Section A: Plan of Investigation
This research paper involves an investigation on the effects of Mensur fencing fraternities in Germany in 20th century on student’s lives. It seeks to answer the question; was it necessary to affect Mensur in Germany? In conducting this investigation, there are various techniques and methodologies applied. Research papers, internet links, books, and other forms of writing will be resourceful in providing information involving Mensur how it came to be the targeted clientele that is the university students among other things.
Live interviews and analysis of reports of various media houses are also among the methods to be used in this paper for they contain very important evidence on what had happened then. Various higher learning institutions executives are also going to be engaged in face- to- face interviews to find out what they know about the same and their feelings about the same.
Questionnaires will cover the integral part of this investigation in collecting student’s views just to find out their take on the modern academic fencing and if they still feel it is relevant today. The questionnaires are also to be conducted among other members of university fraternity to widen the coverage of the study. There is also desire to use do investigation and analysis of government records in the institutions of higher learning, the true documentation about the this academic fencing. When all these resources necessary for this investigation has been assembled, the next step then is to look for qualified personnel who can carry out this process professionally and deliver quality work at proper time.
Section B: Summary of evidence
- With the above methodology, it is evident that there was no chance that no information was left out. In this section, there are a number of facts that this investigation found out that from various sources concerning how this fencing is conducted and the comments relevant to the research question.
- Mensur academic fencing is a kind of fencing which was popular especially among the student community in the 20th century. The word originated from “mensurfechten” a word in the in Germany, which means fencing in the confined space. One needs to wear protective eyepieces made of metallic netting. The chest then and the neck remains covered by a thick scarf and chest guard. The two people to face each other and take turns in their hits, they aim each other only on the protective parts specifically the face. When one person gets tired, the opponent goes ahead to break through his parries, making a cut on the face scaring others away. This is the major reason why many people would agree that this kind of a game is not beneficial. It can usually applicable to men given the kind of physical energy required and with the knowledge that men like taking risk.
- Students had a conviction that the character of the person can be derived through close examination of how one fights with these very sharp with strict rules and regulations. Indeed most people view it a personality-training thing for one has to be fair and be able to show countenance amid the dangerous situations. There are corporations made by the students to oversee the same issue maintained that their members must at least once with the sharp blades before clearing campus. Again, to note is that those students who were peaceful and had nothing to do with violence remained discriminated. There was nobody to defend such a group because this corporation was a strong body, which imposed strict rules on those who did not agree with their ideas. It was then unsatisfying which prompted the need for an alternative, the modern day kind of fencing.
- There is still an essence of Satisfaction in the 20th century. Examining Satisfaction from the eighteenth to the twentieth-century in the German encyclopedia and lexical treatment shows that the two terms were the same once. They later transformed in time into distinct meanings over the nineteenth century.it meant nonviolence, theological Christian dogma or a means of juridical restitution and it implied dueling ferocity as a way of recompensing insults that are honor-related but in a secondary manner. As it entered the twentieth century, Satisfaction reserved its nineteenth century oddity by representing the dueling comfort of a party that is offended and the nonviolent party.
- The first principles of fencing are still in use up to today. Teachings of Johannes Liechtenauer’s that were recorded in 3227a are still in use.an example is the principle where one uses the most direct and shortest attack line without using flashy or flourishing parrying techniques. The principles that were being used then are also being used now by fencers in Germany.
Section C: Evaluation of sources.
In his writing, The theory and Practise of Fencing (2003), Julio MartinexCastello argues that fencing is one of the oldest games inexistence suggesting that originated from duel. The book clearly demonstrates that this game has continued to exist over a long period as long as there has been war. It illustrates how various countries apart from Germany have used this to gain political power and win over other nations whenever they are engaged in war.
This source is very important in this investigation given application of the game. It demonstrates that this kind of fencing is much applicable in the military field as compared to the students’ fraternity. In the past and especially those times of 20th century, militants would be taken through this technique to enhance their skills in the battlefield.This source also has its own limitations in that it does not have a wide scope of coverage. The book as much as it gives a good history of how fencing came about and goes ahead to lay down foundation for Mensur type of fencing, one may argue that it is biased by having concentrated only in giving the effects on military field. It only touches on some few and thereby giving room for errors.
The second very crucial source to be considered is the article on German Student Corps and academic fencing from the portfolio, which was written by Jonathan Green. This source looks promising and of high value given the fact that it address the real issue which is the effects of Mensur fencing among the German students. This book gives detailed information on what was happening when this sport was implemented, an audit trail of how it has been doing and people’s opinion on the same. The purpose of this source is therefore to give an account by supplying the much-needed information, which is a very important investigation.
Anything good has its negative view also and so this source has its own drawbacks. One may not be able to establish whether what Jonathan wrote is a true record of what happened in those days. It could be his own opinions and therefore there is still some room for bias though minimal. It may also be limited in information in that there is a possibility that the writer did not consult every party when making his collection of data.
In this section, two sources of information are analyzed that is questionnaires that staff administered to those who participated in the investigation and written reports, research papers and book about Mensur fencing of 20th century in Germany. The investigation found out that this fencing was discriminatory for those students who had no interest in the game and by considering; the risk factors that go alongside this, the student’s fraternity generally did not take it positively. Although many students never liked it, it is important to note that there is a small number who gave very positive opinions supporting this fencing as integral part of character development that should very mandatory for university students.
