"Just to throw some more confusion into the mix," (Issola pg. unknown-AFB) The 10 securities: Distance, Guard, Posture, Movement, Change, Flack, Rhythm, Stance, Weight, Aggression. Richard King, Grandmaster, Kiado-Ryu James Griffin Still Another Vlad faN >From: Matthew Hunter <matthew at infodancer.org> >To: dragaera at dragaera.info >Subject: Re: Defender always wins? (Was: Re: on contradictions and such) >Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2005 09:42:53 -0600 > >On Tue, Feb 08, 2005 at 04:14:08AM -0600, Tsarren <tsarren at alyra.org> >wrote: > > On Sun, Feb 06, 2005 at 08:48:20AM -0500, MedCat7 at aol.com wrote: > > > Oh, by all means, I thought it was a great plan. And it does make >sense. I > > > -just thought it was a great contradiction that defender starts the >war. > > > -If you really think on it, and it just dawned on me the logic in that > > > -even as I type, it makes perfect sense. (Not to be a total nerd, but) >In > > > -a video game I play, and NPCs will even suggest, if you taunt another > > > -NPC, they will attack you, and you are defending youself. You want >them > > > -to attack you, so you don't got to prison for starting the fight. >(Such a > > > -great game...) C > > Anyone on the list study aikido or something similar? For those who >don't, > > aikido is based around the idea that you can use your attacker's energy > > (resources, whatever) against them instead of initiating your own >attacks. > > A question I asked my sensei once when we were studying katana technique > > (one of the roots of aikido is how to survive in battlefield chaos when > > you've lost your sword for some reason) was, "assuming two opponents of > > equal skill, is there ever an adavantage to attacking first?" > >This should be obvious. Of course a situation can be contrived >such that attacking first provides a significant advantage. >Consider an opponent who has received a temporarily disabling >wound; do you strike to finish him off, or do you allow him to >heal and face you at his full strength? > >Of course, Aikido stacks the deck by making an effort not to >teach attacks, so that the person who tries this with only >training in aikido may be undone by lack of skill despite his >opponent's disadvantage. This of course does not apply to others >with less pacifistic training. > >Similarly, in cases where a quick strike may result in a disabled >or weakened opponent, attacking first may offer an advantage if >you can cripple your opponent's response. That's the whole idea >behind the lunge; if you skewer your opponent in one blow, >with the advantage of surprise, and can duck back out of >range before a response can be made, it's worth the risk of >esposing yourself. Between two experienced fencers with a good >defense, there may be no other way to end the bout. > >The same applies to larger-scale actions. Consider the cavalry >charge; against an undisciplined or unprepared unit, it is >devastating. The cavalry can come within range, strike a >crippling blow, and retreat out of range before the opponent can >regroup -- and then repeat the tactic elsewhere. But the >advantage shifts to the defender if he can accurately predict and >counter the attacker's strikes; such as with a disciplined pike >square protecting crossbowmen... > >-- >Matthew Hunter (matthew at infodancer.org) >Public Key: http://matthew.infodancer.org/public_key.txt >Homepage: http://matthew.infodancer.org/index.jsp >Politics: http://www.triggerfinger.org/weblog/index.jsp