Lefty-fu?

[Slagar]

Hey, all. I'm a relatively new fighter, out of Numenor. I'm left-handed, and I've heard the words "* lefty" and "lefty-fu" more often than I can count. I'm kind of curious, to all you lefties out there, what is your lefty-fu? I've only got maybe 5-6 major shots, with a few variations, and I work out for speed and power, to improve my fighting. Beyond that, I'm kind of tapped out.

So, what have you got for me? What shots do you throw, how do you make our unique advantage work for you? I'm open to more or less anything, from shots to stances to plain old head games. I'm relatively new, so I know there have to be lefties out there who've learned stuff I haven't. Let's hear it.

[Ryzby]

I'm new myself but here goes my opinion. One advantage is to learn to fight with your right hand as well. Be ambidextrous and switch up during fights. This can sometimes throw fighters off guard. Try switching up your footwork and body as well. This can throw off signals that other fighters may look for to anticipate strikes etc. Takes practice to get the combinations to work for you.

Again I'm no expert but thats what I got.

[Forkbeard]

If there are 100 fighters on the feild and 5% of them are left handed, thats 5 guys. Now those 5 guys spend all thier time at practice fighting right handed people. the 95 right handed guys spend all there time at practice fighting other right handed people.
At an event, fighting strangers, those left handed guys are totally prepared. When, at the same event, the right handed people run into a lefty, they are totally unprepared and thus have to fight harder(win or lose).
This maek them think the leftys got some trick.
FB

[Slagar]

Yeah, I'm pretty familiar with that phenomenon. One reason I make it a point to hunt other lefties, just so i've got some practice when there's a shield in the way. I'm talking more along the lines of tricks lefties have developed to take advantage of this. For example:

My favorite shot is what someone has called the "Argoth", after a left-handed knight. I fake a simple lefty chop towards the hip, then throw a cross shot at the shield shoulder. The chop is bread-and-butter for most lefties, and everyone knows it. Opponent drops his shield over to block the shot, and waits on the counter-swing. When the shield drops, my cross is right in on the shoulder, for the kill. This is my personal favorite, and I've walked entire fields using only this shot. I've got witnesses, swear to god. But this is just one simple fake-and-throw shot. There's got to be something better out there. So, who's got it?

[Hurin]

It's true. Kinda funny when it happens... Since it twice where he just throws one shot over and over and kills like 20 people....*grumbles*

[Arrakis]

I use it as a righty, but it works even easier as a lefty, I've heard:

Show a fighter an opening or seomthing or just approach and threaten but the idea is to wait on the opponent to throw a shot. When they start their shot, chop their sword arm forearm. Just nail 'em there. Then, wrap 'em up for the kill. That's what I hear referred to as the left chop and what I refer to (when I do it, which is ALWAYS) as Arm-Hunting.

Brutal.

[Fangesta]

I'm Ambidexterous myselves, but most see me mainly using my right hand, so when I go out they don't expect the left handed moves. Fake out if you would call that. The surprise is always there.

I think my favorite move was the other day at practice...Rumbeard found somone's dirty sock on the field, put it on his sword and ran around waving at people with his sword. As they backed away with eyes fixated on the sock he killed them. Swept through the field of fighters with that.

Priceless

[Ralimar]

I took second place in the tank tourney at Arm 2 fighting lefty with no armor. Galin (a lefty), said to me, "Ralimar, I didn't know you're left handed."
After I responded to him, he scolded me, "You stop that! You stop that right now!" And then beat me, to win the tank tourney.


The moral of the story is, everyone should learn to fight with either hand--especially if you're a red or florentine fighter. If you need help with this, buy Peten a plane ticket. He'll make it so you fight with the other hand for a few months.

[Slagar]

Funny as hell, Ralimar. Yeah, Galin's a knight at my realm, and he's a hell of a fighter. I've been working on mimicking his stance and A-frame, but his style's pretty markedly different from mine, so there's only so much I can steal. Hell of a fighter, though.

