HEMA story time. 

Suddenly all those Hinterlands quests to go round up a random farmer’s druffalo don’t  seem so silly.

Dragon Age Inquisition - doing something right.

(source)

#war in pre-industrial societies was *very different* from what many people imagine#i keep seeing calls for ‘realistic medieval huge military battles’ and im like#yon average feif could maybe afford like 10 guys tops

YES. This whole thread is the best thing and betterbemeta’s tags (above) are on point. I would love actual ‘realistic ancient battles’ where like ten actual fighters and whatever serfs they can persuade to accompany them posture and try to intimidate each other, or have an Official Scrum on a mutually beneficial day. That and just…cattle raiding.

I guess in post-collapse terms it’s theoretically different because your whole raider gang exists to nick other people’s shit so doesn’t need to cultivate or craft much except perhaps to make them more self-sufficient in weaponry, armaments, and other logistical things that’ll enable them to raid harder and more often. That’s exactly why, on the other side of things, as many citizen’s as possible in your vulnerable good-guy farming commune might need to be militia members to protect themselves from people who can dedicate their full-time everyday energy to Being Raiders.

I say in theory because, even if you’re nicking other people’s shit, why not treat that as a bonus? Why not look to history’s peoples who placed a particular import on raiding as a way of life, and notice that none of them were just straight-up predators. They had enough agricultural or pastoral or pescatoral (is that a word?) infrastructure to subsist, and then the luxury, the surplus, came from attacking other people part-time, very occasionally. Look at norse folks going viking; look at the invasive pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe. Just in terms of the caloric requirements and risks inherent in combat, you’re not gonna want to do that full-time. Training to do it well will take more calories and they need to come from somewhere. You pick your battles. You take without fighting at all where you can – so intimidation and making enemies surrender without having to fight is important here; c.f. pirates of the Golden Age – and you fight rarely and only when you know you can a) win, b) benefit hugely from it.

“If the gods are always watching, we might as well put on a good show.”

LINK WAS A FUCKING SAVAGE~

Splatoon & Super Mario Sunshine

Pixel Artist: vovovov

Source: pixeljoint.com

I learned a TKD thing today. Old school Koreans don’t like my sass.

Master Instructor (MI): Stop throwing kicks that you have no control over.

Me: I had control of that. (Skip in to out crescent)

MI: No you didn’t. It was fast and at head height. If he didn’t move you’d have knocked him out. Then what would have happened?

Me: I’d have won.

MI: *gives me the look*

That moment of cheek was not worth the 50 double round kicks I had to do as a result. Man. My legs are sore.

Generally striking martial arts tend to be a little more strict than grappling arts… You can’t imagine my initial shock coming from karate, seeing bjj people tie their belts without kneeling down first, and I still struggle with not addressing the instructors as “sensei”

^^^

I got the same thing going from TKD to Fencing.

The Way of the Fight (Georges St. Pierre)

Saturday’s fencing in a nutshell.

(via longswordsinlondon)

Steve Rogers did, in fact, realize that something was off when he saw the outline of the woman’s odd bra (a push-up bra, he would later learn), but being an officer and a gentleman, he said that it was the game that gave the future away.

#EXCUSE ME MA’AM BUT YOUR TITTIES ARE NOT CONES I’M CALLING BULLSHIT (via)

No, see, this scene is just amazing. The costume department deserves so many kudos for this, it’s unreal, especially given the fact that they pulled off Peggy pretty much flawlessly.

1) Her hair is completely wrong for the 40’s. No professional/working woman  would have her hair loose like that. Since they’re trying to pass this off as a military hospital, Steve would know that she would at least have her hair carefully pulled back, if maybe not in the elaborate coiffures that would have been popular.

2) Her tie? Too wide, too long. That’s a man’s tie, not a woman’s. They did, however, get the knot correct as far as I can see - that looks like a Windsor.

