Melee hand to hand

[The Librarian]

Melee Combat 1: Hand to Hand by: Siege{Chaos}

Unlike most of the other types of combat in RP, melee is something that we can actually do in real life. That said, many people still don't seem to understand how exactly it works.

The first rule of Melee combat is to use what you know. I have personal experience with Wrestling, Karate, Boxing, and Taekwando. All of these give me sources of personal knowledge to draw from when I'm thinking of how my characters fight.

Don't just look at combat styles though. I also have experience with Gymnastics and Yoga, these help me imagine how my characters are moving during the fight.

If you don't have personal experience with fighting styles, the next best things is to watch them. Watch Ultimate Fighting, watch action movies, watch people in the alleyways if you can get away with it. The bottom line here is that if you do not have personal fighting experience to draw from, flood your mind with images of other fighters so that you can mimic their movements and techniques in your words.

The second rule of melee is to know what your character is capable of. Here once again, the first place to start is to draw from personal experience. You know better than anyone else what you are physically capable of doing. In the same fashion, you know better than anyone else what your character is physically capable of doing.

If you are playing a human, then their capabilities should be close to yours and those of the people you know. If you are playing anything but a human then you need to learn to use your powers of observation along with your imagination.

First example here is all the people playing wolf packs. Hopefully they have spent a lot of time watching shows on wolves and other pack animals, and most if not all of them have a dog that they can draw inspiration from.

Now what about creatures not in existence? Of course the easiest thing to do is draw inspiration from movies, comics, books, and anything else that portrays a character like the one you have in mind. If you look hard though, you can find real life examples that can be applied. If your character has wings and uses them a lot, examine the way birds hunt and dive, watch how insects move and seem to hover. If your character has talons or claws, watch your house cat for some good examples.

It is a good idea to have your characters physical capabilities planned out as much as possible before ever engaging in a melee fight with them. The more you know about how their body works, the more you can sit back and let the knowledge already stored in your head do the fighting for you.

Rule number three of melee is always keep an eye on your fight. Since these fights consist of words on a computer, the eye is figurative. The meaning behind this is that if you can see in your mind's eye exactly what is going on in the fight, then you can figure out how to react to it. Watch any of my fights, instead of posts such as


“he swings his sword at the guy”

I will try to put in something like.

“Bringing the sword across from his right side, he aims to slice the guy across the chest from his left shoulder the the bottom of his ribs on his right side.”

As the saying goes, "The Devil is in the details". Now that I have described what is going on, you can see it much clearer in your mind and as such can imagine exactly how your character would react to it. What if your character's left arm was immobile? In the first post you might still have gotten away with putting that you raised your own blade in the path of the swing, but in the second post you have to compensate for the fact that the swing is coming from an all but unprotected front.

Final Words:
That should be enough rules for the moment, I'll leave you with a few final words.
I don't remember who said it, I think someone on this forum actually, but they said that they like brute force over finesse when it comes to melee. That is the way their mind works, that is the way they will fight best.

If you can't imagine yourself as the big tough guy, don't fight as the big tough guy.

If you can't see yourself as the person who can waltz through a fight without getting touched, don't play the fast guy.

Both options have their merits. Most people are in the middle, but the point is play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

[Fenris]

Hand to hand can be complicated, however as mentioned by Siege it is preferable to get some first hand experience. This being said, I would suggest buying a martial arts manual. (IE Bruce Lee's fighting method, Jujitsu intermediate techniques, etc)

Kicking in RP is almost NEVER a good idea, unless you are absolutely positive you can get away with it. Kicks tend to be more dangerous to the offender than the defender since it clearly puts that part of your body in danger. (Knees and elbows being extremely fragile it is easy for a character to grab an incoming leg and then effortlessly shatter the kneecap.)

Melee fighting is similar to chess in the fact that two opponents are constantly making moves trying to strike in an unguarded spot, watch your opponents actions, and see if his punch or w/e leaves another part of his body open, then think about how you can capitalize upon it, without putting yourself in danger. IE a character takes a swing at you from their right hand, parry the attack inward along the guard and move your other hand into posistion to guard while simultaneously countering with the hand you had used to parry. Since you had interupted your opponents attack and due to proximity they will be hard pressed for find a defense against the hand you had previously used. Flexibility is the name of the game.

Breaks can either be very difficult or very easy to perform, due to the anatomy of most humanoids on TK, even characters with super strength can get their elbow or knee shattered by a significantly weaker character if used correctly, all you need is the proper leverage.

Always try to maintain your guard, IE your centerline. Your center line is an imaginary line going down the center of your body vertically. The center being the part where most attacks and defenses come from, normally attacking an opponent head on will make it easier for them to block or counter, however going around or forcing them to break their centerline can make them vulnerable and sluggish in their counter attack. IE forcing their hands into bad posistions will leave their centerline open. (For more info on THAT you will have to buy a book on JKD, but it is well worth it.) A fighter who can maintain his centerline and break his opponents will come out the victor.

