight with aggression and verve. I know that the battling we do is not to the death and we are not out to hurt one another in the modern day as we fight on the field. I feel if I don't fight to the best of my abilities I am denying myself and my opponent the best fight possible.

What are the Order's thoughts on combat in sporting events? For example I fought here in wisconsin at the Bristol Faire with a knight of good standing a few years back. we fought well for about 3 minutes, I saw an opening and i brushed his sword aside and struck him twice with the edge of my shield to open up an attack to the upper torso. is this too violent? I didn't injure him permanently but i did swell his shoulder and collarbone up with the shield bashes.

I ma not posting this to act like a tough guy, or to seem badass,  I would like genuine input on it. What do you fellows think is appropriate in tourneys?

Lord Dane:
'Sportsmanship' is a character trait of competition and good show. Injuries result from unintended accidents, not carelessness associated with violence.
In this case, it is to prove your skill and merit....
'Violence' is associated with aggressive behavior, and a warlike mentality for good reason. Save it for war or combat and make it count because it is needed to fight your enemies and ensure the encounter is lived through.
In this case, it is for survival and the very lives you mean to protect....

Find what it is you think is worth fighting for, because death will ultimately come to you regardless if through defeat or after victory. So how will you meet your opponent, and how will it end for you??? Answer that, and you know what it means to know the difference between sport and combat.

Lord Tristin:
Well spoken Lord Dane.

Sir Edward:

Different combat groups will have different levels of "calibration", but my general feeling (and I think this is echoed quite a bit in the WMA/HEMA world) is that you should do what is martially effective, but always in a way as to attempt to avoid actually injuring your opponent. Accidents happen, of course, but the intentional injury is simply something you don't do. When in the ring with your opponent, you have a sort of pact with each other, that you're trusting the other person not to intentionally harm you.

With that in mind, it's often a good idea to agree on a "power level" (or equivalent) in advance of the fight, IMHO.

Sir Brian:
To expand a bit on what Sir Edward already stated, You also should be very conscious of making attacks to highly vulnerable areas. For instance many novice and intermediate WMA practitioners do not invest in protection for the back of their head and neck so that is an area which should be firmly set in one's mind as verboten. Nor should you blindly cut when that region is likely to be hit as one regular co-student of mine sometimes did whenever someone enveloped him and he would throw a blind cut over his head and behind him landing on the back of the head, neck and upper back.  :-\

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