Martial Hero

[Ninja-Bear]

1 hour ago, tkdguy said:

 

What I'm trying to do is write up a style that would be distinctive enough to separate it as its own martial art. Many koryu schools teach iai/batto in addition to Kenjutsu, but not all of them do. Also, there are several Iaido styles like Eishin Ryu and Muso Shinden Ryu that are taught today that have their own flavor. Kendo and Iaido are considered separate martial arts (although they're both governed by the same federation). Batto-do is governed by a different federation.

 

Maybe I'm just splitting hairs. I can see writing up a style using the Iaijutsu skill and select maneuvers. I have only had a couple of lessons in Eishin Ryu, so I'm not confident about accurately writing it up in HERO terms.

Ok, but what are the flavors? I mean what does one school emphasize over another one? 

[tkdguy]

4 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Ok, but what are the flavors? I mean what does one school emphasize over another one? 

 

That's what I'm trying to figure out.

[L. Marcus]

Offence versus defence, possibly. One against many, like Kenshin Himura's hiten mitsurugi-ryu. 

[tkdguy]

I agree that Iaijutsu will include a Defensive Strike for all its styles. From what I've read and watched in videos, Iaijutsu was developed after the warring era, when all the battles had been fought, and dueling was a common way to settle disputes. So the art begins with drawing the sword and cutting while you draw. This is one way it differs from Kenjutsu, where the sword has already been drawn.

[Ninja-Bear]

How about Lightning Reflex with a successful Fast Draw? And maybe extra OCV too. Perhaps only with a specific maneuver.

 

Ooh, I just thought of the handle to the forehead. That could be a block because then the striker follows up with a strike to the opponent!

 

Any ideas on how to represent being grabbed with your arms held out? The Grab maneuver assumes a successful Bear Hug with both arms in. But many styles teach escapes when being held with arms out. Iow the grabber has you by the waist but your arms are free.

[Ninja-Bear]

Monk’s Spade. I saw this being used in the Rendezvous with Death by one of the 4 Killers. Looking at the HSMA, there was a good fit I felt for the write up when I compared the description from Wikipedia. Namely the Cresant was supposed to be used to pin an animal’s head down. So instead of writing up a new weapon, I adapted the Ghi’s stats. Namely I swapped out the +2 OCV from Block, Bind and Disarm to Grab, Block and Disarm.

 

Thoughts?

[GhostDancer]

Trivia Time: When martial artist turned actor Jean-Claude van Damme first came to Hollywood with the dream of becoming an actor, one of the first roles he was cast in was as the monster in the Arnold Schwarzenegger-helmed sci-fi/action movie "Predator." According to the man himself, at first he was excited about the role because he figured he'd be fighting Schwarzenegger as the monster, and didn't realize that he would be unrecognizable once the makeup and the costume was applied. 

In addition, the suit was heavy and difficult for van Damme to move in.  The actor has called the costume "an impossibility."

In his own words, "The costume took about half an hour to put on, and the makeup was another four hours.  It was all thick rubber and I couldn't see anything, there was just a small tube to breathe through. I needed cables to move my jaw and head, and it was hard to keep my balance. At one point, they wanted me to make a big jump off of a rock, and I told them, ‘It’s impossible from that height. I know my limitations, and I’ll break my legs.'”

Actor Bill Duke, who co-starred in the film, added that Van Damme had twice passed out during stunts due to dehydration during his first two weeks of filming.  According to Duke, "The producer said, ‘If you pass out again I’m gonna fire you!’ Two weeks go by and the guy passes out and the producer goes over and fires him."

A stuntman was brought in to wear the Predator suit and do the jump that van Damme refused.  Lo and behold, Van Damme was correct -- the jump was dangerous and the stuntman broke his leg.

In the end, van Damme was replaced with the late Kevin Peter Hall, who stood at 7' 2" (a foot taller than Arnold Schwarzenegger and 16" taller than van Damme).  Hall was a trained mime and a brilliant physical actor, and his talents turned the Predator into more than just a muscle-bound fighter in a suit.  Hall was fresh off playing Harry in "Harry and the Hendersons" when cast in Predator.

