History of Antioch Fighting Style

### Intro (WIP 2/14/22)

Verdish fighting styles underwent drastic shifts throughout its lifespan. Here you will find a brief description of the variables that promoted meta shifts and the weaponry created to maximize killing potential. Over the years, certain powerful techniques/approaches have been named in order to quickly convey the concept. The list is as follows (far from an exhaustive list): ***{NOTE TO SELF - Get pictures of the techniques being performed! And make the technique section separate pages that we just hyperlink to}***

**Concepts/simple techniques:**

1. **Options** - The natural abilities an enemy can use to effectively attack their opponent from their current stance/weapon position.
2. **Cool-Down** - The idea that after attacking, a fighter needs time to reset before they can attack again. Generally speaking, the heavier the weapon is, the longer it takes to recover, and therefore the longer it's 'cooldown'. Understanding cool-downs is considered the foundation of the modern meta.
3. **Faking** - Pretending to attack in a certain way to trick an opponent to reacting. The intent of faking is to confuse the opponent, or force them to open up.
4. **Baiting** - Intentionally leaving a part of your body less protected to promote an attack from your opponent. Usually baiting is part of a larger plan to trick your opponent into a bad situation.
5. **Sniping** - Striking quickly or strangely at an opponent's exposed areas. Usually this is performed on opponents with weak stances.
6. **Reading** - Predicting an opponents next move.
7. **Punishing** - Countering an opponents move and attacking them successfully because of their mistake.
8. **Safe** - An attack that is unlikely to result in the user's defeat. This is usually due to positioning or abusing an opponents cool-downs.

Techniques:

1. **Guard Break** - *(traditionally a 2H swung weapon technique)* The practice of swinging as hard as you can to break through an opponents block or other defenses. In the earliest metas, weaponry were intentionally made heavy to maximize this potential.
2. **Max Range Abuse** - *(utilized by all weaponry)* This approach, simply put, is utilizing your weapon at the very limits of it's effective range. This ensures that if you are using a weapon that is longer than your opponent's then they will not be able to attack you as easily if you were closer. This concept is considered obvious by most at this time, but the first time it was put into action, it separated fighters by considerable margins. While an early technique, this approach is partially what makes weapons from gen-8 and gen-9 so strong.
3. **Cross-Over** - (used by swung weaponry) The simple technique of attacking an opponent on the opposite side of your current sword position. It is most commonly used by shields. It is a strong technique that often becomes the major go-to for average fighters.
4. **Bread and Butter** - *(traditionally a 2H swung weapon technique)* Also known as Red-block-RED! This technique was the foundation of early red weapon fighting styles. At the time of it's major dominance, it didn't have an official name, the term bread and butter is a modern title. While employed most often with Kelvs, this technique was also a foundation of katana fighting. This technique, simply put, is executed by:
	1. Striking an opponent at max range with a two-handed weapon.
	2. Bringing the weapon back up, handle first, allowing the blade to protect the length of your body. Effectively blocking while preparing for a second strike.
	3. Delivering another strike, either after blocking the natural counter attack, or when safe to do so.
5. **Capitalizing** - *(utilized by all weaponry)* The practice of running an enemy down after they either attempt and fail a guard break. The idea is to take control of favorable positioning to minimize the enemies options.
6. **Dodge and Strike** - *(utilized by all weaponry)* The practice of dodging while striking, traditionally baiting the user's body to promote an attack. Dodge and strike is heavily reliant on understanding cooldowns, baiting, and max-range abuse. The strike portion of the technique happens while the opponent is striking, as to not allow them time to defend. Dodge and Strike is traditionally a *bait* or a *punish*. Dodge and strike is considered a very safe technique because even if it fails, it results in the user being outside of an opponent's max-range.
7. **New Meta** - *(traditionally a 2H swung weapon technique)* The technique of utilizing the weapon handle to block an incoming strike. It is important to note that the block is performed in a way where the user is in a position to immediately deliver a counter-strike without needing to reposition. Doing so leaves the user in an extremely favorable position. When performed correctly, the opponent will be on 'cool-down' allowing the user to deliver a counter attack before the enemy can respond effectively.
8. **All-In -** *(utilized by all weaponry)* Forfeiting self preservation on a risky attack that will result in the user's defeat if not successful. All-ins are usually employed as acts of desperation, or as attempts to switch-up a fight that has become predictable.
9. **Counter-Cut** - *(utilized by all weaponry)* Cutting an opponent's arm while they attempt to perform an attack. This is considered a *punish*.

