Message 4: Mon May 20 15:50:17 (read)
From: caligari [To: eccles]
RE: DEX vs STR for martial arts
I've forgotten again where we are with this. But no matter.
I had a STR vs DEX moment yesterday at training. We were doing punches
and knees. Only this time we were told to punch with all our force
and strength. Some of the very experienced (and asian, as it happens)
students had trouble with this - their strikes were all lightning, and
while they had a solid force, they were not at all what the teacher
was looking for - he wanted something very different this time, more about
full body force. One of the side-effects of this sort of strike, though
was that you were often completely unable to recover after the strike,
as you had to commit your whole self to it. Usually you are extending
a sharp strike and returning to your defensive position, but when making
the strikes about full power the result was that you had to give away

Message 3: Mon May 20 15:50:17 (read)
From: caligari [To: eccles]
a lot of what characterizes the martial arts. It was interesting. I
also noted that while the lightning strikes from our more experienced
students were powerful, when called upon to make the more Strength-related
strikes they were robbed of some of their effect. The reverse was true
for the less experienced (like myself and Narelle) and the more burly
(ie non-asian, non-girls, non-thin ones). All in all it underlined the
difference between the two sorts of strikes for me, and of course made
me think of this discussion again.
Not remembering where we were at, perhaps it would be possible to
introduce a few strikes that *do* use DEX for damage, as maneuvers. Picking
them up would take a maneuver choice, obviously. They'd have names
like "Lightning Strike" and such, one assumes.
The other way of going is, of course, to say (as I think you may already

Message 2: Mon May 20 15:50:18 (read)
From: caligari [To: eccles]
have) that what is called Strength in the game is actually more "Body
Fitness" and includes the sort of muscle ability that leads to the
sort of quick-strike stuff that martial artists do. While that ignores
the very real link between the sort of thing that would have to be the
Dexterity aspect of hitting someone and the Dexterity aspect of doing
damage (at least with martial arts), I can understand it.
 
On another (related) note. Do we have a list of maneuvers yet that I can
select from? What *do* we have now?

Message 2: Mon May 20 15:51:56 (read)
From: eccles [To: caligari]
that was bemusing - no unreads, suddenly 3 unreads :)

Message 1: Mon May 20 15:52:47 (read)
From: caligari [To: eccles]
Told me you were out for "coffeeeeeeeee"...
Did you drop into quiet without being told? That used to happen
to me a lot...

Message 1: Mon May 20 15:53:34 (read)
From: eccles [To: caligari]
nope, just sat down to go unquiet as you sent them :) 
 
Yeah, if you have a designated goofey on a dud link, it
will do that a lot.