In addition, Hall also makes a very brief appearance out of costume as the helicopter pilot who rescues Arnold at the end of the movie. - Jack V. Butler Jr.

 

[HeroGM]

Hey, remember that zircher dude who drew some of Ninja Hero in the day...wonder what happened to him .....oh, yeah....

[GhostDancer]

On 5/8/2022 at 3:41 PM, Ninja-Bear said:

Monk’s Spade. I saw this being used in the Rendezvous with Death by one of the 4 Killers. Looking at the HSMA, there was a good fit I felt for the write up when I compared the description from Wikipedia. Namely the Cresant was supposed to be used to pin an animal’s head down. So instead of writing up a new weapon, I adapted the Ghi’s stats. Namely I swapped out the +2 OCV from Block, Bind and Disarm to Grab, Block and Disarm.

 

Thoughts?

Sounds reasonable.

[steriaca]

On 5/7/2022 at 8:30 PM, Ninja-Bear said:

How about Lightning Reflex with a successful Fast Draw? And maybe extra OCV too. Perhaps only with a specific maneuver.

 

Ooh, I just thought of the handle to the forehead. That could be a block because then the striker follows up with a strike to the opponent!

 

Any ideas on how to represent being grabbed with your arms held out? The Grab maneuver assumes a successful Bear Hug with both arms in. But many styles teach escapes when being held with arms out. Iow the grabber has you by the waist but your arms are free.

Just ignore the "arms are pinned" component of a bear hug. The character can strike back, but suffers a small penalty to do so (I would say -2 OCV). If he inflicts STUN damage, the grabber must let go, but can always re-grab.

[Ninja-Bear]

Leg locks. I don’t know if I brought this up before but If you watch Kung Fu movies, often times you a martial artist using a leg to grab an arm or leg or head. Instead of creating a new maneuver, I wonder if I should just expand the description of arm lock to leg lock like you can expand martial strike to be both Punch and Kick. 

[steriaca]

On 8/30/2022 at 8:35 PM, Ninja-Bear said:

Leg locks. I don’t know if I brought this up before but If you watch Kung Fu movies, often times you a martial artist using a leg to grab an arm or leg or head. Instead of creating a new maneuver, I wonder if I should just expand the description of arm lock to leg lock like you can expand martial strike to be both Punch and Kick. 

Agreed.  No need to reinvent the wheel. If a given manuver can simulate multiple manuvers, then it is all thoes manuvers. That is the magic of special effect based combat.

[Ninja-Bear]

I just watched the Circle of Iron. Its on Tubi. Has anyone else seen it? Its ‘s accredited to Bruce Lee, susposed to be based on some ideas he had for Hollywood. 

[GhostDancer]

The Blind Man: It's hard to kill a horse with a flute. 

 

Yes, I saw and enjoyed this movie decades ago.

[Ninja-Bear]

I picked up Art of Wuxia RPG and I like it. It is all inclusive game with mini settings and minsters and some random charts for technique names and plots. It has a small gazetteer too. The mechanics  are D100lite. So far fairly easy to understand. And light rules seem to be great with this type of game.

[steriaca]

I noticed that there is no one Hantori Hanzo, but many of them over the centuries. I believe that this is not really a name but instead a title. Sasaki is another name associated with the ninja.

[Ninja-Bear]

I’ve just finished book one of the Condor Hero series and my wife got me book 2! Its cool reading about all those tropes from the original.

[GhostDancer]

Bruce Lee had a vegan brother - Broco Lee

 

Happy Thanksgiving 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by GhostDancer

[steriaca]

On 11/23/2023 at 10:15 AM, GhostDancer said:

Bruce Lee had a vegan brother - Broco Lee

 

Happy Thanksgiving 

 

 

Great. Someone learned Pun Fu.

[GhostDancer]

Chuck Norris doesn't wear Sunblock - the Sun wears Chuckblock.

[Khymeria]

1 hour ago, GhostDancer said:

Chuck Norris doesn't wear Sunblock - the Sun wears Chuckblock.

[Ninja-Bear]

I’ve been watching Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman on Tubi.