Fencer Archive
Thread: What are we?
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Oogami_Itto
Wed Apr 07, 2004 10:53 am
#1
Kendo is a sport that places great importance on etiquette. A kendo contest begins with the contestants exchanging formal bows and ends with another exchange of courtesy. This courteous bow is called rei in Japanese. The motion expresses a person's wish for victory, respect to their instructors, and gratitude to the friends who practice with them.
People who practice kendo (sometimes called kendoists) are ranked according to ability and the length of time they have dedicated themselves to the sport. A beginner is ranked as seventh kyu, or rank. There are tests to pass when moving up to the next rank; after heading through sixth kyu, fifth kyu, and all the way up to first kyu, a kendoist moves into a new series: dan. Beginning Dan is the lowest of these, and it is followed by first Dan, second Dan, and so on. Tenth Dan is the highest rank possible in the world of kendo
Tlk
Wed Apr 07, 2004 11:13 am
#2
Very informative, thank you. Of note, many sword techniques and martial arts are intricately involved with etiquette, be cool to have different salutations for the different weapons/professions in brawler. Also would be interesting to have more intricate means to level as opposed to simply buying your title.
Drag00n169
Wed Apr 07, 2004 11:23 am
#3
What if to expand on the Fencer proffession, we had quests, or dificult challenges that give us higher rank. This doesnt give you any more mods etc, but upon completing the quests, you get new titles, and ranks like the first 'Dan' and so forth
Sutemek
Wed Apr 07, 2004 5:32 pm
#4
What are we?
The new FOTM, stupid mofos are gonna get the nerf bat swung at us very very soon and it pisses me off.
Awon
Wed Apr 07, 2004 5:41 pm
#5
I would love to see new titles after we do a very hard quest to get them, kinda like in ultima when people had the title glourious lord. When the first lords in ultima showed up they were treated with great respect because it was a difficult task to accomplish.
Daigoro202
Thu Apr 08, 2004 12:04 am
#6
Good question and good answers, I like to see people thinking more about what is going on with their characters rather than just raising their stats. I often wonder this myself, what does it mean to be a Master of an elite combat profession in SWG?
In major cities, kendoists holding the rank of 5th Dan are referred to as sensei, though most people prefer to translate that as "teacher" rather than "master." I've heard there's no living 10th Dan, and there may be no living 9th Dan either, but to meet an 8th Dan is to meet someone so humble about their abilities that I don't think they would allow the other 8th Dans to nominate them.
It's hard to place a Master Fencer in an equivalent position. Some schools of swordsmanship, even as recently as the 19th Century had extremely difficult promotion procedures, such as making them spar against hundreds of opponents (see Yamaoka Tesshu's Sword of No-Sword). Modern kendo ranking is not nearly that rigorous, it's more about demonstrating an understanding of the techniques and the ability to teach those techniques, which does not necessarilly mean that they are invincible. The Dan ranking system probably came later than that.
For one thing, almost no one in kendo makes a living doing it. Almost no one is a "professional swordsman." There are some who come close, though. The modern champions today, almost without exception, are Japanese police officers, usually 7th and 8th Dan. The dojos of the major metropolitan police departments in Japan are the toughest in the world. Many serve the police in a SWAT role, so a lot of their time is dedicated to training. The closest I have heard, one of my sensei attended a seminar for high ranking non-Japanese natives, one of the instructors there served full time with the Imperial Guard in Japan, a role that is both practical and ceremonial, that would allow him to devote all of his time to traditional budo arts.
The last kendo practitioners who have actually carried a sword into battle are World War II veterans who are all at least 80 years old. These are the people that come to mind when I think about the Brawler Intimidation skill. These are also the last kendo practitioners whose instructors were a product of the Meiji Era. So the "professional swordsman" is truly a dying breed.