Arrakis: Yeah, counter-swinging the sword arm is a gimme, one of the first things I was taught to do. It's really effective, as long as they swing such that you can get the shot. If I can't land any of my one-shot moves, I usually fall back on counter-swinging the arm, and throwing the lefty chop for the hip and thigh. Works really well.

[bo1]

i woudl just continue with the plan as scheduled. just keep killing people and when they finally learn to block the fake to cross, you will learn to through another shot.

[Titan G]

yea bo is right. you wanna learn new shots then just throw something different. forkbeard also had the best point. the large majority of fighter who just get auto owned by lefties and then say "left-fu" etc etc are just rtying to make up for getting owned by someone and they use a perceived strength to do this. being a lefty doesnt make you a better fighter it just makes you different. alot of the victories in this game at the very begining when you come up on someone new are just that said person doesnt know how to read you. keep throwing those solid 6-7 shots and make different combos with those and work your defense don't use the left handed thing as a strenght cause then when you do encounter someone who can fight lefties your going to have one of your crutches kicked out from under you. a great fighters a great fighter doesnt matter if he is left or right handed.

also some people use the lefty thing as a joke as well just to **** with lefties they know

[Sir_Mel]

Hey Slagar, I got a pretty ok at fighting lefty after injuring my sword hand, go figure.


So, some stuff I've found:

Lefty Chop shouldn't work that well.

If lefty chop won't cut it, lefty wrap will.

In emergency, lefty stab around shield into ribs will get the job done.

Standing in front of a large mirror and shadow boxing (with equipment) allows you to see openings and counters that could be useful.

Cool Move = step with shield foot towards their center. twist to your sword side and pin their shield to their chest with your shields outside edge. Throw sword chop behind back. It should reach around and catch em in the *.

Anything you can throw on a righty can be thrown on you with equal effectiveness and vice versa.

PROTECT YOUR SWORD SIDE HIP!!!



I actually had a fighter tell me that it would be cheating to try and gain an advantage in the game by learning to fight left handed. I thought he was joking but he seemed pretty serious.

Anyways, lefty-uruk, find me at Okfest so I can show you a sweet lefty vs. righty spin shot. It's way to hard to try and explain it here.

[Sir_Mel]

Also this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd5XJGgvdXQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdqTKPCf ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etv5XkEokHw

[Big King Jimmy]

I actually had a fighter tell me that it would be cheating to try and gain an advantage in the game by learning to fight left handed. I thought he was joking but he seemed pretty serious.

Anyways, lefty-uruk, find me at Okfest so I can show you a sweet lefty vs. righty spin shot. It's way to hard to try and explain it here.

Note: I didn't mean cheating as in "against the rules," more like cheese, it's the same as picking up a flail.

[Slagar]

Actually, I just finally learned the lefty wrap about a month and a half ago. It's opened things up a ton for me, and I'm really starting to finally improve again. Mostly, it lets me work the sword side, so fighters can't just favor the shield side, and ignore it. Keeps 'em honest. Sadly, fighters of any experience have seen the lefty wrap a lot, so it's not quite the same black magic as the cross. Still very effective as part of an overall offense, though. I've also finally switched completely over to stabbing tips, now, so I'm working a couple good stabs into my routine. I used to fence a little, so I'll trade you for that spin shot. There's a stab called a "disengage" that works like magic in Bele fighting. I've been practicing up on that one. Works for both hands agains florentines, but only works lefty vs. righty (or vice versa) against sword 'n boarders. Lefty black magic has officially gotten a new face. Hit me up at Okfest and I'll show it to you.

As for the shield punch and far chop, I'm going to have to work on that one. I've never really been aggressive enough with my shield, so it's definitely something I could work on. I've used it before, but I should really start trying to incorporate it more into my overall style.

See you at Okfest, Mel! I hear you've been busy learning, so it ought to be good. And for the record, I'm not UH anymore, you know that. -.-

[Slagar]

And Jimmy, for the record, * you! Flails are cheese. Lefties are totally fair, though (if this isn't funny to you, you need to read Bo's sig). You can do anything to us that we can do to you. Just ask Dagganoth, he's taken a sort of sick pleasure in killing me with my own * shots.