The investigation staffs were the ones who administered questionnaires to students in various universities in Germany. They were objective targeting to answer the main question of the research. The team preferred that they be in written form to increase access to as many students as possible given that it easy to distribute questionnaire papers to a class and collect them after an hour and so most students prefer this for they do not feel it is a waste of their time.
The value that can be ascribed to this method of information collection is that it can collect very specific information. Questions contained in them are usually very specific with an objective of answering certain queries. It can also collect a lot of information within a short time for instance when one can give questionnaire papers to a class of a hundred students and within an hour they have the opinions of the whole class without necessarily doing a sample or interviewing each student. Another thing to add is that many people may not feel free to share their opinions in public and so this method being confidential allows them to write what they feel without fear of discrimination or what people will say. The main purpose of questionnaires is to capture information from the higher institutions fraternity.
Some of the limitations associated with this method concerns the fact that the information may not be very accurate. Many people do not take questionnaires very seriously especially if those who conduct them do not give a good lecture of what they are all about and their importance. Because of this, it consumes a lot of time to analyze the information to determine who gave the right information. Questionnaires may also not cater for additional information, which was not captured by the set questions. The population illiterate persons who may not be able to read and write may not participate in this method. There are people for instance old men and women who may have very important information but cannot read the questionnaires and write what they know about the same. Finally it worth to note that it may be expensive to make copies for every person and hiring staff to conduct the process. Drafting questions is also another challenge given that one does not need to formulate so many questions and should capture all the information required.
The other source to consider is the reports, books, and research papers. This information is found in the media houses especially newspapers publishing news stations, which are good in keeping records. Books and research papers may either be found in both public and private libraries as well as well online from legally accepted websites with good reputation. The main purpose of this method is to collect facts about what really happened at that time when academic fencing was implemented and to keep an audit trail on how it has been performing over time.
The value attached to this method is that has to do with its ability to deliver accurate facts and account of Mansur fencing. Credible media houses are always not allowed to publish any news on their papers before they are confirmed to be true records. Every time one writes a book or research paper, a governing authority reads and approves them. This makes one to have confidence in this method to getting the right data, which can be assimilated to give an informed decision.
It is also worth to note that this method though it has several advantages, it has its own limitations. One that is very clear it is not possible to ask a question or seek clarification on some unclear issues. This method may also be expensive and time consuming in that one may not be allowed to access some reports, papers or writing without having paid anything. In addition, to add is that is that in those days there were few writers and reporters and so some information may have been left out.
Section D: Analysis
This investigation will serve a very important purpose especially in assessing the progress of Mensur academic fencing, its uptake among the students’ and how it has affected the lives of students since it was put to force in the 20th century. It is also resourceful for those who engaged in formulating and implementing different forms of academic fencings. Information is power and so with this kind of rich information and performance of some other fencing, which were implemented in the past. One point of view is that this type of fencing is helps in character development. One of the main reasons why it was implemented and was easily accepted across almost all universities then by students’ corporations is that it helped students some skills, which helps to mould the character of an individual.
There is the other point of view that is shared most of the students and the higher institutions fraternity is that it frustrated the lives of many students. The students’ corporations which are expected to fight for student’s rights in Germany went contrary and made it compulsory that every student must undergo this training before they clear campus. This is the same body, which the students’ were to look up to turned out to be discriminatory passing hard sanctions. This risks involved in this fencing is also another factor which scared many students. I98While fighting, one targets his opponent’s face that is the uncovered part of the body and so you can easily be injured.
In conclusion there was no need to effect or implement this type fencing in higher institutions in Germany given the risks and negative impacts it brought on the lives of students and in the above writing there is enough evidence to proof why this is so. In any case, if it was deemed necessary and useful to adopt, there was no need for students’ corporation to make it mandatory for their students to participate. For anything to be successful there should be no coercion rather one should do it out of their free will.
References
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Robert, Paschke: Corpsstudentisches Wörterbuch. In: Handbuch des Kösener Corpsstudenten. Verb and Alter Corpsstudenten e. V. Band I. Würzburg 2005 (6. Aufl.).
Peter Krause: O alte Burschenherrlichkeit - Die Studenten und ihr Brauchtum, Graz, Wien, Köln 1979 (German), ISBN 3-222-11127-8.
Robert Paschke: Corpsstudentisches Wörterbuch. In: Handbuch des Kösener Corpsstudenten. Verband Alter Corpsstudenten e. V. Band I. Würzburg 2005 (6. Aufl.)
Engle, Eric, Lex Naturalis, Ius Naturalis: Law as Positive Reasoning & Natural Rationality, The Rlias Clark Group, Melbourne, 2010, p.75
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Morgan, Cecilia. "'In Search of the Phantom Misnamed Honour': Duelling in Upper Canada." Canadian Historical Review 2005 76(4): 529–562.
Hermann, Rink. Die Mensur, ein wesentliches Merkmal des Verbandes.Berlin, 2007.
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Article on German Student Corps and academic fencing from the portfolio of Jonathan Green
