What Are The Different Fighting Styles

[Kinmen]

I have been looking at my profile and realising I really don't have a real fighting style. Could someone explain the Styles out there.

[Black Cat]

My personal favorite:

Images courtesy of Photobucket (that means that they aren't mine)


Bow


and


Arrow

This style is, quite obviously, referred to as Archery.

I also like to use Red weapons (Swords, Poleswords, Axes, Maces, Glaives, ect.) or Spears with a blue sword or two on my belt for backup. I rarely ever get to participate in Belegarth though due to reasons beyond my control, so I am not the person to ask about how to use these weapons on the field effectively.

[debuenzo]

dude, if you're new, stick with either quarter-staff or oversized red

best advice you can get*

[Slagar]

Don't lie to the man, porno.

There are a ton of styles. Florentine (two swords), sword and shield, flail and shield, polearms (glaives, spears. etc.), red swords, and a host of wierd ones that I don't even have names for (see the entry on "Koom").

What we tell new people at my realm is this: There are lots of effective styles, but for learning the basics and improving as a fighter, nothing starts you off better than a mid-length blue sword and a strap round. You learn to throw shots, move your feet, and to defend yourself. Once you've got the basics down, you can do what you like, but we suggest learning sword and board for at least a year or so. So, yeah. There you go.

[Forkbeard]

There's my style(awesome) and your style(crappy).
FB

[Dabbanoth]

dude, if you're new, stick with either quarter-staff or oversized red

best advice you can get*

Its true.
Its also a good idea to try to copy the weapons and styles of your favorite anime.

[Titan G]

predominately your going to see sword and boarders ( shield and a blue), ball and wall (shield and a flail), polearm, and a sprinkling of flourentiners.

sword and board right now is the dominate style, when i first started fighting the majority of vets were using ball and wall, and in my realm im seeing and up surge of red fighters(large swords and polearms that can break shields)

when using either sword and board or ball and wall you also have the choice of punch shield or strap shield which will even further your style of fighting.

that being said the numenorian got it right start sword and board of some sort its the best learner style to go with and if you enjoy its one of the best ( if not the single best) style out there

Edit: there is also dagganoth style, which is a combo of being a chode and a ferocious cheater.

[Dabbanoth]

Its true. The harder you cheat the more you win.

Seriously, sword and board is the way to go.

[Big King Jimmy]

Southern Panda

[Kinmen]

So The Sword and shield is the dominent style these days. When I was introduced into belegarth they helped me make a Duel core Club that was as light as a feather, but I stunk with it. The club is not me...

[Derian]

Most clubs are essentially swords. Also, I wouldn't say that a double core could ever be 'light as a feather'. Perhaps compared to rattan or live steel, but not in the Belegarth scheme of things. I would venture to say that most mid sized class I weapons are about 14-16 oz.

Was this the Cedar Falls realm you were fighting with? If so, naturally you're not going to do too well on your first couple times; the average fighting career of people in NB is probably around five or six years of regular, active fighting.

[Kinmen]

I had just started belegarth
The Place I played was at
Ingawanis Boy Scout camp by Waverly
The Staff (including me) played belegarth
to pass the time.

[Arrakis]

Ev'rytime I read
one of Kinmen's posts, I think
it is a haiku.


But f'real: You can fight with a sword instead of a club, if you prefer... or a flail, for that matter. Or just go Redsword or polearm to begin.

[Kinmen]

Talking in Haiku, 5
I guess it wouldn't be bad 7
Talking in Haiku. 5

[Jeggrim]

dude, if you're new, stick with either quarter-staff or oversized red

best advice you can get*

There's my style(awesome) and your style(crappy).
FB

Its also a good idea to try to copy the weapons and styles of your favorite anime.

dude, if you're new, stick with either quarter-staff or oversized red

best advice you can get*

Its true.
Its also a good idea to try to copy the weapons and styles of your favorite anime.

Edit: there is also dagganoth style, which is a combo of being a chode and a ferocious cheater.

My god, excellent advice, each and every one of them. Now you have them all in one place for convenience.

--Jegg

God, when I'm tired these boards are soooo hilarious and entertaining! I love it!

[setsukeuchiha]

or try acting like ichigo or cloud that always works.

seriously, go far away and yell GETSOUGA!

works everytime

but really, sword and board is what im learning atm, cause my red broke.

