Belegarth

I would like to see this section develop into something new members and veterans can use to increase fighting skill at all levels. There are so many aspects of our game that can be studied, practiced and drilled. With so many styles of fighting we can live a lifetime and never learn everything there is to know.

I would love to see fighters who I believe are the hardest training, most skilled individuals in the game help us raise the bar on the battle field by offering their knowledge and insight. People like Soth, Bahkdar, Kenny, Peter, Xiao and many other who have earned my respect just by watching the intensity that they train.

I will do my best to offer what little knowledge I have to help progress our wonderful sport. I hope that many other will also add ideas, techniques and philosophies so we can all achieve our ultimate goals.

I'm a firm believer that all this sport takes is practice. If you fight enough times, you will get better. experience counts for a lot.

The best thing you can do as a fighter, no matter what your skill level, is to fight quality opponents. If all you do is n00b hunt, you're not going to get any better. Even if you get owned 90% of the time, you'll still be a better fighter in the end.

Treat this game like a real sport. Eat right, do cardio training and maybe some weight training. Don't spend too much time doing nothing on the sidelines. be out there for every fight.

Don't rely on your equipment too much. I see too many people fight with an ultra long light flail and a huge shield, and their development stalls out. They rely too much on their gear, and not enough on sound fundamentals, like footwork and accuracy.

Changing your style is very important as well, especially if you've plateaued with one style. I have tried to fight with everything out there. I will just bring that weapon and leave all my others at home to practice, so i won't be tempted to quit when i really suck. Learn to use everything, and you'll be a much better fighter.

Finally, don't ignore the mental aspect of the game. Study film on other fighters. Battlefield awareness will keep you alive longer than armor or a huge shield. be aware of tactics and the flow of battle.

I'll try and add more later.

I will add my two cents.

If you are like me and can't make every practice that is fine. Go in your drive way and swing your weapons for a few minutes. If you can hit a tree, if you can't that is fine. The goal? Focus on the mechanics of your swing. This is like boxing. You want your swing to be as simple as possible, no extra movements (and for gods sake you do not want to telegraph) you want it to be a complete simple beautiful movement. Belegarth is definitely a sweet science.

Make your own weapons/equipment. This is not about quality/skill. This is about self respect. Think of it like this. Everyone knows that guy in the gym of the B-ball court who always has the newest sneakers, or the newest supplements, who thinks it will make them better. Who more often than not is * about what they have. Making your own weapon/equipment and garb will humble you. It will make you understand more about this sport, make you more respectful of others equipment and will hopefully make you be more self reliant.

Ask for help. If everyone is taking a water break at a practice, and it stretches on and on, find someone you respect (or consistently beats you) and ask them how they do it, what they would do differently.

The most important thing I can say about fighter skill. Fight with honor, die with honor and kill with honor. I like back stabbing. I like having good battle field awareness but when you kill, do not constantly humiliate someone. I will honestly say some people deserve it once, maybe even twice. However, do not go out hoping to make people look like fools. If you just killed someone and they obviously are upset by it. Man up and talk to them. Your realm dies when vets humiliate the newbies (I have seen this in varying degrees)

Last, Take hits. Ego armor is for fools. This is not a game about winning. We aren't fighting for sponsorships. We are not fighting to put people down. We fight to fight and hopefully better ourselves on and off field. If you are fighting for any other reason I would say you need to evaluate those reasons.

My little tidbit, along with what has been said already, if you get * owned by someone on the field. Go to them after the battle and ask them to spare, or ask them how they heck they did that. If they don't want to sit out a few fights, and watch them. Knowing how your opponent fights is a big advantage on the field.

Physic wrote:I would like to see this section develop into something new members and veterans can use to increase fighting skill at all levels. There are so many aspects of our game that can be studied, practiced and drilled. With so many styles of fighting we can live a lifetime and never learn everything there is to know.

I cannot agree with you more. People have been mastering and losing the techniques of the medieval martial arts for centuries.

I was thinking a lot at Beltaine about, 'what is the best way to teach someone how to kill?' or...'how do you teach someone to survive in battle?'

Am I even qualified to teach someone what I have discovered? What makes sense to me sounds ridiculous to someone else....then I kill them.

What first comes to mind is...what do I do when I'm on the field?

Is the ultimate goal maximum killing efficiency in war? After you kill about 25 in melee you're too exhausted to continue.

On a perfect day I would fight with my heater strapped to my back with full armor and helmet . My offense would begin with archery or javalins to not waste any time for kills while the lines meet. Shoot 5 people in the neck instantly. Once the melee begins I would use a long red sword so I can kill at a distance that I can control and be safe in from counter attacks. I am at the advantage because my enemies armor is non-existant, my weapon is longer, my two hands on the weapon make mine faster, and I can take their shields away.

Slay till exhaustion. Then die in the pile of corpses I made.

Naturally, there is much more than this involved, but simply put, that's how my mind works.

but how do you avoid getting rushed when your using the red and losing your ability to effectively strike?

you obviously would have to keep a pace the rushing shieldman can not ... and stay attacking the sword arm while watching for dumb asses ducking heads as well as watching your back for sneaky weaklings and arrows

I figured it out.

The ultimate goal is

GO TO EVENTS.

See why things work

Aegis- With any luck is sword would also be stabbing which in my book doubles the weapons leathilty. It makes you opponent less apt to rush and if you pierce their legs they can't rush. Once you got that you got the battle. For more advice on Red weapons see the thread in this forum.