Yeah yet another post from Matt, sorry but I have a lot of questions.

Ok onto the question.

I am going to be buying my first set of stuff soon, (I am going to build around my persona, which will be. OK get this. LIZARD MAN! I don't really know how that is gunna work out but I will give it a shot.) What I was thinking was I would play it as mediuem round sheild and Axe (soul calibur) but would that be wise for a new person? And what are the advantages to an Axe?

spped would be the only thing i could think of... But, i know you didnt ask the disadvanteges but ive used an axe and i honestly think they areuseless because they are difficult to actually make contact with. its easy to flat with if you were going to use anything axe realted i would go witch a 32 inch mace it would work wonders fast and all striking surfaces no flats....

Couldn't disagree more. Axes are the easiest way to get around a shield without selling your soul to the Flail-Devil. A couple popsicle sticks under the grip tape on your grip tells you which way is the striking side. They tend to be lighter and handier than swords of similar size. The only way I see them being inferior is on the defense, but with a shield, that becomes somewhat immaterial.

I hav erecently switched t oaxe adn shiled my self, medium round too. ALthough an axe can loop around a shield, it must be swung in a different manner to a sword. I have found that swinging in arcs compared to stragiht sword styles swings work better. Can loop around shield edges, must adjust your style to weight, and length of axe.

I was thinking if it was properlly weighted it would be so fast and if i get good with the round sheild I should be a speedy lil' powerhouse.

mine was homemade, so I had to adjust, but it deals almost as much deat has flails.

if you want speend and versatility id go with a Speed bat....

Ah yes, the almighty whinstik. Nothin can compare to the speed and amazingness of such a weapon.

What kind of weapon is that?

basicly imagine a piece of fiberglass with foam wrapped around and looks like a baseball bat...

Have you fought in other combat systems before? If not, then I'd suggest choosing a blue sword or axe as your first time weapon in combination with a round shield. The reason why I would advise against you using some other weapon (ie barrel mace, flail, etc) is that as a newer fighter it is important to learn to control your swings and learn to strike edge first. After you've gotten the edge accuracy/control down I'd say move on to whatever you want, or stay with the axe/sword.

Advantages of an axe? Hmm, they can be alot faster and as others have already said they can give that extra inch or so to strike a torso hiding behind a shield. Also, axes are quite useful for hooking/prying shields and weapons around or even out of peoples hands. My brother goes florentine axes occasionally, but watching him trap a spear or sword with one axe and hacking the attacker down with the other is quite the sight. (Note: The axes aren't special and aren't designed to trap weapons, the angle that distinguishes an axe from other weapons is all that is used in the hooking process).

Oh and don't worry about counter-balancing the axe, unless you really want to. Axes are naturally heavy-ended, its what gave them their strength in the real world (some would argue in this world).

I am gunna be getting and Edhellen aze and sheild, would those axes work for the hooking of sheilds and weapons, it sounds like a very useful tactic.

to be honest I've never used an Edhellen axe so I can't vouch for its safety. I've made 5 axes myself and they've all worked for hooking. I say buy a sword and shield from Edhellen, but make your own axe. That is, unless people can attest to the Edhellen axe's hooking ability. Check out this link for making your own axe: http://members.shaw.ca/godvonrav/construction.html

(design by Ryker of the Mighty Mountie Militia and Pittfighters)

I've used ehellen axes, and the single handed ones are exactly that. To go around a sheild you have to go toe to toe with your opponent. IF you want something with reach I also suggest making your own, thier a lot easier than you think, also easier than swords. Aiden, have you ever tried making an axe with a blade repair kit. I did, and so far its worked really well, thye come out looking bearded.
[edited post]

The thought to use a blade repair kit for an axe never occured to me. How exactly did you go about it?

I've been playing around with a couple of my friends (mind you this is with broken mop sticks) and I';ve been working on rolls and low angle fighting, kind of being low to the ground in a crouch and rolling away from oncomping attacks, right now I suck at it but I get lucky now and then and doge away enough to get in some good hits.

Are there people out there that use rolls as a defence?

there are some people who can do this, but it's incredibly hard to do it successfully. If you can do it, you sure as hell better teach me how. But yeah, from what I hear, axes also make better red weapons in a lot of situations but that's just what they tell me.

If I get it really good I wouldn't mind teaching people, although I've got years of extreme sports behind me and recklessness helps too.

Well Aiden here are the steps I remember:
1: attach a regular sword blade to the core the maximum legnth of the axe blade
2:then make it in a cascade effect from smallest piece to largest, it'l come out looking like a bearded axe. note: I placed a piece of repair blade ontop of the legnth of th axe head. remember to glue and duct tape this together
3: I took a piece of blue foam and wrapped it around the back and half way the legnth of the axe head to re-enforce it.
4: added a leather belt to the bottom of it for hooking purposes and covered it with blue foam.
5: for crush padding I wrapped it once around with blue foam, then half the original wrap again for extra security.

from here just cover it and your set. be sure that the head is glued on right or it will swivel around when you hit with it. For my core I had cut a * sword and it worked great. It may seem difficult but I got it done in a day really. I'll try to post up drawings if I can find a scanner.

About rolling:

1- Rolls are made esier when you parry as you go to roll. This helps keep them from a quick counter-swing.

2- Roll beside the opponent. If you roll away from them, they are able to attack you before you are up. Stay in close to their side.

3- Attack as you come up. Use the momentum of your roll to get on your feet, and pivot on your feet to face the opponent as you come up, using an upward swing.

This is what I usualy do in a roll, and it works for me.

Dis is da axe I made

Axes are now one of my favorite weapons along with barrel maces. However, I would suggest adding a stabby on your ax due to it being limited to having only one blade and that one blade being rather short.

Faolan, that looks sweat

i got my sheild and axe. Man It is realy hard to roll with a sheild in hand. But I am working on it. ^^ I will get some pics up soon once I get time to make my pell.

well, you could buy one http://www.geocities.com/faolan_armoury

Faolan I want pics, its's liking waving candy in front of a diabetic without pics.

well, due to the lack of a digital camera in the household, pics are few and far between.

yeah i know what you mean about that grey... I broke my digital camera at a practice in ered duath. dropped it on accident and it just kinda died on me. even though i have dropped it more times than i can count lol. i even dropped it on the grass. so it really sucks.

well, niether faolan or i have the funds to buy a digital camera.

we may just steal caleb's sometime though... after all, since our weapons won't be moving in the photos, it shouldn't be a problem (caleb has a crappy digital camera that has problems with blur)

GREY STOP!!!

buy a crappy $4 camera. Take the pics. have them developed onto a CD. Upload them to the web. For $8 you have reasonable pics.

actually, that's kind of what we're doing for our midsummer slaughter pictures...