[Kinmen]

I was talking to some of my friends from camp staff, and they said you should only use a red weapon if your big, quick, and experienced.

[Roland Demox]

not true. If you practice with it, then you can get good. I know people who chose not to even start S&B but instead picked up a red weapon, and it worked really well for them.

[Arrakis]

I was talking to some of my friends from camp staff, and they said you should only use a red weapon if your big, quick, and experienced

or want to become big, quick, or experienced.

Or learn footwork and don't like Florentine.

[Davit]

No weapon should be used because "you are x, y and z" weapons should be used because you enjoy using them, you are good with them, or they are something you want to work on. You can be pointed in a direction because you have a pre-disposition to using them for some reason, but it should not be the complete deciding factor.

[Big King Jimmy]

Drunken Hobo style.

[Sir_Mel]

Some "famous" styles:

Punch 'n' Pie
Mantis Style
Dirty-D Florentine
Stroke 'n' Poke
Rowin' the Boat
Chain the Prick

And there's this other really weird style that Peter always fights with where you use only one sword, I think it's called "single blue" (yes, some people are that strange).

[Slagar]

No, that's a combination of black magic, and the Force. The sword is really used as a channel for dark energies, and the style involves making people think that when they swung for your ankle, you reached down to block, and then, while sneering in a slightly contemptuous manner, reached up and swatted them for their presumption. It's highly effective.

[Big King Jimmy]

No, that's a combination of black magic, and the Force. The sword is really used as a channel for dark energies, and the style involves making people think that when they swung for your ankle, you reached down to block, and then, while sneering in a slightly contemptuous manner, reached up and stabbed the **** out of them for their presumption. It's highly effective.

fixed

[Kinmen]

A friend of mine said he might want to use a quaterstaff.
He wants to know what the fighting styles for a quaterstaff are.

[Roland Demox]

http://board.belegarth.com/viewtopic.php?f=135&t=27706

Quarterstaffs Fail, bottom line

[Arrakis]

Kinmen: Start everyone with one or two blue swords of ~33" in length. If they want a shield, make a 24-28" round strap out of 1/2 plywood.

That'll get footwork and basics down.

[Sir_Mel]

Quarterstaff styles:

Suk ee Fu
Shi Tea Fye Ting
Crop ee we pon

Those are the three major schools of teaching. There are other styles such as "Joo sukat lyfe" and "Dyein af ire", but they are not nearly as common as the three above. Each has their positives and negatives and it's all mostly a matter of choice.

[Forkbeard]

Hahahahahahahaha\]
FB

[Titan G]

Quarterstaff styles:

Suk ee Fu
Shi Tea Fye Ting
Crop ee we pon

Those are the three major schools of teaching. There are other styles such as "Joo sukat lyfe" and "Dyein af ire", but they are not nearly as common as the three above. Each has their positives and negatives and it's all mostly a matter of choice.

ahahahahahahahahahahaha thats just...hhahahahahahaha...**** priceless

[Black Cat]

Quarterstaff styles:

Suk ee Fu
Shi Tea Fye Ting
Crop ee we pon

Those are the three major schools of teaching. There are other styles such as "Joo sukat lyfe" and "Dyein af ire", but they are not nearly as common as the three above. Each has their positives and negatives and it's all mostly a matter of choice.

LMAO


Sigged.

Black Cat

[kree]

there are tons of different styles but any great sword fighter would agree with me

start out with a heavy sword, rather than an ultra light

and a round shield

then fight for about a year

then BAM*

your an ok fighter

the round shield helps you learn to block better and the heavier sword increases arm strength and muscle memory


if any of this was already said

**** you i dont have time to read!!!

[Kinmen]

there are tons of different styles but any great sword fighter would agree with me

start out with a heavy sword, rather than an ultra light

and a round shield

then fight for about a year

then BAM*

your an ok fighter

Quarterstaff styles:

Suk ee Fu
Shi Tea Fye Ting
Crop ee we pon

Those are the three major schools of teaching. There are other styles such as "Joo sukat lyfe" and "Dyein af ire", but they are not nearly as common as the three above. Each has their positives and negatives and it's all mostly a matter of choice.

the round shield helps you learn to block better and the heavier sword increases arm strength and muscle memory


if any of this was already said

**** you i dont have time to read!!!

Kinmen: Start everyone with one or two blue swords of ~33" in length. If they want a shield, make a 24-28" round strap out of 1/2 plywood.

