Perhaps this essay can clarify this. I feel we can do a great deal to enhance the skill, style and pageantry of SCA fighting. In order to make a difference, however, each of us must guard against complacency. We cannot allow ourselves to be pushed into demeaning our art to mere sport, and we must treat our opponents with the courtesy and chivalry appropriate to a knight. This piece is a section of The Book of the Tournament published here in Chronique before the book's completion.
Few activities can match the color, romance, and excitement of the Medieval tournament of chivalry.
Knights, squires and lords compete with one another in their displays of prowess and honor, of their skills and their character. Ladies escort their lords to the field, watchful of their performance as the combatant fights for the honor of the consort. Some ladies fight as well, displaying their own chivalric conduct. In addition to the entertaining, spectators can observe the combatant and the challenger in a melieu where character is brought to the surface and honest expressions of courtesy and valor can be plainly seen. These are values in short supply these days, and their display makes the tournament all the more pleasing.