Post by Marrek Exquisitus Korr on Aug 15, 2008 18:44:57 GMT -5
I may be new to this site, but I believe I have at least a little bit of knowledge to offer. I notice at least two posts asking for help with Makashi, and everyone says it's a lot like fencing. The thing is, it isn't. Period. It is based upon fencing and similar to it, but they are most definitely not the same things. I've been taking fencing lessons, and therefore have been able to teach myself Makashi. You can question me all you want, but I stand by my statement.
Anyways, fencing involves parrying and lunging, advancing and retreating. Parrying is obviously blocking an attack, but there is a difference between the two. Blocking involves holding the sword/lightsaber with two hands, whereas parrying involves holding the sword/lightsaber with one hand. If you pay close attention to Dooku in AOTC when he's fighting Anakin and Obi-Wan, he blocks their attacks with minimal effort. This is parrying. He transitions from one parry to the next smoothly, nearly without effort. Doing this in real life would take a lot of practice since we don't have the Force, all we have to rely on are our reflexes. That's how it works with any type of swordfighting, so practice makes perfect.
Before I move on to lunging and attacks, I will first discuss the stances for Makashi and fencing. If you pay attention to Count Dooku when he flourishes his saber before Yoda, and if you are a fencer, you will realize that it is very similar to the opening salute in fencing. This is actually how a Makashi practitioner issues a challenge to his opponent. In the opening salute for fencing, you first point your foil/eppe/sabre to the ground, then to the sky, to your opponent, to yourself and then back to the ground. The last two parts of the salute are the equivelant to the Makashi salute/issuing challenge (however you want to say it). There is also an opening stance for Makashi that I must explain before I move on. (Continued in next paragraph)
The fencing opening stance is different from the Makashi opening stance, but in some ways very similar. In the fencing opening stance, you place your dominant foot forward (I.E., if you're left handed like me you place your left foot forward, and if you're right handed you place your right foot forward), and your other foot in the back. You bend at the knees, with your dominant foot facing straight forward and your backfoot outwards. You keep your back straight with your chest facing forward. You keep your sword arm at fist length away from your ribs, bent slightly, and the sword pointed at your opponent. With your other hand, you keep it either elevated or behind your back (it doesn't matter where your other hand is, but in a fencing tournament it's illegal to have it behind your back because it takes away a target from your opponent). Now, after that long description you'll probably be relieved to know that the opening Makashi stance is much easier to describe, lol. Here's a quick description from wookieepedia on what the Makashi opening stance looks like, and also how to hold the saber in Makashi (no, I'm not getting lazy, but the wookieepedia description would be easier to understand).
Okay, now I'm moving on to the attacks and lunges. In fencing, lunging is the equivelant to an attack in any other sword fight. Lunging in fencing starts with the basic fencing opening stance, but you push forward with your back leg, keeping it completely straight, while your front leg is bent completely with your sword arm extended forward (it is basically a stab). When you lunge, you must keep your back straight, otherwise if your opponent parries or avoids your attack, they can easily get your back and score a point. In Makashi, your attacks must be short and precise, leaving little room for your opponent to make a conter attack. When I attack using Form II, I only move my arm very slightly, bent or otherwise. But when I want to fight like Dooku, I use wide, sweeping elegant attacks. You must be fluent with these movements, so you can easily transition from one attack to the next. Another useful tip when on the offense with Makashi is using feints, or fake attacks. Basically you mislead your opponent into thinking you're going to make one attack, when you're actaully making a different one. This can be done in a number of ways, so I'll leave it up to you to figure it out.
Now I'm going to be discussing footing and movements. (Continue down)
Now, in both fencing and Makashi, your greatest weapons are...*dramatic drum roll*...YOUR FEET!! *gasps from crowd* Yes, that's right, your feet! In both fencing and Makashi, you must keep the right amount of distance from your opponent, because in VERY close quarters you are left vulnerable to an attack. To make it simple to understand, I shall once again quote wookieepedia on footing and movements.
Now let's see here...am I forgetting anything at all? Ah yes, it's weaknesses. Since blasters do not exist in our modern day and age, I need not go over it's weakness against blaster fire. Instead, I will explain it's weakness against multiple opponents. Once more, I shall quote wookieepedia to save everyone some time.
And now for it's greatest weakness: Going up against more aggressive forms like Djem-So. Once again, I shall quote wookieepedia to save us all some time.
And so ends my lecture on Form II Makashi, I hope you all enjoyed my lecture and will practice this fine and elegant art of Makashi as I do. If you have any questions, you may ask me in messages or in this thread.
Anyways, fencing involves parrying and lunging, advancing and retreating. Parrying is obviously blocking an attack, but there is a difference between the two. Blocking involves holding the sword/lightsaber with two hands, whereas parrying involves holding the sword/lightsaber with one hand. If you pay close attention to Dooku in AOTC when he's fighting Anakin and Obi-Wan, he blocks their attacks with minimal effort. This is parrying. He transitions from one parry to the next smoothly, nearly without effort. Doing this in real life would take a lot of practice since we don't have the Force, all we have to rely on are our reflexes. That's how it works with any type of swordfighting, so practice makes perfect.