That'll get footwork and basics down.

I Think I'll go with Arrakis's Advice at the moment.

[MagnusofDregoth]

Some people will tell you that Cobra Kai style is the best, but I will gladly sacrifice the flash and crowd-pleasing elements of that style in favor of Miyagi Style.


In all seriousness, though, here is what I think. There are essentially two ways to fight in this sport: with a sword & shield, two swords, or red, or with a spear, polearm, or bow and arrow. Now, I think archery is lame and for wimps, but some people seem to like it, so I will let them speak up rather than risk making too incendiary a comment. Instead, I will explain my reasoning for dividing styles up into these two categories.

The first group are combinations that are reasonably effective in open-field fighting, against one another. They are good for single combat, and good for one person to hold off several fighters by playing off the instinctive tendency to a.) avoid getting killed, even when they have superior numbers that ensure their team will win, and b.) take people on one-on-one, even when they can triple- or quadruple-team an opponent. Sword and shield has the strongest defensive capability of any style (obviously), while a good two-sword fighter or red sword fighter can hold his/her own against any one else in this group. These are, basically, good all-around styles, useful in a line fight, single combat, a flanking maneuver, etc.

The second group are what are erroneously called "support weapons." They are called this because the overwhelming majority of the first group (especially sword and shield) makes people think of, for example, spear as a secondary weapon. In fact, in a large battle, the spear or polearm is the real mover and shaker on a line or in a formation, and all the shields are there to support the spear. A spear is a purely offensive weapon--it is not good for soaking up or blocking attacks (like a shield) nor can you use it to easily hold off a single fighter or a group of fighter, since their first instinct will be to close in on you as quickly as possible to remove your capacity to attack them. That said, if you are a skilled spear fighter, in a large battle you can expect to rack up a large number of kills each round, assuming that your shield-equipped teammates aren't trying to be heros and disregarding your need for arrow protection. So a spear is a more specialized weapon, that does not exactly require more skill to use well than a sword and shield, red sword, or two swords, but which cannot be used in quite as wide a range of situations.

To give you some empirical evidence: I, personally, fight sword and shield as my main weapon, since we don't have a lot of big battles where I live and that means that a versatile weapon combo is likely to be most effective. Also, for more flurby reasons, I like having a shield because it lets me show off either my personal emblem or the emblem of my unit in a highly visible fashion. When we go to large events, however, I love bringing out my spear; I have improved greatly over the past year, and I am now able to rack up at least a half-dozen kills every round or life. Moreover, my spear has a very sturdy shield hook on it, which means that I can use it to seriously disrupt and open up enemy formations; my favorite move is simply to hook an opponent's shield out (large punch shields work best) and then stab the gut/groin area. It's an easy kill, and even when you miss, it still shakes your opponent up because, unlike an arrow whizzing by, you have physically moved him/her with your weapon, and your opponent knows you can do it again.

So, my advice, if you haven't figured it out already, is to use sword and shield to start, but whenever you have the opportunity, to learn how to use a polearm. A good pole-fighter will be welcome in any unit (well, any unit that knows about fighting) and they always can use more skilled shieldpeople.

[Rasheab]

Florentine is the way to start off. Teaches you coordination. It's not as good defensively as shield (because you can't block arrows), but there is alot to be said for being able to attack from two directions. And when you get good at it, the extra weapon is as good as a shield.

[Arrakis]

Rasheab, I find most folks can't use their left (off) arm when florentining, to begin with. I wish that I had started off with a round shield and started playing the switch-up game to learn to use my left arm more, but I just started playing around with florentine and eventually learned.

[Dane]

And when you get good at it, the extra weapon is as good as a shield.

Maybe against one opponent of whom you're aware. Otherwise, not even close.

[Slagar]

Honestly, I'm with Dane on that one. Florentine fighters are crippling themselves, since all they ever do is block with their off hand anyway (or throw weak, poorly-aimed shots). Might as well pick up a shield. There are people who are exceptions to this rule, but they don't listen to what I say anyway, so... yeah. For 99% of Bele/Dag fighters, florentine just makes it harder.