A Master Fencer in SW? This would be someone who fights for a living-- not just training as a sport or as a philosophical exercise. I think all the Master combat professionals in SWG are the top of their game. I know it seems like the servers are inundated with Master TKAs, Master Pistoleers, Master Fencers. However, unlike some other MMORPGs, the player characters are way in the minority considering the population of the world itself. There are thousands of other planets, each with millions or billions of inhabitants-- we can only visit about 10 of them. As in all mmorpgs, time is accelerated and compressed, something that would take a lifetime of experience takes only a couple months or weeks here. Although the apprentice point system is a joke in actual practice, it takes some credibility from the fact that part of learning is teaching others.
I do think if you had to create a major combat character in a Star Wars story that was neither a Jedi or an ace X-Wing pilot, it would resemble a combat Master in this game, whether it's a TKM, a CH, or a Blademaster. I think Masters should be seen as the best of the best from the overall story of the game, even if they all happen to accumulate at the Coronet Starport.
In major cities, kendoists holding the rank of 5th Dan are referred to as sensei, though most people prefer to translate that as "teacher" rather than "master." I've heard there's no living 10th Dan, and there may be no living 9th Dan either, but to meet an 8th Dan is to meet someone so humble about their abilities that I don't think they would allow the other 8th Dans to nominate them.
It's hard to place a Master Fencer in an equivalent position. Some schools of swordsmanship, even as recently as the 19th Century had extremely difficult promotion procedures, such as making them spar against hundreds of opponents (see Yamaoka Tesshu's Sword of No-Sword). Modern kendo ranking is not nearly that rigorous, it's more about demonstrating an understanding of the techniques and the ability to teach those techniques, which does not necessarilly mean that they are invincible. The Dan ranking system probably came later than that.
For one thing, almost no one in kendo makes a living doing it. Almost no one is a "professional swordsman." There are some who come close, though. The modern champions today, almost without exception, are Japanese police officers, usually 7th and 8th Dan. The dojos of the major metropolitan police departments in Japan are the toughest in the world. Many serve the police in a SWAT role, so a lot of their time is dedicated to training. The closest I have heard, one of my sensei attended a seminar for high ranking non-Japanese natives, one of the instructors there served full time with the Imperial Guard in Japan, a role that is both practical and ceremonial, that would allow him to devote all of his time to traditional budo arts.
The last kendo practitioners who have actually carried a sword into battle are World War II veterans who are all at least 80 years old. These are the people that come to mind when I think about the Brawler Intimidation skill. These are also the last kendo practitioners whose instructors were a product of the Meiji Era. So the "professional swordsman" is truly a dying breed.
A Master Fencer in SW? This would be someone who fights for a living-- not just training as a sport or as a philosophical exercise. I think all the Master combat professionals in SWG are the top of their game. I know it seems like the servers are inundated with Master TKAs, Master Pistoleers, Master Fencers. However, unlike some other MMORPGs, the player characters are way in the minority considering the population of the world itself. There are thousands of other planets, each with millions or billions of inhabitants-- we can only visit about 10 of them. As in all mmorpgs, time is accelerated and compressed, something that would take a lifetime of experience takes only a couple months or weeks here. Although the apprentice point system is a joke in actual practice, it takes some credibility from the fact that part of learning is teaching others.
I do think if you had to create a major combat character in a Star Wars story that was neither a Jedi or an ace X-Wing pilot, it would resemble a combat Master in this game, whether it's a TKM, a CH, or a Blademaster. I think Masters should be seen as the best of the best from the overall story of the game, even if they all happen to accumulate at the Coronet Starport.
drowngerbil
Fri Apr 09, 2004 12:09 am
#7
every profession becomes a flavor of the month( fotm). its just a matter of when. the crowd simply follows the crowd and knows no better. in a few weeks ( or a month if you will) a new template that is "the best" or " elite" or "overpowered" will pop up and the masses will follow, while only the true masters stay. so quit complaining and just play the damn game. if you are unhappy change professions or pull that pickle out of your rear
Sutemek
Fri Apr 09, 2004 12:43 pm
#8
Overall that's true, but the real issue here is our stun damage weapons combined with the excellent defenses we are given. Then again, the new trend is people having 30% stun composite so it may drift away from us again.
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