3) That. Bra. There is so much clashing between that bra and what Steve would expect (remember, he worked with a bunch of women for a long time) that it has to be intentional. She’s wearing a foam cup, which would have been unheard of back then. It’s also an exceptionally old or ill-fitting bra - why else can you see the tops of the cups? No woman would have been caught dead with misbehaving lingerie like that back then, and the soft satin cups of 40’s lingerie made it nearly impossible anyway. Her breasts are also sitting at a much lower angle than would be acceptable in the 40’s.

Look at his eyes. He knows by the time he gets to her hair that something is very, very wrong.

so what you are saying is S.H.E.I.L.D. has a super shitty costume division….

Nope, Nick Fury totally did this on purpose.

There’s no knowing what kind of condition Steve’s in, or what kind of person he really is, after decades of nostalgia blur the reality and the long years in the ice (after a plane crash and a shitload of radiation) do their work. (Pre-crash Steve is in lots of files, I’m sure. Nick Fury does not trust files.) So Fury instructs his people to build a stage, and makes sure that the right people put up some of the wrong cues.

Maybe the real Steve’s a dick, or just an above-average jock; maybe he had a knack for hanging out with real talent. Maybe he hit his head too hard on the landing and he’s not gonna be Captain anymore. On the flipside, if he really is smart, then putting him in a standard, modern hospital room and telling him the truth is going to have him clamming up and refusing to believe a goddamn thing he hears for a really long time.

The real question here is, how long it does it take for the man, the myth, the legend to notice? What does he do about it? How long does he wait to get his bearings, confirm his suspicions, and gather information before attempting busting out?

Turns out the answer’s about forty-five seconds.

Sometimes clever posts die a quiet death in the abyss of the unreblogged. Some clever posts get attention, get comments, get better. Then there’s this one which I’ve watched evolve into a thing of brilliance.

#his little jaw twitch well done chris ( @thewomaninthetanjacket )

Oh shit I hadn’t noticed that, god this just gets better and better.

I love everything about this.

The Big Escape

“Hurry! The heroes in Cell 2G have escaped!”

“We aren’t holding anyone in 2G. The heroes are in 4T.”

“Who is in 2G?”

“The maintenance crew. They are swapping the buttons, you keep hitting ‘open door’ instead of ‘activate trap’.”

Shotokan Karate Girl! (my style!)

Commission time! @manwithoutborders​ and I had a very interesting conversation about the power of intent! Not always an easy feat to accomplish, but it can certainly make or break a good punch. Also, it’s a very practical teaching tool XD; Grit your teeth!!

Chess board: Typed

Okay guys, just hear me out I was in chess club in sixth grade

The King (ENFP): Without the king, chess wouldn’t exactly be a very fun game…i mean, there wouldn’t be anything to protect….but skill wise, the king definitely shows some inferior Si. It lacks skill, however it’s ability to go in multiple directions lends well to dominant Ne.Specifically ENFP, since it’s such a valuable piece that can cause some damage if need be (Fi-Te) but really ONLY if need be. It’s your classic case of too many options, no execution.

The Queen (ESTP): Indisputably the most valuable piece on the board, she can go every direction, fuckin annihilate p much any piece on the hecking board…..i.e. skilled Se-Ti versatility, and tertiary Fe that literally gets her everywhere…..she meshes with the social environment, because she could realistically be anywhere on the board at any time….the problem is with reckless playing, you could lose her, and probably the game (inf. Ni much?)

Left Bishop (ESFJ): after the initial movement of some pawns, this is typically the first piece you move It’s a sort of social experiment, initially, and if left bishop doesn’t get taken down within the first few minutes, it becomes a very strategically important piece in the game.  Fe-Si sparks its initial motives, the social stir-up and cordial defense of the queen, but it’s surprise to the opponent later in the game is such a tertiary Ne kick to the face ((but a polite….passive aggressive one u know? like srry :) I had to :) fucking savage))

Right Bishop (INFJ): typically laying low until it’s entirely necessary, this piece is sometimes forgotten about and becomes an obstacle for your king to trip over (Inferior Se?) and once it gets itself moving it’s rather clumsy. Initially staying out of the drama (Ni-Fe) until the later half of the game, it tends to last longer than it probably can manage, running only on Ti-Se fumes. 