Before I move on to lunging and attacks, I will first discuss the stances for Makashi and fencing. If you pay attention to Count Dooku when he flourishes his saber before Yoda, and if you are a fencer, you will realize that it is very similar to the opening salute in fencing. This is actually how a Makashi practitioner issues a challenge to his opponent. In the opening salute for fencing, you first point your foil/eppe/sabre to the ground, then to the sky, to your opponent, to yourself and then back to the ground. The last two parts of the salute are the equivelant to the Makashi salute/issuing challenge (however you want to say it). There is also an opening stance for Makashi that I must explain before I move on. (Continued in next paragraph)
The fencing opening stance is different from the Makashi opening stance, but in some ways very similar. In the fencing opening stance, you place your dominant foot forward (I.E., if you're left handed like me you place your left foot forward, and if you're right handed you place your right foot forward), and your other foot in the back. You bend at the knees, with your dominant foot facing straight forward and your backfoot outwards. You keep your back straight with your chest facing forward. You keep your sword arm at fist length away from your ribs, bent slightly, and the sword pointed at your opponent. With your other hand, you keep it either elevated or behind your back (it doesn't matter where your other hand is, but in a fencing tournament it's illegal to have it behind your back because it takes away a target from your opponent). Now, after that long description you'll probably be relieved to know that the opening Makashi stance is much easier to describe, lol. Here's a quick description from wookieepedia on what the Makashi opening stance looks like, and also how to hold the saber in Makashi (no, I'm not getting lazy, but the wookieepedia description would be easier to understand).
"The opening stance was a single handed low guard. The saber would be held in the strong hand of the user, and held at his side, the blade pointed down, and the feet would be shoulder width apart. Some faced their opponent side on, so the blade was pointed in their direction. Dooku often used this stance when he prepared to fight. The lightsaber hilt would be held with the thumb pointing down the length of the blade to allow for smaller, tighter, more accurate movements of the saber. The rest of the fingers wrap around the hilt holding it tightly, but not so tight as to limit the fluidity of the movements."
(Visual Aid Below)
Okay, now I'm moving on to the attacks and lunges. In fencing, lunging is the equivelant to an attack in any other sword fight. Lunging in fencing starts with the basic fencing opening stance, but you push forward with your back leg, keeping it completely straight, while your front leg is bent completely with your sword arm extended forward (it is basically a stab). When you lunge, you must keep your back straight, otherwise if your opponent parries or avoids your attack, they can easily get your back and score a point. In Makashi, your attacks must be short and precise, leaving little room for your opponent to make a conter attack. When I attack using Form II, I only move my arm very slightly, bent or otherwise. But when I want to fight like Dooku, I use wide, sweeping elegant attacks. You must be fluent with these movements, so you can easily transition from one attack to the next. Another useful tip when on the offense with Makashi is using feints, or fake attacks. Basically you mislead your opponent into thinking you're going to make one attack, when you're actaully making a different one. This can be done in a number of ways, so I'll leave it up to you to figure it out.
Now I'm going to be discussing footing and movements. (Continue down)
Now, in both fencing and Makashi, your greatest weapons are...*dramatic drum roll*...YOUR FEET!! *gasps from crowd* Yes, that's right, your feet! In both fencing and Makashi, you must keep the right amount of distance from your opponent, because in VERY close quarters you are left vulnerable to an attack. To make it simple to understand, I shall once again quote wookieepedia on footing and movements.
"Precise footwork and movements were required for maintaining proper distance from the opponent during defense and/or when moving in for an attack."
"The footwork of Makashi practitioners followed a single line, front and back, shifting the feet to keep in perfect balance as the practitioner attacked and retreated. Makashi was a style based on balance, on back-and-forth charges, thrusts, and sudden retreats."
Now let's see here...am I forgetting anything at all? Ah yes, it's weaknesses. Since blasters do not exist in our modern day and age, I need not go over it's weakness against blaster fire. Instead, I will explain it's weakness against multiple opponents. Once more, I shall quote wookieepedia to save everyone some time.
"Another drawback was that Makashi was most potent when used against a single opponent, and therefore was reduced in strength when fighting groups of adversaries. Exceptionally skilled users could still fare very well against multiple foes, however. Dooku, for example, could fight up to four adversaries at once with little difficulty."
And now for it's greatest weakness: Going up against more aggressive forms like Djem-So. Once again, I shall quote wookieepedia to save us all some time.
"But the greatest flaw with this system of combat was that it could not withstand strikes from later styles which emphasized more powerful strokes over Makashi's elegance and precision. As shown during Dooku's fatal duel with Anakin that Makashi simply did not generate the necessary kinetic energy to meet Djem So (Skywalker's preferred style) on an even footing. The sheer raw power of Form V wore down Dooku's defenses, physically exhausting him, and draining his reserves of Force power."
And so ends my lecture on Form II Makashi, I hope you all enjoyed my lecture and will practice this fine and elegant art of Makashi as I do. If you have any questions, you may ask me in messages or in this thread.
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