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Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Kung fu craze in armour Reply to topic
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Michael Ekelmann




Location: Seattle Metro Area, USA
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
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Posts: 92

PostPosted: Fri 26 Oct, 2007 11:32 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lafayette C Curtis wrote:
Michael Ekelmann wrote:
Record of Lodoss War is an anime series that is based in a European flavored fantasy world (elves, goblins, dragons, knights and such)

Record of Lodoss Wars isn't set in a European setting at all. It's set in a fantasy setting--and then, not in a really good fantasy setting. I'm an avid fantasy fan who has read Lord of the Rings numerous times, but I found Lodoss Wars particularly lacking whether in the fantastic department or in the historical department--perhaps because it's little more than a novelization and reinterpretation of the transcript from a series of Dungeons & Dragons campaigns and therefore has little originality to go with it. Not to mention that, if you look closely at the equipment, almost all the armor and swords appear way too thick and heavy to be practical--and yet the sword can cut through all that armor in a single blow!


I didn't say it was good ;-) I still think it was European flavored fantasy, just not well done. Bettern than excerable DnD movie though. Personally, i found the elves with long pointed ears really freaky. I'm not a real anime fan, but my DnD and SCA buddies have tried to make me one. I'd much rather read a good fantasy novel or work on armour than watch anime.

If you are a hard corps Tolkien fan, most fantasy other really doesn't cut the mustard IMO. Maybe Guy Gavriel Kay, George RR Martin, come close to the feel of a real world without being too derivative. I have a soft spot for RE Howard as well, but that's an entirely different style.

I've hijacked enough, my appolgies.
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Gary A. Chelette




Location: Houston, Texas
Joined: 29 May 2007
Reading list: 2 books

Posts: 337

PostPosted: Fri 26 Oct, 2007 11:41 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Robin Smith wrote:
Problem is that there is no "big popular push" for WMA. Your average movie-goer, joe sixpack, or mall ninja have no idea what WMA is. If they do, they often associate it with reenactment and the SCA. Hell, many of my SCA friends don't even know much about WMA. Generally, you have to pretty much be in the know to even know what WMA is. Plus, Hollywood has no intention of trying to include WMA techniques in movie fighting. So, I suppose I could say that I don't really see the trend the way you do, obviously....


I agree with your summation, Robin. Though that is changing very quickly. The SCA was the open door which provides interest in the WMA. Many SCA people have joined other WMA groups as well and I find it amazing how fast it has grown.

My friend, who is a Knight in the SCA, travels to Europe often to learn WMA over there and brings back this knowledge to those who are interrested.

Are you scared, Connor?
No, Cousin Dugal. I'm not!
Don't talk nonsense, man. I peed my kilt the first time I went into battle.
Oh, aye. Angus pees his kilt all the time!
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David Donovan




Location: Wichita, KS
Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Reading list: 6 books

Posts: 33

PostPosted: Fri 26 Oct, 2007 12:07 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Norse themes seem to be particularly popular in Japanese productions lately. Just off the top of my head you've got fairly recent video games like Valkyrie Profile, Yggdra Union, Odin Sphere... that's just a few of the more obvious ones that come to mind.

Also, as odd as it sounds, I first became familiar with the names of many European weapons from Japanese games like Castlevania. I mean, seriously, they even snuck a Cinquedea into a couple of the games. (Granted, the spelling of many of the weapons suffers in the transition to Japanese and then back to English.)

"Do something meaningful in this meaningless world."
Takasugi Shinsaku (1839-1867)
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David Black Mastro




Location: Central NJ
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Reading list: 20 books

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 279

PostPosted: Sun 04 Nov, 2007 7:23 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sean Flynt wrote:
Look what happened when the cross-cultural fascination tables were turned once before--European armour influenced the development of Japanese armour and Japanese warriors ended up wearing cabasets!


And burgonets, gorgets, and peascod cuirasses.


Another example where the Japanese had some genuine enthusiasm for Western martial culture was in the 1960s, when some of the last legitimate catch-as-catch-can/Lancashire wrestling exponents, who were disgusted with the fake "wrestling" they were all-too-often forced to do back home, emigrated to Japan. I'm talking about folks like Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson. Gotch went on to teach numerous Japanese martial artists the brutal style of Western submission wrestling--pro-level catch-as-catch-can. Among his students were Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Akira Maeda, and Masami Sorananka. Japanese combat sport culture became so enamored with CACC wrestling that, in the mid-1980s, the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) was established, which conducted both standard pro-wrestling "worked" (i.e., fake) matches, as well as "shoots" (legitimate wrestling contests). The Japanese pretty much attempted to set back the clock on pro-wrestling's history, to a point where it was a legit sporting endevour. Other organizations that were created via the UWF influence include Fujiwara Gumi, PANCRASE, RINGS, Kingdom, and SHOOTO. These groups have been vital to the reintroduction of No-Holds-Barred contests (aka MMA--Mixed Martial Arts) in the martial arts world.

Interesting factoid for WMAists: MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba, who gained fame by defeating numerous Brazilian jiu-jitsu exponents, was taught CACC wrestling by the great "Lancashire Wonder Boy", Billy Robinson.

"Why meddle with us--you are not strong enough to break us--you know that you have won the battle and slaughtered our army--be content with your honor, and leave us alone, for by God's good will only have we escaped from this business" --unknown Spanish captain to the Chevalier Bayard, at the Battle of Ravenna, 1512
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Lafayette C Curtis




Location: Indonesia
Joined: 29 Nov 2006
Reading list: 7 books

Posts: 2,698

PostPosted: Thu 08 Nov, 2007 11:41 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

It's nothing surprising, and there's no turning of the cross-cultural table needed. Easterners simply find Western ways exotic, and Westerners find Eastern ways exotic. So each gets lured to the other. I can attest to that--I'm a full-blooded Asian myself who lives almost exactly on the opposite side of the world from the United States.
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