Perception of the Battle

[MorGrendel]

On the melee field;

An opponent who wishes to take the initive will be daring and will accept losses as an expense for achieving victory. Most battles are won in the first few moments as one side gains momentum over the other.

Therein, an opponent who percieves victory will strive to preserve it; they will not fall easily, as pride will keep them from dieing now that victory is insured. Moments ago, this same enemy would have gladly thrown away his life to insure the upcoming victory.

Whereas, an opponent who percieves defeat will strive for self preservation; they will assume that the killing blow is immenate, and that it will come from anywhere. This realization allows them to fall to blows they otherwise would have ignored.

This is in contrast to human nature, wherein doomed men without a chance of surrender will fight on despite grievous injury. This is because on the melee field a death carries as much wieght as a strike in baseball. Best it is forgotten, as you make ready for the next swing.

This is why an opponent may appear thick one minute and the opposite the next. Many times it comes down to your opponent’s perception of the battle. Force your opponent to only percieve defeat and you will never have issues with calibration.