When I think of the Order of the Rose, I think of Fencing.
That’s not much of a surprise since it is a Fencing club, but there is more to the Order of the Rose than just fencing. And a conversation I had last night helped point that out to me.
In the original Order of the Rose Manual, it was declared that the “Order of the Rose was established as a company open to anyone who wanted to learn how to fence, without fear of ridicule or judgement. We welcome safe, honorable, fun-loving people who desire to become skilled swordsmen.”
This is the foundation of the Order of the Rose. A place for anyone with a desire to become a skilled swordsman to learn how without fear of ridicule or judgement. We train Swordsmen!
But what is a Swordsman?
I think there are a lot of different interpretations to what it means to be a Swordsman, so I won’t pretend to have the answer. Every swordsman will have strengths and weaknesses, perspectives, and contributions that are unique to them. Even then, though, there are consistent motifs when the subject arises. Such as:
- A Swordsman is dedicated
- A Swordsman upholds the Four Levels of Importance
- A Swordsman strives for Mastery in their craft
- A Swordsman is willing to learn
- A Swordsman is willing to teach
- A Swordsman is ready to fight with a willing sword
- Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!
This is what the Order of the Rose is striving for! To be a place where people can learn how to do and be those things!
When I think of the Order of the Rose I should be thinking about my pursuit for Swordsmanship. Not just Fencing.
We are learning how to dedicate ourself to a skill. How to learn and how to teach. How to stand up for a set of ideals even when it’s hard. Fencing is just the means by which we are learning those things.
It doesn’t matter where we are on the path or how we choose to go about it. Our pursuit of Swordsmanship is shared amongst all of us in the Order of the Rose. That commonality can bind us together and allow us all to achieve more than we could have done on our own.
I strive to be a Swordsman in every aspect of my life. I want to personify the 4 levels of importance in everything I’m doing. Whether that’s being a wife and mom, a citizen of the world, or a shopper in a store. In these last few weeks I’ve actively been working on the skills of Swordsmanship in my Attitude in mothering, and in the Skill of actively listening. They’ve prooved worthwhile challenges.
For me I focus a lot on Honor. Not for myself but how I proceed through life. I try to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason, to honor the world around me.
In fencing this sort of drive helps me make decisions. It governs how I approach my practice during Friday nights, and during the week. It dictates how I treat my opponents before, during, and after a match. It guides me when I have nothing to think about or do, leading me to watch fights, ask questions and talk about what I’m seeing.
Swordsmanship is my drive to constantly learn, to improve, to experiment. Swordsmanship is the power I draw on when I experience failure, and need to get back up again.
I strive to have a Swordsman mentality. I think often this quality is overlooked in favor of Swordsman skill. Skill is great! I strive for that too, but it isn’t the penultimate attribute of Swordmanship. There are many ways to be powerful, effective swordsmen. We need creators, hard workers, compassionate, charismatic, administrative, joyful, funny, thoughtful, peacemaking, swordsmen too. And a myriad other attributes as well. We need swordsmen to be good at what they’re good at, and who constantly strive to be better.