Have you ever just wanted to fit in?
Sure you have. At some point in your life, maybe even presently, you have thought about what lengths you would go to just to feel like you belong. Throughout our youth, we subject ourselves to a mind-boggling series of dares, social maneuvers, oaths, lies and outright humiliations in order to be respected, admired and accepted. Failure to break into a clique can often have disastrous consequences – in American culture such failure can lead to melvins, atomic wedgies, swirlies and being imprisoned in a locker. Heck, you may even get punched.
If you are a German college student however, all you need to do is wear a funny costume, stand completely still and try to get your face slashed open by one of your fellow students.
There is a little-known, surprisingly gruesome tradition in German fraternities known as Mensur. Mensur is a centuries-old form of academic fencing that resembles a traditional duel in some ways, but for the most part is considered a chance for the participants to build character, prove their strength and mental fortitude as well as their dedication to their fraternity, or studentenverbindung. As a matter of perspective:
American Frats: Beer Bongs, Soggy Biscuit
German Frats: Slash at each other faces with swords
Oh yes, the swords are sharp. The sword, or shlager, is a heavy steel weapon that is only slightly modified from a dueling sabre. Armed with these, participants suit up in leather and chainmail armor that covers everything but their face and head. To protect the eyes, steel-rimmed glasses are worn. Now looking like a hybrid catcher’s mitt/robot, the two men (since women are verboten) stand 1 meter apart and proceed to slash at each other’s face until they have either A.) finished the requisite 40 “courses” consisting of 5 rounds of 4 blows struck by each man, or B.) one of them is wounded sufficiently to warrant stoppage.
While having the trappings of a duel, it is important to remember that Mensur is in no way deadly combat. The ultimate goal is to build character. An extra-awesome souvenir for any participant is a facial scar, or schmisse. These are highly prized, and being cut is not considered a defeat. Far from it, actually; up until the early 20th century these scars were considered the ultimate display of machismo for German men (think of all the stereotypical Nazi villains with big ugly facial scars). In fact, there are no winners or losers.
Each man is judged on his steadfastness, courage, and his ability to attack and parry correctly. In fact, playing defense too much is frowned upon. No need to worry though – there is a doctor on hand to suture all of the wounds…using no anesthetic whatsoever.
Mensur isn’t some strange historical oddity either. This started around the 18th century and continues to this day. Year in and year out, men with relatively comfortable and civilized lives are willingly subjecting themselves to the razor sharp blades of their buddies
We need to subject ourselves to pain and suffering. That’s what these guys were doing. It builds character and puts it on display. Strength training gives us an avenue that’s relatively safe.
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