[Arrakis]

Just ask Dagganoth, he's taken a sort of sick pleasure in killing me with my own * shots.

That just because he takes a sort of sick pleasure in * near everything.

[bo1]

i am so glad someone got my witty sig line. i love this joke so much.


way to keep on learning, i got busted with that cross at least 15 times before i figured it out, now if i can just remeber.

[Big King Jimmy]

And Jimmy, for the record, * you! Flails are cheese. Lefties are totally fair, though (if this isn't funny to you, you need to read Bo's sig). You can do anything to us that we can do to you. Just ask Dagganoth, he's taken a sort of sick pleasure in killing me with my own * shots.

Fighting lefty when you're a lefty is fair. Learning to fight lefty as a righty is cheese.

[Arrakis]

Fighting lefty when you're a lefty is fair. Learning to fight lefty as a righty is smart.

ftfy.


I florentine often. To teach myself to throw shots more consistently with my left hand, I spend some time every so often with my strap round on my right arm and my sword in my left hand. This is called "smart training"

If fighting lefty gives you an advantage, do it! What you're saying is like saying that if learning to throw a good high cross even though you're not really tall gives you an advantage, it's cheese.

[Big King Jimmy]

Sweet, so would should all use flails right? I mean if it gives us an advantage, DO IT!

I'm not saying don't learn to, I'm saying if you're not happy with how well you fight righty, switching to lefty so you win is cheese as hell. A good fighter should use fighting lefty like he uses a flail, it's fun to pick up every once and awhile, especially so he remembers how they work, but if you pick it up too much it's a crutch.

[Titan G]

oooo yay lets rehash the same old **** arguement again

ok lets go over this in points shall we?

One: fighting left hand naturally is not cheese

two:fighting will a flail as your main weapon is not cheese. don't *, get better, end of story.

three: fighting left handed after teaching yourself repeatedly and losing repeatedly to learn the skill is not cheese. its called learning lets spell that out for you L-E-A-R-N-I-N-G

four: im never going to convince you a flail isnt cheese but as long as you hold to that idea thats a crutch. way to cripple youself in a fight!

five: if you beleive that anything you have said is true i have some prime real estate right outside of chernobyl that id like to sell you

[Big King Jimmy]

oooo yay lets rehash the same old **** arguement again

ok lets go over this in points shall we?

One: fighting left hand naturally is not cheese

two:fighting will a flail as your main weapon is not cheese. don't *, get better, end of story.

three: fighting left handed after teaching yourself repeatedly and losing repeatedly to learn the skill is not cheese. its called learning lets spell that out for you L-E-A-R-N-I-N-G

four: im never going to convince you a flail isnt cheese but as long as you hold to that idea thats a crutch. way to cripple youself in a fight!

five: if you beleive that anything you have said is true i have some prime real estate right outside of chernobyl that id like to sell you

I'm not saying I can't fight against them, I'm not saying I don't use them, I'm saying at the end of the day I'd rather pick up a sword or a speed bat and use it. And I'd rather learn continue to enhance my skills as a right handed fighter by fighting right handed, and keep fighting sword and board off handed as a gimicky thing or a training tool to switch back to fighting with my natural hand.

Jesus Graavish, I wasn't even trying to argue flails, you can't even make a comparison without some lump of * cheese trying to vomit up a post.

[Slagar]

For the record, I was just giving Jimmy a hard time. I don't actually care all that much about what is or isn't cheese. I do what I do, you do what you do. If I win, it means I'm doing something right. If not, I've got more work to do. That's just how it is. Flails, rocks, force choke, I don't really care. Just hit things, you know?

Jimmy's just fun to pick on. Try it, you'll see.

[bo1]

yep hit stuff, get better, never cry cheese unless you are lefty and using a flail, whoa that is so cheese. wait, 1+1 = 3, no i am wrong,

what is important to realize is that there is no cheese at all. ( think matrix there is no spoon)

[Dabbanoth]

The Cheese is a lie?

