Force power to augment armors and weapons that isn't dark?

[ZzaphodD]

[vanir]

In kendo, parries are designed to avoid clashing blades. They're very expensive and difficult to make, by relative value they're worth as much as a house. Samurai do not clash blades.

And the sniper's code, was from the samurai. One sword, one life, one cut. Translates to modern snipers one shot one kill philosophy.

It means you don't parry, you kill.

What appears to be parries are in fact following your enemy's blade back home. You may deflect with the flat of the blade but the purpose will always be to slide back up along the arms of the attacker, so that you sidestep his blow, whip your blade up over his and cut his arms off.

Stuff like that, it looks like parries and butterfly blades and everything at the seminars, but if you break it down, they don't parry by clashing blades, it's all about positioning, balance and motion.

[ZzaphodD]

[vanir]

As archetypteral characters, effectively Luke, Darth, Obi Wan, etc. are all mythological figures in a tale of gods and wizards and demons.

We should not study too closely the choreography of the movies, since they didn't even get a decent expert until the prequels, and even then went with flashy showmen over brutal combat vets.
It's theatre. The story isn't.

If you're going to actually make lightsabre combat a rules based mechanical system, you really must depart the visual spectacle that choreographed cinematography is designed to achieve. It is specifically designed not to work in combat. But to work on the screen.

What is actually written on the script are things like "Luke smashes the circuitry inside Vader's arm with the force of his angry blows"

and if you get choreographer (a) he says, okay Mark you have to sidestep, Dave you move like this, now Mark you push forwards and swing like this, now he's out of balance and both your weight will create the force of impact, thus a blow capable of smashing the arm trying to parry it.

realistic.

or, choreographer (b) he says, Mark, give me lots of emotion on your face, now zoom the camera in, Dave just hold your arm up buddy, okay Mark now slap that exposed blade like a dominatrix pal.

not so realistic, but nice and theatrical.

yet both represent the same description of combat.
That leaves us pretty free to develop fairly sound mechanics of our own, to fill those storytelling descriptions of combat.

[Fallon Kell]

[vanir]

I didn't like the swordwork in the OT at all. Some bits in the Prequels I liked.

I liked the way the Bourne fight scenes were done, there was an example of an inexperienced combatant performing well choreographed moves, sometimes speedframed but still the moves were sound and it looked realistic and gritty, with good camera work and lighting.

I think you can get the theatre, with realism. I prefer that.

[Bren]

[garhkal]

The only fight i liked in the OT was RoTJ on the death star 2.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Fallon Kell]

[ZzaphodD]

[vanir]

I found them too emotional. In combat/sparring if you don't direct all that into physical action without letting it sit in your brain you're buggered.

It's like that 70s action movie meme of pulling a magnum and saying a one-liner. The 80s action update was when the new style of hero rapidfires a beretta before blinking and saying, "shoot next time, don't talk."

OT is 70s style action, just with swords instead of guns. Movements are constrained and always against the stream, the action is in the dialogue.
Not my style when weapons are drawn, that's time to be quiet and do the job simply and quickly.

then run home and cry to momma

When I'm watching it all I can think about is how differently I'd have choreographed it.
And if the final word was given by GL as to how the choreography has to look, then Bob was just doing the best he could with impossible demands, GL is more the choreographer in that case, that's probably what I was picking up on.

[Bren]

[CRMcNeill]

[vanir]

The kendo bamboo shinai clacks very loudly when it hits something, designed for this purpose.
If it clacks because you hit a sword and not your opponent, you lose the bout.
You may deflect, sidestep, redirect, but never clash swords. Cardinal rule of Japanese sword fighting.

When kendo practitioners spar with wooden bokken however you can get away with a bit of sword nudging. It's cheating.

True then, that in real combat with live blades you might do this. After all who wants to get hit, right? But, what would be worse is standing there with a hilt and your blade shattered in half, now your enemy has about a metre reach over you and there aint no way you're escaping combat now.


Anyone remember the Young Readers Edition Star Wars published 1978?
GL described a moment, the only time during the Obi Wan/Vader battle that they clashed lightsabres fully, not just deflection hits.
He said, their power units and energy emitters were working hard to override each other, that each blade was trying to destroy the other's functionality, like two electrical circuits clashing and trying to earth out on each other.
Gawd I hope I'm remembering the right book, I also read ESB when that movie came out so it might've been in the Luke/Vader fight. It's definitely in one of them.

Anyone got that book? Can you give me a direct quote, I was in Grade 4 primary school when I last read it. Definitely went like that though.

Food for thought?

I'm thinking like, don't cross the streams man.

[Fallon Kell]