Left Knight (ENTJ): this guy’s in it for the Te-Ni longevity. You’re not going to lose left knight (unless your as terrible of a chess player as i am). It’s quite unpredictable (tertiary Se), which makes it incredibly valuable. It’s a pretty eager piece too, usually charges into the mayhem around the same time as left bishop, but typically lasts a bit longer, since it’s pathways are less predictable and more reckless. (So like Te-Se loop ENTJ) 

Right Knight (ISTP): much more sagely than the right night but still a fucking badass, and it’s surprising Ti strategy become’s it’s most important tool in potentially winning you the game. It’s got it’s Se-Ni under a very tight reign and is probably going to last longer than the left, since it enters the game later. A piece to be used wisely, since it has to potential to be extremely chaotic. 

Left Rook (ESTJ): This piece is almost as important as the queen when it comes to taking out the opponent. It’s Te-Si eagerness and irreplaceability combined with its erratic tertiary Ne battle tendencies give it the potential to wipe out half of the board. In comparison to ENTJ (Left Knight) it’s has Si patience. It causes less chaos and more destruction, but could get eliminated earlier in the game because of this. 

Right Rook (ENFJ): your right hand man (quite literally lol)….often tends to go unnoticed within the first few moves, but is a lifesaver nearing the end of the game. It’s incredibly dependable, almost to the point that it’s an obstacle. It’s usual purpose is to protect the king (Fe) and it tends to last the majority of the game (Ni-Se). However, it’s overbearing tendencies are its downfall. 

Left Pawn (INFP): This guy’s non-confrontational Fi ways tend to keep him in the same place for the majority of the game, just minding his own business. However, when it comes down to fighting, he becomes quite stubborn (as common for tertiary Si users) and becomes possibly the best obstacle for those attacking the king.

Pawn Second to the Left (INTJ): Like INFP, this one tends to observe (Ni) gameplay for the majority, but will take a offensive stance if need be (aux Te) however, this is often only if necessary, since sharing left bishop’s inferior Se, Second Pawn tends to have difficulty actually managing the second half of the game (which it usually makes it to)

Third Pawn to the Left (ISFP): although less eager to charge into the battle field than some of the other pieces (High Fi being non-confrontational), this pawn is often less dormant than the previously mentioned ones, it closely follows the center pawns and can skillfully (Se-Ni) take down its opponent’s pieces (usually pawns). It’s competitive streak shows early in the game.

Left center pawn (ESFP): one of the first pieces moved as well as one of the first pieces to go, it’s dominant Se enthusiasm makes a bold entrance, as well as a bold ending statement. It’s sacrifice is indicative of lower Te-Ni planning, but it goes valiantly for it’s cause, and is arguably the piece that gets things going as the first one lost.

Right center pawn (ISTJ): also potentially the first to move it’s Si-Te strategy is that of a player’s that knows what it has to do to start the game. It can take the offensive (Te) but could also be one of the first sacrificed, which is why many have second thoughts about moving this piece first. (Inf. Ne.) 

Third Pawn to the Right (INTP): this is one of the pawns you are advised not to move first since it could lead the opponent to taking you down in two moves. With dominant Ti, this pawn is often rational enough to heed this warning and stay put, likely to become another tertiary Si obstacle for the opponent. 

Second Pawn to the Right (ENTP): This one is a No-go. Do not move this piece first or you’re dead. But like most high Ne users, ENTP does not listen and moves, foolishly, too soon. It’s low sensing functions does not make it the most valuable player, often leading it to get in the way of your other pieces. 

Right Pawn (ISFJ): The pawn most likely to make it all the way across the board, it goes slightly unnoticed, but for the best. Aux Fe types are often good at lying low, and it’s high Si perseverance could make it a very valuable piece. 

The dojo kun, the school’s precepts.