Equal Lines

It's not often that you find a fencing fable or philosophy, so I was quite surprised when I came across one when I was reading. I have changed it slightly, but in essence, it's the same thing.

A coach is watching his students fence. He is more focused on one, than the other. He focuses on the one who is winning, and looks at his forms and tactics. He is waiting for his opponent to attack, and then hitting him with either a counter-attack or parry riposte, exploiting his opponent's shorter reach. He wins the fight 10-2. Afterwards, the coach calls him over, and shows him a piece of paper. He then draws two lines on it. A long one, and a short one. He then tells the student o make them equal, and hands him a pencil and an eraser. The student thinks for a moment, and then draws a line through the long line, cutting it so that it is the same length as the short line. He then rubs out the off cut. He hands the sheet of parer back to the coach. The coach smiles knowingly, and rubs out both the lines. 'Here's how you should do it', he says. He redraws the lines, and takes the pencil. He draws on a section to the short line, so that they are both equal. He pauses, and then draws another section onto it, making it longer. The lines have now been inversed. He hands the piece of paper to the pupil, and says to him:

Concentrate on improving your own game, rather than finding fault with your opponents. Extend your own line; extend yourself.

It's so simple, yet it is a great metaphor. I need to find some more of these, and if I do, I shall interpret them, and hopefully learn.