RingoIn this very special installment of Life as A Swordsman, I want to talk to you about a very serious issue. Recently I’ve been seeing a troubling trend across the lists of the nation, leaving teams hurt, fans disappointed, and causing alot of sadness here at the Hall of Violence. Fighters, Friends, Fellow Bad Asses in Steel are losing the battle to stay standing and committing suicide at a disturbing rate. Too often a fighter who could stand strong throws himself to the ground ending a round prematurely. A moment of silence please for those lost moments of badassery.
It’s no wonder that it’s happening though, because there’s all this false information being put out there. A propaganda of failing is being pushed and people are unfortunately not inoculated against it. This harmful, hateful message wants you to fall down. It wants you on the ground. It wants you to not fight, but to lie down and die. Do not go quietly into that dirt embrace. When you hear someone tell you to fall down because you can bring someone with you, know that they are not your friend. They are your enemies who want bad things for you.
You may hear someone tell you that it’s ok to sacrifice yourself to pull someone down. DON’T LISTEN TO THEIR LIES. You are better than that. You don’t need to fall, just to bring someone with you. You can stick it out and you should. If you don’t the only ones you are hurting are your teammates. You’re leaving them alone, without your support, hoping they can pull it out…and if they can’t, guess what? It’s your fault. You are not sacrificing yourself for a noble cause…no you’re just giving up.
In case you aren’t convinced let’s break down the math. If you’re team has 3 up and they have 5 is a 1 for 1 really an even trade? Nope. Before you fall the opponents have to set up at least a single 1 v 1 somewhere and might expose themselves to a 2 on 1 if 3 guys get overly excited chasing one of your teammates and another one can slip free from his man for a few seconds. If you fall, guess what? Now they have a 4 on 2, which just turns into two 2v1’s. That ain’t pretty for your team. You make think that means in the reverse situation it’s worth it…except what happens if as soon as you make your “sacrifice” an opponent drops another one of your team. A 5 on 3 just turned into 3 on 2…when it could have been 4 on 3. No matter what, you want to have as many weapons working for you as possible and an even trade is never that. And what makes it even worse…there are number of fighters who can slip the suicide toss. You think you’re bringing someone with you, but nah, you’re just falling alone.
Apologies if you found the tone of this not respectful enough of the serious issue of suicide. But I want to make it really clear how bad a strategy this seems. And while you may think that it doesn’t deserve an analogy to such a tragic event, remember how dangerous our sport is. Just running into each in armor is risky for joints and concussion…add the weapons and you can have some really scary moments happen if armor fails. Any time you are on the ground you are unable to protect your team and keep them safe. That suicide could be an injury prevented, not just a round loss. This is about more than winning matches…It’s about protecting your brothers.
So be safe out there and keep your feet. Avoid the dirt at all costs. It’s not a sacrifice, it’s a suicide. And suicide is not painless.