Woof All:
At the previous Gathering all the knife fights were 2x2. To call the
results sloppy and behaviors unrealistic would be an understatement.
Indeed, as best as I could tell, EVERY SINGLE FIGHTER got killed.
So I put it to the guys on the DBMA Ass'n Forum for their thoughts as to how to do it better this coming Sunday. In search of additional thoughts and with their permission, I post the most of the thread here.
Woof,
Crafty Dog
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From the Invitation
"At each Gathering there is a different focus. At this one again we will be
encouraging people to fight 2 against 2 or 3 against 3 (or 2 against 3?) in
the knife fighting. This was a bit of a disaster last time with all players
repeatedly getting killed so we will try going about this a bit differently
this time."
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I think it was a disaster only because we weren't all on the same page when it came to the "rules" of the knife fights.
What are the options?
A. You can think of the 1-2 minute knife fights as a bunch of much shorter fights. If you get killed, you acknowledge it, back off for a second or two, then start again. Or in a multiple man fight you have to run and touch the wall or drop and do ten push-ups or something before you can continue.
B. Each fight is one fight, period. You get killed, the fight's over. Or
if it's a multiple man fight, you're out.
C. Same as B, but if you get killed, you can continue fighting as long as
you can hold your breath or maybe you just get a couple of seconds for one last desperation attack as you're bleeding to death...
IMO, B & C, while more realistic, don't offer people enough time to "enjoy" their knife fighting experience if they get killed right away, but I can live with that.
Any other ideas?
Then of course we can debate what constitutes a kill...
In any case, I think it will seem less disastrous if the rules are made
explicitly clear to everyone before we start.
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Maybe the multiple opponent knife fights were a disaster because the outcome of a knife fight between four men is disasterous.
IMHO I liked it the way we did it last Gathering. Jump in, figure out what
works, get hit, watch your back, look for your partner, get hit, think on
the run under attack, go go go.
THE problem was already raised. If kills matter, then what is a kill? "I
killed you." "No, I killed you first." "No, you didn't hit the artery, so
I killed you first." I'm sure no one would say it, but I'd be thinking it.
Besides rules require a judge.
I WOULD like to see a couple of really good knife fighters do a one on one
exhibition fight.
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Woof All,
why not put ink or painting on the knife to see which is touched and or it
is touched??
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I tend to view the knife fighting much like option A, as a bunch of shorter
fights. I think it should be on the fighter to be aware when they've been
killed or have delivered a kill-shot. Also, I think people, i.e. bumrushers,
need to be aware of the simultaneous kill. I liked how Guro Crafty pulled
out a live blade and waved it near people's necks at the beginning of the
last Gathering so people would have a little more awareness in regards to
the fight. It's a warm-up, and I feel that too much emphasis on who killed
whom, who delivered a greater quantity of kill shots, etc. makes it more
like a knife competition.
The multiple man fights were chaotic with repeated killings, but we could
assume that it's another wave of attackers, kind of like a prison-riot, or
the old video game Double Dragon. I like the multiple man fighting because it opens a bucket of tactics, and if people are focusing on doing push-ups or running to touch a wall it might take away from the tactical exercise.
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Man, that Double Dragon reference sure brings back a lot of memories!
In the context of a Gathering, I think bum-rushing is the typical response
of a fighter who's been cut several times and feels like he has to do
something to keep from looking like he "lost". OTOH I think it's a good
idea to have a plan for dealing with the bum-rush, since it is a desperation
tactic all too likely to be used in a real life-or-death knife fight. I
know of course, since this just happened to me last week!
![wink ;-)](https://dogbrothers.com/phpBB2/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
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The group here on Oahu tends to view the knife fighting in the same view as option A, a bunch of shorter fights. Dogzilla and I "kill" each other
multiple times per fight. I like to vary my actions during the knife
fights...some days, I play the knife "tag" game, where I'm targeting his
hand or trying to "defang the snake". Other days, I go only for "kill
shots" (neck, solid thrusts to torso) and couple that with the bum rush. I
think it's good for Mike (considering he works in a federal prison...in the
kitchen!) to be on the receiving end of the "shiv rush". He usually kills
me, but not always before I'm able to do some serious damage. It keeps
everyone involved well aware of the lethality of a real time, real life
situation where the bad guy doesn't always play by your rules.
However I'm playing the game though, I always back off to acknowledge a kill shot before continuing with the fight. In that respect, not only do the
knife fights provide for a fun time because they're longer and you get the
chance to try different tactics, it also serves as a decent warm up period
before the stickfighting begins. I find it also helps me quell the ongoing
mental chatter of stepping out with Dogzilla when he has a stick in his hand and "that look" in his eye. You know, sorta warm up to, "d**n, this is gonna hurt..."
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So folks, any thoughts/comments/suggestions as to how to go about this in front of a few hundred people? I like the idea of working multiple
players-- its a core foundational concept of the FMA-- but am not happy with the results so far.
TIA,
Crafty Dog