One of the many ways we track the evolution of Myachi is through the popular games that we play with it. As the game gets bigger, the preeminent Myachi game has shifted 3 times and we seem to be in the middle of a fourth epic shift. Over the years Chaos gave way to Golf and Golf gave way to MYACH and now it seems clear that Fu is sweeping in and overtaking MYACH as the most popular game in Myachi.
I don't think the shift is complete quite yet. I would guess that there are still more MYACH players than Myachi Fu players, if for no other reason than the game is spread out and you can't play Fu over your webcam, but there are many indicators that the Fu will soon supplant MYACH.
The first place that we've seen this shift historically is within the Myachi movement. When I joined the company, Golf was still the most popular Myachi game but Animal, Butter and I favored MYACH. It might be hard to believe now, but back then, we represented the younger generation of Myachi Masters (even though I'm 10 years older than Animal).
Today we're seeing a similar shift as our newest generation of masters slowly gravitate more to Fu than MYACH. Again, we're not talking about a transition that has happened, but rather about one that is happening currently. I'm actually having a lot of fun watching the signposts that are marking this shift and I saw one the other day at FAO. For the first time, I met a dude who played Myachi. When I asked him what his favorite trick was, he said, "I don't really do tricks, but I'm good at Fu."
And he was. I played him 3 rounds on the spot (it was slow) and he was quick with super-fast hand switches and really competent leg work. But he couldn't do a 360 and when I showed him an under the leg, he was trying it for the first time.
In the past that would be unthinkable... somebody who plays Myachi but doesn't know tricks? Even when the game was primarily Chaos and it was all about the toss and catch, everyone still knew the Under the Leg and the 360. But this dude had clearly spent some serious time with a Myachi on his hand and it had never really occurred to him to do an Under the Leg.
I was really fired up about this. He'd seen people doing tricks and that hadn't interested him, but when he saw a few friends playing Fu, he wanted in. He's a martial artist and he saw the benefits (and point) of the game right away. And (I can't emphasize this enough) he was good. Not just "I'm-a-grown-up-and-he's-14-so-I'm-being-nice" good, but actually, genuinely good. He scored a solid point on me when I wasn't even close to "going easy" mode.
So now that I know that there's at least one person who just plays Fu and doesn't focus on the tricks, I think it's a safe assumption that there are more. And if not, there will be. So it's about time to start representing them here on the Myachi Blog.
Obviously, if you want to be good at Fu, there are a few tricks you will have to know. Even if freestyle isn't your thing, you can no more master Fu without these tricks than you could master basketball without learning to dribble. These aren't usually the 4 basics we teach because they're not the most important moves to learn first if you're going to do a bunch of freestyle shredding, but if your only goal is to be a great Fu player, here's where you should start:
#1) The Half Pipe
This move is essentially the "dribble" of Fu. You can never afford to let your hand rest in a game of Fu. It should almost always be in motion and you need control during that motion. The Half Pipe is a super-easy move to do, sure, but it isn't as easy to master. You need to be able to Half Pipe really quickly and, just as important, you need how to stop the Half Pipe motion on a dime to react to your opponents attack.
Just as important is being ambidextrous. In Fu, everybody has to be a South Paw from time to time and you've got to have equal control with both hands. After all, if you're protecting your Myachi with your dominant hand, you'll never have it free for attacks.
And, of course, that same motion will be employed in the next move, which is actually more important, but not as easy to learn right away.
#2) The Vert
If you can't Vert, you can't win against someone who can. Being able to raise your Myachi up and out of trouble without losing control of it is essential if you're going against an experienced opponent. In fact, mastering a lefty and righty Vert can be enough to completely wipe out a height advantage in a game against a player without a Vert.
The reason is obvious. If you can't Vert, you're in serious trouble every time you have to raise the Myachi above your chest. That just gives you less space in which to work your defense. A quick Vert will also allow you to correct a bad catch without leaving yourself open to attack.
If I had to list a single, quintessential move for mastering Fu, this would be it. Practice this one a lot and go for speed. Use both hands (obviously) and try to do as many full Verts as you can in 60 seconds. Then try to do more. Then try to do more. If you can Vert fast enough, you'll find yourself making attacks with the hand you have your Myachi on. That makes for a nearly unbeatable offense... unless your opponent has a Vert as fast as yours.
#3) The Fu
Pretty obvious that in a game called "Myachi Fu", you're going to have to know how to do the move called "The Fu", but despite that, a lot of players underestimate its importance. To illustrate it, let me start with something really obvious. If your opponent is attacking your right hand, the best defense is to have the Myachi in your left hand.