[Arrakis]

florentine just makes it harder.

That's why I do it, when I do.

[Slagar]

Fair enough. Picking up an alternate style for the sake of improving weak areas is definitely a viable means of training. I'm just disagreeing with the idea of suggesting it to new fighters as being "just as good". It isn't. You make a good point, though. You ever want to really challenge yourself, just because, florentine is one way to do it.

[Arrakis]

Florentine is also a very valid tournament style. If you get good at cross-blocking, you can throw all sorts of shots that sword'n'boarders only ever expect from lefties and we all know how well right-handed s&b folks do vs. lefties...

I like to Florentine on fields that are low on archers, but don't go to Rag, or some other newb-filled archer * and expect to do well two-swordin' it.

[Kinmen]

Summary
-Florentine Good for training
-sword and Shield good for combat.
I Like the florentine sometimes.

[Vak]

The Proprietary style of the temple on the waters edge is the

"Swooping Crane" Style

[Dane]

Summary
-Single Blue good for training.
-Sword and Shield good for training.
-Florentine good for training, especially when adept with single blue in either hand.
-Any style good for combat, given the user's proficiency.

Fixed.

Every style is distinct, but every style that uses a sword will benefit from Single Blue training. Single Blue teaches footwork, posture, weapon blocking, and shot selection in a way that you can't duplicate with any other style.

A sword can never be as good defensively as a shield, just like a shield can't completely emulate a sword. Every style has its merits and deficiencies. As far as one being harder to learn than the other...

Give a new, right-handed fighter a shield in his off-hand. Given time and practice, he'll learn to use that shield well in his off-hand. Now put that shield in his right hand. Now he sucks really bad.

People have a dominant hand. That dominant hand is going to be naturally oriented toward doing active things, and the other hand is going to be better for doing passive things. Shield work typically requires smaller motions that take place closer to the body, i.e. more passive. Sword work requires a much greater range of motion, therefore active. An archer pulls the bowstring with his or her dominant hand; he or she holds the bow steady with the opposite.

If you just pick up florentine, you're asking your passive hand to be active without training it to be such. Now, if you put a sword in your passive hand and leave your active hand empty, you're teaching your off-hand to be active outside of defense. Single Blue forces one hand to be supremely active. When you teach your off-hand to be active and then pick up a second sword, you better realize the full offensive and defensive capabilities of either hand.

Becoming a high level shieldman takes no less effort than becoming a high level florentiner. Novice shieldmen tend to survive longer than novice florentiners due to the broad piece of foam between themselves and their opponent's weapon(s), but that's not a barometer of skill. Each style has an incredibly deep catalog of techniques and intricacies. The difficulty lies inherently in switching from one style to another without the proper training and preparation.

[Kinmen]

Kinmen wrote:
Summary
-Single Blue good for training.
-Sword and Shield good for training.
-Florentine good for training, especially when adept with single blue in either hand.
-Any style good for combat, given the user's proficiency.

That sounds good.

[Juicer]

There's also spear or red sword, but those are used mostly as support weapons, with rare exceptions.

It is always nice to have an experienced spear or red fighter next to you tho.

[MagnusofDregoth]

Juicer,

Did you see my post about the term "support weapons"?

The gist of it is, the spear is the real weapon for a big battle, and the sword/shield guys are there to support them.

[Juicer]

Oh hey, totally missed that post, sorry.

I was refering to support weapon as in, it has a hard time going solo.

On a side note, I've had some really fun times working a spear with another decent spearman beside me. It's surprisingly effective.

[MagnusofDregoth]

Maybe you could say that a Spear is a "support weapon" because you need support in order to use it effectively.

Also, Kinmen, I feel like we may have been missing the point of your question. Do you mean "style" as in "weapon combination," or "style" as in the particular techniques, stance, movements, etc. that you use?

I am of the opinion that there is no one "right" way to fight, at least not yet in the development of this sport, so I really like discussions of the latter category. I am considered a very good fighter, but I am ALWAYS looking for new ideas to incorporate into my style.

[Big King Jimmy]

No, spears are support weapons because an army can be formed without them. You can have a team of just shieldmen, and it will function. But throw "support" weapons in there, and it's more effective. However, spears and reds can't function on their own.

It's like saying infantry support artillery. Sure it does most the killing, but it's isn't "the army."