When in doubt play it evasive, if your opponent looks to be too much, whether strength, or skill wise, hang back and wait him out, 9 times out of 10 they will reveal a weakness if you know what to look for.

[The Librarian]

not a bad start Wolf, but I think you should try to elaborate a bit instead of just saying go read a book.

[Fenris]

lulz then everyone will know my secrets <.<

[baane]

Jul 18, 2008 9:56:26 GMT -7 Fenris said:

lulz then everyone will know my secrets <.<

Heh, right

[Fenris]

lulz then lets hear yours jason

[baane]

Hear my what? Secrets? I really don't have any other than being clear in my posts and making a conscious attempt to avoid overly thick alliteration that makes it difficult to understand my action. It helps that I have experience with boxing and kempo, but I don't necessarily see those as required since one can look at a few videos on expert village and have a good idea of how to perform a right cross, for example. Having a basic understanding of the body and how it performs in the real world helps, too. Even if only as a basis for some inhuman and superhuman characters.

I purposely give my character a flawed fighting style to avoid having a perfect character. It does not prevent certain people that Baane, honestly, has no right to mess with from seeing him as a respectable peer in physical combat, however.

[Lateralus]

Do crazy shit, imo. Break your own arm just to make sure you get a hit on your opponent. That's sick as hell.

[Fenris]

no matter what every fighting style has a flaw, actively seeking to give your character one is admirable in its own way, but your not perfect eitherway so you might as well try to give yourself the best advantage you can instead of automatically giving your technique certain weaknesses which will come out on their own against a superior meleeist...

[ill]

Melee fighting for me is not overextending yourself and making mistakes, because the basic premise behind my style of fighting these days is at a completely human level. I prefer my opponents at a near equal level of ability and power, so one can truly match intellect against the opponent in a fair setting where both can agree on the outcome and effects of each and every action. Melee is defined, hardly theorized and therefore inscribed in stone. It's an excellent way to settle a dispute one might find in the more "advanced" levels of fighting. Each and every battle is a poetic, illustrated chess match. No one these days simply aims to hurt, every blow they connect with is meant to end the fight so they can claim victory over a lesser opponent. The easiest way to do exactly that, in my experience, is to play defensively, let the foe get sloppy, and cut his motherfucking face off his shoulders or place your spear shaft-deep in his entrails at the right instant, where there can be no defense. If there are no holes presented when you are on the defensive, move into a more balanced plan and chip away at his defenses in a chain-reaction that leads to his demise. Switch it up, cover your bases, and fuck the other guy up when he fucks up.

<3 Melee.

[czar]

You guys are missing one vital area.


In a fight of hand to hand, many things are capable, but nothing turns the tide of a battle quite like utilizing your environment.

Some people call these cheap shots. I disagree. In a roleplaying community that is socially acceptable to will someone out of existence? Throwing a rock point blank at someone's face is completely ingenious and acceptable.

No rocks and you're in the arena? Sand is a good blinding method. If that doesn't work? Nothing can be more intimidating than using a support pillar as a javelin, for those with super human strength.


Three rules I tend to teach people whenever they come to me to learn melee?

1.) Know yourself.
2.) Know your enemy.
3.) Know your your environment.

[The Librarian]

Anyone that has watched enough of my fights in the arena should know that I tend to use dust, rocks and debris as weapons. I've also used one of the support pillars from time to time.

[baane]

Sept 2, 2008 1:01:35 GMT -7 ill said:

Melee fighting for me is not overextending yourself and making mistakes, because the basic premise behind my style of fighting these days is at a completely human level. I prefer my opponents at a near equal level of ability and power, so one can truly match intellect against the opponent in a fair setting where both can agree on the outcome and effects of each and every action. Melee is defined, hardly theorized and therefore inscribed in stone. It's an excellent way to settle a dispute one might find in the more "advanced" levels of fighting. Each and every battle is a poetic, illustrated chess match. No one these days simply aims to hurt, every blow they connect with is meant to end the fight so they can claim victory over a lesser opponent. The easiest way to do exactly that, in my experience, is to play defensively, let the foe get sloppy, and cut his motherfucking face off his shoulders or place your spear shaft-deep in his entrails at the right instant, where there can be no defense. If there are no holes presented when you are on the defensive, move into a more balanced plan and chip away at his defenses in a chain-reaction that leads to his demise. Switch it up, cover your bases, and fuck the other guy up when he fucks up.

<3 Melee.

Sadly, this highlights the void between real life and role-playing, and why experiences in real life won't nessisarily help you in a freeform role-playing conflict. This strategy simply is not very effective in real life.

[Lateralus]

... Defensive/conservative is VERY effective in real life. Watch professional fighters. Know who Royce Gracie is? Yeah, just ONE example.

There isn't as big of a void many think there is.

[Fenris]

I actually agree with both to a certain extent, though Im a beleiver in the "best defense is a good offense" ideal, evading an opponent has its advantages but some opponents dont allow you to get a foot hold when it comes to defense, and these opponents can only be defeated by sheer offense or they will simply overwhelm your character. If anyone has ever fought a character by the name of "kittysrule" on TK you should know what im talking about.