## Wooden Weaponry

In the wooden weapon era, the combat laws were similar to Dagorhir but were founded on different principles. Here's a brief overview of 'the rules':

* There are no forbidden strike zones (Meaning hands, feet, neck, and head are viable and legal targets)
* Any weapon can break a shield. This is measured by direct shock from the weapon penetrating to the user's arm, providing incredibly sharp pain. If the weapon was capable of inflicting this extreme pain, the shield was considered 'broke'.
* In order to deal damage to someone, the strike was required to hurt the opponent to the point where they would no longer continue to use that limb/fight. If the warrior was strong enough to force through the pain, then the damage was considered to not be significant enough.
	+ Thrusts/piercing weaponry however just had to make solid and forceful contact.
* All weapons can be thrown.

Meta principles almost immediately favored strikes that were as direct and powerful as the user could manifest. Weaponry that had significant mass became much more effective than weaponry designed to be fast. As such two handed and one handed axes were some of the most devastating weapons around because of their ability to employ '**Guard Breaking**'.

Shields also had a major combat role, especially as being one of the few pieces of equipment that could reliably counter throwing knives, archery, and other projectiles.

Safe combat strategy was to tire your opponent out by dodging strikes and forcing them into offensive plays that could be easily counter attacked. (this was one of the only ways non-spears could contest the massive two handed weapons)

In the advent of one fighter's hospitalization, wooden weaponry stopped being a focus in any significant way.

### Primitive Dagorhir

In primitive Dagorhir, there were only a few styles of weaponry available. The shields used were actually just the shields from the wooden weaponry that were left unpadded.

In the primitive era, weaponry was limited to mostly blue weaponry. As such it was common practice for dual weaponry dominate the field. Shields from this era were small and extremely heavy. So to be effective you simply needed to just swing wildly at your opponent. Even with the early two-handed weaponry, this was common place. While not fully understood at the time, '**max range abuse'** was setting a certain class of fighters above the rest.

## Bladed-Conquest Era

Lovingly called "The Wild West of Antioch"

## Insurrection Era

Where red weaponry was concerned, the foundation of being an effective fighter was based off of your ability to build an effective style out of the RED-BLOCK-RED! sequence (Now sometimes fondly, albeit jokingly, called '**bread and butter**')

What made Red-Block-Red so effective was that fighters were quite predictable with their counter attacks. Weaponry was too slow to fake attacks or reliable deliver an offensive onslaught quick enough to punish this technique. It is important to note that, Kelvs were designed with guard breaking in mind. So part of the technique was not only to open with a strike at max range, but a strike so hard that it would effectively slow an opponents advance. Against less-prepared opponents the first strike could guard break them and end the fight immediately.

## War-Bound Era

The War-Bound meta is the era that brought on the most radical shifts in weaponry and technique. In the beginning, much of the fighting style's employed were very similar to

In war-bound both 'Guard Breaking' and 'Bread and Butter' fell from top-tier techniques to more niche/desperate options.

## Reckoning Era

The reckoning era's largest shift in the meta was the introduction of Gen-7 weapons. While not a major disruption of the meta, it began the process of non-elite warriors employing techniques that were strictly used by the Verdish Elite in previous eras. This created a baseline of difficulty in fighting that began producing more skilled fighters at every level. For example, the footman class of fighters in this era were much more skilled and diverse compared to footmen of old.

It became common place for average fighters to understand the concepts of faking, punishing, cooldowns, and selective striking. During this era, the technique known as '**new meta'** started becoming prevalent, but was still very much in competition with '**dodge and strike**'.

Metas Empire-wide were not consistent. In the west, they were regressing in terms of shield technique and had begun rejecting weaponry more advanced than gen-6. For example, it was common place to see extremely large tower shields in the west that used red weaponry as shield arms (a practice not employed since the metas of *primitive dagorhir* and the *bladed conquest era*)