On Fri, 9 May 1997, Matt Posner wrote:
Oneshot wrote:
Well, as for me, I'm not able to distinguish tai chi katas from other
katas, though I'll bet there are plenty of people on the list who can.
Tai Chi is very slow once you do it properly. The long slow movements
actually do have an exercising effect on the body, since the movements and
positions put strain on the muscles.
In "Cousin Kuno" I had Ranma doing katas to relax, but not having much
luck, since anything goes/indiscriminate grappling has not previously
been noted as a good art for personal peace and self-control. After all,
all its practitioners are violently emotional and fly off the handle at
the slightest provocation.
That is usually what starts a fight. If they truely kept their cool,
then the fights would never start to begin with.
(In my story, Ukyo and Ryoga also discuss the fact that none of the
martial artists they know can hold their tempers.)
This is probably more of a character related issue than having anything
to do with martial arts.
The author of "Kasumi's Little Secret" has spotted an interesting flaw
in Ranma's training, and is trying to fill in the gap in a sensible way.
The ramifications of Ranma calming down could actually be more complex
than it initially seems: how much trouble could Ranma avoid if he
thought through his problems instead of reaction on instinct? But would
he lose his fighting edge if he settled down?
Well, Akane's emotions are very predictable. If Ranma actually knew
what to say, the number of times he got hit by her would drop insanely.
Ranma's ego is his one real weakness. Aside from that he usually doees
not lose his cool.. he certainly has a higher temper threshold than anyone
else, assuming that you do not insult him the easy way.
Ranma _has_ to be able to hold his temper, or the Hiryuu Shouten Ha
would be impossible to use, since he has to stay calm while angering his
opponent.
I don't think his fighting skills would drop. As a matter of fact, he
would win more easily because his opponents would try and exploit a
weakness which no longer exists.