Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

Dojang
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Dôjô
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Dueling
A typical definition of the duel holds that it is a “combat between two persons,
fought with deadly weapons by agreement, usually under formal
conditions and in the presence of witnesses (seconds) on each side” or “any
contest between two antagonists” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary).
Discussions of dueling abound, but—except for Mr. Webster—precise
definitions are missing. Characteristics of the duel, however, are in most
discussions agreed upon:
1. Duelists fight with matched weapons, which are lethal
2. Duelists agree upon conditions, such as time, place, weapons, who should
be present
3. Duelists are from the same social class
4. Motives range from preserving honor to revenge to the killing of a rival,
with honor most frequently mentioned
Yet, a slight fuzziness remains as to what dueling is, making the classification
of some encounters difficult. There is even fuzziness as to how dueling
and duelist should be spelled. Webster gives the first spelling as a single l,
the second as two ls. Webster’s gives both dueling and duelling, both duelist
and duellist, and considers both spellings equally acceptable.
The weapons used in duels are handheld personal weapons, the most
common being bladed weapons (swords, sabers, rapiers, and knives) and
firearms (generally single-shot pistols). Although the combatants may not
intend to kill each other, the weapons used have that potential. Thus piano
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