Martial Arts

[Archer]

and being large is actually a big disadvantage since it gives you better reach and better punching and kicking power through mass.

I think you mean advantage

LOL, yes I meant advantage.

Kung Fu consists of too many styles to be pigeonholed.

Yes, an estimate is about a thousand different styles. You could probably put a lot of them toghether though, and end up with five to ten groups of Kung Fu, each with a fundamental different approach.

I also think that when it comes to close combat being large is invariably an advantage, all other things being equal.

I have seen martial artists that would be considered "overweight" but who has stamina and a high pain threshold outperform small and agile ones.

Rules of Kyokushin;
1. The more pain you can withstand the greater potential you have as a kyokushin martial artist. The faster you can progress, and the more effective you can fight.
2. Speed equals power. The faster you can throw a punch correctly with enough weight behind it, the better it is.
3. If you can not "read" the opponent, you will loose. Being able to read the opponent, move with him, and correctly time your counter attacks, the better.

If you can combine these three aspects, you will with training become a great kyokushin martial artist. Fancy tricks and moves are for show, not for fighting, so they do not matter as much.

Though in martial arts movies, all that matters are fancy tricks and moves, because they look good on the screen

 

[King Amenjar]

Grmph... that's later Glorantha when it got all YACAPE* and rubbish.

*Yet Another Cut And Pasted Earth

What a strange version of reality you live in. Have you read any of the recent background material such as The Imeprial Lunar Handbook detailing the Lunar religion? They're among the most creative and orriginal RPG suplements ever printed.

How recent? Things for me reached the pits of YACAPE-dom with the publication of HeroQuest, when it seemed the trend begun in the AH editions was taken to its logical conclusion and every region of Genertela was mapped to a corresponding time and place on Earth - Dara Happa became Assyro-Babylonian, Dragon Pass Anglo-Saxon, Seshnela Mediaeval French/Occitan etc. Could be things have improved a lot since then.

I've just finished reading the History of the Godlearners pre-finished work, which was put together as raw source material for Mongoose. If that's anything to go by the new fully fleshed out setting material will be very interesting.

Let us hope so.

 

[Vadrus]

Most actual battlefield combats were extremely close quarters scrummages with heaving masses of men jam packed together. Tightly packes phalanxes, Roman maiples , Norman shield walls or later pike blocks were the order of the day. Hollywod depictions where the front ranks break up completely when they're still 100 meters apart into loose man-on-man skirmishes are just ludicrous. I understand why they do it, but the reality was body-to-body crushes where you were as likely to smell you're oponent's bad breath as feel the tip of his sword. In situations like that, kicking and headbutting would be valuable options.

Simon Hibbs

I agree with you whole heartedly and wish a set of rules would bring this aspect more into play than the standard 'dueling' set up that assumes one v one in 90% of all situations.

In fact I'm working on a home brew system that tries to replicate this, seems to work ok so far (at least on paper), will have to see how it works though when my group get their mitts on it and destruction test it. Unfortunately I'm expecting them to find something I've totally overlooked and pull it to pieces, but nothing ventured nothing gained.


Vadrus

 

[Archer]

As a matter of fact, most brawls are at the distance of an elbow as well, even today. Thats why martial arts have specific techniques for fighting at that distance. It is here were an elbow punch, a knee kick, arm-lock, or a throw becomes highly useful and decisive.