The two sides of "Bigayan"

by SYMBO

"Mercy" is a term used in playing tekken.

For a player to win one match, s/he must win 3 rounds before the other one.
When a player wins 2 rounds already and his/her opponent has won none, s/he will let the opponent win one round. And then, s/he will finish off the opponent after that one give-away round. (unless the opponent comes up with a great comeback and wins 2 more rounds, winning the match.)

This is what they call "Mercy".

Some people say that giving mercy is common courtesy.
But some people say that being "mercy'd" by the opponent is annoying.

Some think that mercy should be automatic. If you've won 2 rounds and your opponent has won none, automatically give him/her one mercy round, and then you can finish him/her off. At least you can lift your opponent's spirits by making him/her think that you had compassion for him/her.
Some, on the other hand, think that mercy should not be applied. If you've won 2 rounds, just finish the 3rd and don't give a mercy round, because giving mercy will only make your opponent feel like s/he is SO weak that you still have to pity him/her, bringing his/her spirits down.

Some consider "mercy" an exercise of kindness. It's like saying "here you go... You can practice some moves while I give you this round, and you can win at least once."
While some consider "mercy" a show of pride. It's like saying "here you go... You're too pathetic and pitiful, and I'm too good for you. I'll just sit down and give you this round because I beat you too bad in the first two."

Some even use their data cards to label their characters with a name like "Please have mercy".
And in turn, some others name their characters something like "Don't beg mercy".

Some players, when they are not given a mercy round, feel bad and think "I hope he would give me a mercy round and let me win at least once."
In contrast, some other players, when given a mercy round, feel annoyed and think "I hope he would stop giving me this mercy round and just beat me up."

In each paragraph, I considered two opposing arguments about the issue. This is to avoid bias. I am saying that both sides have a point. There's something positive and negative about both sides. Now, how do we know which side to be on at the proper time? Maybe we can't always know since our opponents don't always ask for mercy or tell us not to give them mercy. But I guess the responsibility is more in the ones who are being given the mercy round, not the ones who are giving it.

If a player who wants to be given a mercy round is losing, and his/her opponent is not giving him/her what he wants... S/he can say something like "Can you give me this round? I wanna practice some techniques."
And if a player who doesn't want to be given a mercy round is losing, and his/her opponent is giving him/her what s/he doesn't want... S/he can say something like "It's alright, don't give me the mercy round, just take this round as seriously as you took the first two. Let's go."

I used to be on the side that sais "Mercy is bad. I don't want it and I'm not giving it". But that's not the case anymore for me. Nowadays, I personally don't usually give mercy rounds and don't want to be given mercy rounds. But if I want to practice or experiment on some techniques, I'll ask you for the mercy round (it's easier to ask if I know you). And if you want a mercy round to be able to practice too, you can ask me for it, and i'll give it to you.

I don't want to sound like I'm an all-knowing, sermoning tekken guy. I just want the issue of "mercy"-giving to be resolved. :D