[Dane]

At the very least, it stands alone.

[Slagar]

It walks a lonely road?

[Forkbeard]

You guys are both being *. Knock it off.
Or better yet, let me start too.
Flails are cheese, but so are speed bats. In fact, a flail can be made in a non-homo way. Heavy. A "speed bat"(as opposed to a mace, which is head heavy) is always as cheesy as "kraft mac and speedbats". I can't think of a weapon that reqires less skill or is less like an actual medieval weapon.
Learning to fight with either hand is NOT cheese. It is what any dude who is fighting regularly against multiple opponents will naturally do.
I can even tell you which hand goes on top to be right or left handed with a red weapon. I seriously switch that much.
I though I had been describing a way cool left handed red trick and after telling like a million people about it I realized I was doing it right handed. I start lefty, but switch right at the begining with out knowing it.
FB

[Titan G]

ok i may have posted in a bad manner my apologies jimmy

however said comparison is still a poor one i dont think fighting with a flail OR fighting left handed makes anyone better or more likely to beat someone else unless that person sucks. not saying anyone here sucks other than forkbeard.

my point is that the whole arguement of lefty-fu as it were is retarded. if someone kills you JUST because they are using their left hand then you should quit foam fighting because your either a terrible fighter or your * yourself, they didnt kill you cause they fight left handed they killed you cause their better than you are

[Slagar]

So, before this devolves into a flame war over flails and bats and other *, how about you guys knock it off? I started this thread to ask about any cool tricks or moves other, older, lefties have learned. So far the only one who's actually replied to that is Melannen. Anyone else have a cool shot they like to throw lefty? I'm still looking to hear 'em.

[Dane]

You've got a stabby, so shield check and shank. Pop the outside of their shield with your shield edge and shank the now-exposed torso with conviction! Shield kick would accomplish the same, too. Lower-outside quadrant is ideal.

[Slagar]

Wow. Can't believe I've missed that shot. I'm going to try that tonight at practice. Shield kick leaves me too exposed, since I'm taller than most, but a shield punch to the left shoulder with a stab to the floating ribs on the right side would be excellent, if I closed enough. Have to see if I can make this one gel for me.

[Arrakis]

If your stabby is relatively short, that shot is KING. I use it with a 29" round strap and a 23.75" stabbing blue.

[Roland Demox]

Idk Slagar, you are gonna have to make shield contact ...you gonna be ok with that: pussie

[Slagar]

Come find me on the field at Okfest, and I'll show you, Demox. I've got a new stabbing tip, and I'm dying to see if your Ravager suit has that wonderful gap all the other ones do. I will green your nipple out through your spine.

[Hurin]

Slagar I use that same shot Dane was talking about on lefties when I pick up a green it works really well.... and nothing feels more satisfying than a good ol fashioned shanking

[Roland Demox]

Too bad im not a Ravager....yet

[The Great Gigsby]

Sweet, so would should all use flails right? I mean if it gives us an advantage, DO IT!

I feel sorry for anyone who thinks using a flail gives them any kind of combat advantage because it's obvious that they only fight with the worst of the worst.

I'm probably gonna get kicked out of the Guild of Left Handed Magicians or something for revealing this ancient mystery, but Lefty-Fu is actually a lie that lefties propagate in order to confuse and obfuscate the real truth. I'm a lefty (ambidextrous, actually) and just like a flail, it only helps when I'm fighting scrubs. A shot is a shot is a shot. Left, right, it makes no dif.

Down the rabbit hole.

[Slagar]

First off, very excellent link. It's amusing as hell to me that every good lefty in every boffer game knows and throws the high cross, and yet it still catches people unawares almost every time. About a quarter of the SKBC vid Melannen posted talked about it. Funny.


