tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4446682073857250843.post9172111608937611503..comments2024-03-27T23:42:36.619-05:00Comments on Mock Ramblings: Combat Theory 01: armed and unarmedMichael Mockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06233321050691782148noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4446682073857250843.post-30383067358391510192012-04-03T20:52:29.216-05:002012-04-03T20:52:29.216-05:00Tai Chi and Aikido should be eminently compatible;...Tai Chi and Aikido should be eminently compatible; there's nothing about either one that you'd need to unlearn in order to learn the other. That said, I'm not sure that Tai Chi truly <em>needs</em> to be paired with anything, if it's taught as a complete system. (I feel compelled to note hear that anything I say about styles is going to be something of a generality, as individual teachers make a huge difference in how a particular style is taught. In fact, I'd argue that's vastly more important to find a good teacher than it is to find a good style.)<br /><br />I like the grammar metaphor; it's apt. Modern/Mixed Martial Arts type tend to reject that approach; they prefer to just start making sentence and refine them as they go, and they supplement the background skills in other ways.Michael Mockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06233321050691782148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4446682073857250843.post-77050544621105686302012-04-03T12:46:16.530-05:002012-04-03T12:46:16.530-05:00Tai Chi is actually one of the martial arts I woul...Tai Chi is actually one of the martial arts I would like to study; Aikido is the other. I end up reading more about them than actually looking to participate; something I should remedy.<br /><br />I think I'm drawn to them as somehow more useful? Tai Chi teaches body awareness and control, which are useful to everyday life. Aikido promotes flexibility, and the forward rolls have apparently saved some people from motorcycle accidents.<br /><br />Tai Chi is also interesting because of its focus on teaching a series of movements first, before worrying about their application. I've seen discussion that someone just starting out in martial arts would be pretty inept in a real fight for the first few years; mastery and understanding is hard. Using grammar as a metaphor, they are teaching you the shape and form of letters/small words. Simple katas are example sentences; mastery is about understanding how to connect things.<br /><br />I had seen Tai Chi is supposed to be paired with a more aggressive style taught after the basics are mastered; I don't recall the correct name but I think it was translated as 'cannon fist'. Which just sounds awesome.Kellandrosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4446682073857250843.post-19914850424593616052012-04-02T16:30:51.065-05:002012-04-02T16:30:51.065-05:00Good points. And it's not just Japanese styles...Good points. And it's not just Japanese styles that made that sort of transition; Tai Chi used to be a formidable fighting art. Still is, if you can find someone who teaches it that way.Michael Mockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06233321050691782148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4446682073857250843.post-50389155713317929512012-04-02T11:15:08.836-05:002012-04-02T11:15:08.836-05:00http://filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/hulk-...http://filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/hulk-explain-action-scenes-with-special-guest-tom-townend-day-1-of-3/<br />The basic gist is that writing action/fight scenes should be approached like anything else- focus on showing, not telling; make sure the stakes are known; maintain cause and effect.<br /><br />I had also watched The Raid: Redemption this weekend; it had very brutal fight scenes in there(Indonesian style martial arts). What it makes me think of is truly complete fighting systems(like military training) focus on effectiveness and efficiency. They start with assault rifles, get cut off from supplies and start to run out of ammunition. They have to switch to their sidearms as ammo runs low, and then knives and nightsticks, finally ending up fighting hand to hand. And that movie probably has the most realistic knife fighting I've seen; fast and brutal, not scaled down fencing.<br /><br />The other side of martial arts is peace-time evolution. The samurai in Japan started out primarily as bow users, in mass open combat. The change to emphasizing swords I think came about when combat became more ritualized and between smaller sized forces(less use of peasant levies with spears). Jujitsu began as wrestling techniques to be used while in armor; later the heavy jacket gi was used for training purposes(it actually makes it easier to be grabbed). <br /><br />Just covering the changes from jutsu's(technique) to do's(art) is a very broad topic. Also, there is the divide between sport and combat; sport karate is within a series of restrictions to prevent injuries. Once you get used to these restrictions(i.e. no blows to the face, pulling your punches), it can leave you less effective in an actual fight for survival(like Dune, where Paul Atreides had been well trained but had never had to strike a lethal blow).Kellandrosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4446682073857250843.post-52139128590362474622012-04-02T08:19:05.515-05:002012-04-02T08:19:05.515-05:00Yep - addition of new powers or technologies chang...Yep - addition of new powers or technologies changes the way things work. Remember the personal defense shields from Dune? "The slow blade penetrates the shield." <br /><br />And it's human nature to look for cheats - with the immortals, for example, there seems to a brief moment of shock when they're badly wounded... so I'd expect to see more of them using the sword and sawed-off-shotgun fighting style.Michael Mockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06233321050691782148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4446682073857250843.post-38503465819408979442012-04-02T01:37:31.422-05:002012-04-02T01:37:31.422-05:00I always felt fantasy swordfighting should have ma...I always felt fantasy swordfighting should have maneuvers totally different from real life? Frex, the 'absorb a blow to perform a more powerful one' is a tactic I'd expect Highlander-type Immortals to exploit all the time, given that only headshots count. <br /><br />Jedi/Sith could perform some really out-there maneuvers. Consider: from the movies, it seems lightsabers actually have mass of some kind and react to one another allowing the fighter to parry and block like real swords.<br /><br />So, in the middle of one of those old-timey 'Captain Blood' clashed sword duels, could one fighter be pushing his sabre hard against his opponent, and the opponent respond by switching off the blade, flipping it around in his hand, then power it back up to backstab the now off-balance opponent?Nyctotherionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02094904210772895432noreply@blogger.com