Want your character to be A bad-ass?

[king]

Lets face it, Shamino's recent challenge to the masses has brought up some discussion about who ranks where in the general scheme of kicking ass. While there are a good many of you who could care less about such things (generally those who have gone beyond such chauvinism or don't fight fairly often).

There is, of course, the good many of you who don't care about being #1, or even #7 for that matter, and just want to be outright good. You don't want to have multiple tournament badges under you belt, but you do want it to be the case that when the big story arc comes to a conclusion, your formerly active role has been reduced because you can't swing with the best of them.

Anyway, I decided as I was working on my Stern bio (I decided he would be who I brought back, for those who have followed my latest thread), I took the liberty of creating a "how to beat Stern" section based on the character itself, not my own abilities. As I was doing so, i thought to myself "James, you incredibly attractive man you, perhaps it would help if people could ask questions that pertain to their abilities."

So, I decided to go along with Shaminos quest for self-improvement and the seemingly analogous intent of those who seem to have accepted, I would start a brief Q & A thread to give those who have some questions an actual answer for once.

So, does anyone have any questions they feel like getting an answer to?

[Pain Killer]

Not sure if this is the kind of question you're looking for, but here goes.

As far as I can remember, out of everyone I've fought so far your characters are the only ones I can't seem to hit. I was wondering if you've got any tips for me that might help me improve faster, since right now all I'm doing is trial and error.

[king]

what makes me so hard to hit is my personal strengths as a poster, that of weight control and body management. I always throw my opponent off balance eventually, and I tend to not extend my body very far. This limits the opponents chances to strike in an effective manner while giving them very few openings to begin with. I am notoriously hard to hit, and being able to force me to take a hit (i.e., I'm not taking the hit willingly), was a sign that you were of high caliber on the site.

As for improvement, the best way to do that is to start planning further ahead in a fight. Most peoples response to a post is to stop the current attack and then launch a counter attack. This causes two problems, first being a lacking offense and the second causing the person to become very disbalanced. The best way to counter and attack is plan for the possible counters that can come your way. Before you post your attack, think of every possible way your opponent can move after you deal with his first attack. Then plan your move, not to actually hit, but to encourage the worst possible counter options. You'll eventually land your hit, as repeating this tactic will cause the opponent to get to the point where they can't counter.

Doing this is easier said than done however, as learning how to do it is the actual difficult part. Take effort into learning things like balance and motion. After that, experience is your best friend. This doesn't necessarily apply to yours either. Reading past fights between higher level members will show you how to act in most situations.

[korin]

I hear a lot of bad-asses say that if they see a way to counter that they will take it, but isn't that completely unreasonable because no one can dodge every single move, even if there is a way to dodge it?

Also, what does it take to get a good fight with someone?

[king]

Yes, people cant dodge everything....but if they can dodge it, they will try. General preferrence to avoid being hit there.

The reason people can't dodge things is because they are incapable. This is usually done by either limiting thier evasion time, or simply locking them in place. Never expect to throw a move and have it hit simply because your opponent has let any hit you yet.

As for a good fight, that requires an IC reason with someone who is skilled. This is based enitrely on each person character. You can always enter tournaments though.

[leaf]

Generally from my experience of people who use Kurtz method of planning ahead tend to include alot of grappling and altering the other person's balance. Not sure if that really works for the lighter characters against a heavier one.

Is there a way to avoid your attacks from being caught? I never really know how to react to someone just saying, they catch your kick or punch. Just like someone can actively try to dodge everything, what do you do with someone is just waiting to catch your attack?

[kai]

This is a question and answer thread, supposedly, so I'm going to ask a question about throws. Normally, controlling an opponent's actions is not allowed. However, if one were to counter an opponent's action by throwing them, writing the throw could come across as doing so. Basically, my question is how Kurtz thinks one could best use a throw as a counter without risking being accused of controlling.

[king]

Second question first. If you throw someone, your not saying they do something, your writing on the assumption that they were unable to stop your actions. So it is not controlling, because you cannot write thier actions. If they can't stop it, it happens. Anyone who gets thrown across the ring and says "You can't throw, that's controlling" is just whining because they got thrown.

As for Leafs question, the best way to avoid grabbers, at least I find, is to use extremes in the weight you put behind your blows when you start combat. Most people cannot say they can grab you in the midst of combat reliably, so avoiding it in the initial contact is best. Do this by either using quick attacks with little weight (as Odin enjoys with his jabs), or full strength attacks with your entire weight. First is too quick to catch unless waiting for it specifically and not invested enough to have much benefit if caught. The second makes catching impossible, as anyone who expects to catch a drop kick has a good deal of explaining to do.

Dont actually drop kick as an opening move though, I will destroy you if you say I advised that. Making a point there.

Once combat gets truly started (as in, your opponent is good enough to think of a working counter and vice versa), avoiding grabs is a matter of avoiding counters all together. They can't grab if they never get the chance.

[Zeniro]

Learn the art of trap fighting!!

I'm not going to tell you how to do it though. I wont share my main strengths.
Everything else is pretty much common sense, Know your limits and your strengths and play to them.

Quite often though you'll only find that you can land a hit so long as you're willing to take one in return.

[king]

Indeed, Zeniro is one of the few people who can boast that he has a better offense than defense on this site....I've almost caught up to his offense though.

Also, another good thing to do is to not do too much in one post. If you list your next five moves, writing all of your possible reaction to whatever I do, your going to see one of two situations. Usually, your going to see the first move stopped and a counter ruin your post, making all you wrote pointless. Or your going to see someone do exactly what he needs to dodge all blows.

trying throwing out one blow, and seeing how he responds. When he does something dumb, capitalize on it.