Perfectly worded, and projection is the perfect word to use here. People like to bring up “emotional control” or “maturity”, talking about how celebrating or yelling is losing control (yet they can never explain why), but is getting offended over someone celebrating not absolutely losing emotional control? Is it not immature? Imagine assuming someone’s outburst of joy and success is meant as a personal attack against you. It is PURELY projection, based on not being in control of their own emotions, and writing their opponent of as out of control. I’ve experienced every emotion in the book at tournaments. I’ve yelled, cheered, fist pumped, and I’ve also cried multiple times and have gotten very heated (in these cases I have always apologized). Never have I really felt “out of control”. I feel comfortable with the wide range of emotion that I’m used to feeling, and I can handle them well. I would hope that others can understand emotion and be comfortable with their own as well as others’. Volcanos diffusing often is a good thing to release pressure. Small scale fires help to prevent large, devastating wildfires etc etc

I enjoy the thoughtfulness of this response. I find that in HEMA, the judging is subjective enough where often times it is truly not worth celebrating *until* the point is declared yours. To use one of your examples, it would be akin to not celebrating a debate victory until the winner is declared. In your mind, there is no question to your scoring, but it all depends on what the judges see and like. That is to say, when hold is called, it is not yet a time of celebration, it is one of anticipation. I 100% agree that a tournament's rules should be clear about celebration rules before any judge attempts to penalize for it. I've popped off after a hit or looked at a judge in disbelief more than a few times when competing where such a thing was forbidden. It happens. Where I get away with it I consider it fortune, and in my local HEMA scene specifically I find that after an especially beautiful hit, both fencers are kind of hyped to the point where you'd have to card both of them. As for when I judge, I do find a certain amount of mental fortitude is needed to ignore premature celebration (or even premature depression!). As a judge I can only tell of what I have seen and heard. I called hold for a reason, and I need to stick to it.

I’m all good with celebrating/emotional expression, as long as it isn’t directed at the judges. That job is hard enough without us nerd raging at them.