Second off: No!!
Yes, using a flail is not the end-all cure, good fighters learn to block them. Yes, being left-handed offers only a limited advantage against good fighters. No, these things are not worthless against anyone who doesn't suck. The best fighters in this sport spar/practice all the time, and they spar primarily against righties using swords (this is largely due to statistics, who the hell else are they going to spar against?). I don't care how good you are, when you square off against someone who's used to fighting people like you, and you aren't well-practiced against them, they have an advantage there. Maybe not enough to win, but an advantage all the same. Forkbeard had it right, and it goes double for flails. Maybe out where you fight, everyone is a god of foam, but where I'm from, people are best against what they're used to. No way around that.

That being said, if I fight the same guy all day, he doesn't get one-shotted very long. It's all about what you're used to.

[Sicarian]

Nah its cool to let them know about lefty-fu. The trick is to train BOTH arms. Practice till your arms fall of...most lefty fighting degrades due to a tiring arm. Any shot thrown right can be done left....just watch some right handed vets fight and copy with the left. Fake low and take the shoulder.

[Forkbeard]

One lefty trick I do when using s&b is shield edge punching. Strap sheild witha good core. I hit the other guys sheild so hard with mydge just in front of my fist, he looses his **** for a second. This opens him up for monkey business.
Like craking a coconut.
FB

[Big King Jimmy]

As a lefty, how do you throw a shield punch without opening yourself up? I use a lot of offensive shield work, which often means opening your shield up. But righty vs righty this is not so bad. But I find that if I go to do it out of habit vs a lefty, that's a hack to the gut everytime.

[Slagar]

First off, don't let them see it coming, or you're dead. No one can miss the opening you're offering if they know to wait for it. Secondly, when shield punching a mirror fighter, drift forward and to their shield side. If you close and drift off to shield side, that lines you up perfectly for the upper shield-side quarter, which is what you should be aiming for, while simultaneously making it harder for them to see/hit the chop.

Honestly, it's mostly just being more agressive than they are, and punching the combo in before they've noticed the opening you're showing. Works best against newer fighters, or against more tactical, less visceral fighters (for example, Kenny's a better bet than Forkbeard for this shot).

[Dane]

But I find that if I go to do it out of habit vs a lefty, that's a hack to the gut everytime.

As said, you're the aggressor, so you take your shot expecting to have successfully created the opening while moving yourself to a favorable position. Also: weapon block. Turning your hips and setting the block before throwing the shot will discourage your opponent from taking the shot at your exposed side, and you then capitalize on the hesitation.

[Zenith_Darkheart]

lol i love it when people who cant coupe with the times get all hot and bothered by people who use flails **** i know people who can walk around with a dagger COUGH ((he knows who he is)) and still get mass kills its not about your weapons or anything its about practice it dose not matter if you practice you will live and when you live and know what your doing you will do good


Zenith

[Slagar]

Meh. I just don't like it when people complain about gear at all. Flails, punch towers, armor, whatever. The rules are there, play by 'em. I can beat people with flails, if I'm good enough, and so can anyone else. See Rule #1 for my general response to whining about gear.

Also, quit hijacking this thread with whining about cheese. I'm still looking for that left-handed silver bullet. Let's go, people.

[Sicarian]

The lefty sky hook? Lefty pump-fake? Lefty bash an stab? Just push your shots always striking somewhere new, use your sheild for offense and work on your footwork.

[Poo]

Not sure if anyone has posted this, there's a video from SKBC (an amtgard event) that is spectacular for lefties.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 1842349546

[Slagar]

Yeah, I've seen that one, multiple times now. Good as far as it goes, but I've pretty much learned all of that. I've gotten my lefty cross dialed in, and now everyone expects it from me. I've gotten past the problems I was having when I originally posted this thread, due in large part to a shift in perspective. I finally grokked a concept I was having trouble wrapping my head around, and it's rendered this question rather moot. Thanks, though. That vid is really excellent, for any fighters who are having problems with being lefty, or killing them.

This thread's run it's course, IMHO. I'm pretty content to let this one die, or get locked. Thanks for everyone's help! I owe Melannen and Bo a drink at the next event I see them.