Considering that, you need to have a super fast way to switch from one hand to another. The Fu is the swap move that offers you the most control. A Fusion move relies on gravity so you have to wait for the Myachi to come to you, but a Fu uses centrifugal force so you can move as fast as your hands will allow without sacrificing control of the Myachi.
Now, usually when people think about the Fu, they think of it as a continuous swap back and forth. That's useful in a game because you can stand back from your opponent quickly swapping so they don't know what hand you're going to attack with. Once they commit, you can come out of your furiously fast Fu and attack with whichever hand suits you. But even more important than having a fast back and forth is having a single, quick, controlled exchange.
I know it sounds weird, but don't just practice going back and forth. You also need to practice just doing one Fu and then going into some lefty centrifugals (and, of course, going back and going straight into some righty centrifugals). You have to be able to instantaneously switch hands and have control of that Myachi right away. Good Half-Pipe and Vert work will help you defensively, but a fast enough Fu will set you up for some great offense as well.
#4) The Slash
This is definitely the most underestimated move in Fu and that's odd because it's probably also the most common. It is so common and so rarely talked about that a lot of Fu players probably do that move without even realizing that it is a move.
The reason is clear. The Slash is virtually never used in freestyle. It's a utilitarian move; you use it because you need to, not because you want to. You would never call a Slash in a MYACH combo. You would never add it to your freestyle program. But if you want to master the game of Fu, you'll need it to be as natural as walking.
I don't want to over-emphasize the importance of a good slash, but I've played several games of Fu where a Slash has made the difference between winning and losing. If you move in close to your opponent, it can be easy to isolate their "attack" hand. Basically you just move one of your shoulders in between their shoulders. This allows you to focus in on their defensive hand and it doesn't allow them to pull off a hand switch (unless they go crazy and do a Dare Devil).
Of course, if you have a solid Slash, it's easy to get out of this. You can move the Myachi to the opposing side of your body quickly without switching hands at all and this completely negates such an attack. In fact, in a sense it reverses it, since now both of your hands are on the side opposite your opponent's attacking hand.
If you doubt the utility of this move, just watch two friends playing Fu and count up the times you see it. Odds are that even if they've never heard of such a move, they'll use it several times. But of course, if they haven't practiced it, it might be to their detriment. It's easy to overdo this move and not stop the forward momentum of the Myachi. This results in the Myachi flying off your hand at the end and scoring a point against you. Thus the importance of practicing.
Honorable Mention) Behind the Back
I hesitate to mention this one because you could play a dozen rounds of Fu without ever using a Behind the Back, but the effect is so devastating when you do that it's worth inclusion on this list. Some people accuse you of "show boating" if you do a Behind the Back in the middle of a Fu battle. It just looks so good and seems so flashy that it almost has to be show boating right?
Well, to be honest, a lot of the time it is. I would say that only about 1 out of 3 Behind the Backs I see in Fu are legitimately strategic moves. After all, you're taking your eye off the ball no matter how you look at it. It's a dangerous move for a lot of reasons, but foremost of these is that it is a move that relies on gravity. You have to wait for the Myachi to come to you and that means you're at a serious momentary disadvantage.
So why would you ever do it? Well, if you're good enough at it and you do it at the right time, it will all but guarantee you a point. Here's how: you get your opponent to a point where they're defending with the hand that mirrors you. Let's say they're defending lefty and you're defending righty. You're in a pretty standard position, doing Verts out behind you with your left hand in front and your opponent is circling around toward your right hand.
Now here's the kill shot: You let him or her in. They see an opportunity that they think was a mistake and as they pursue it they step past your offensive hand. If you can snap a quick behind the back here, they're chasing an empty hand and, if you can bring your Myachi under control fast enough to spin out of it, they're standing with their back to you and their Myachi out behind them.
It is a devastating blow that almost always earns a point, but that's not the only time you'll find a need for a Behind the Back. Any time you're in serious trouble it's an option worth considering. It negates any advantage someone might have gained on you immediately, but only if you're really fast and really accurate. You have to really snap that behind the back over your shoulder and your left hand has to be able to go straight into some defensive work, but if you master it, it will drive your opponents crazy.
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There are, of course, plenty of other moves that we could add to this list. A solid Heartbeat, a really solid Daredevil, Cross-Overs, Ninjas, etc. But ultimately anything you learn freestyling will benefit you when you're playing Fu. Because when all the chips are down and your Myachi is flying through the air undefended, the only thing that matters is if you can catch it when things go wrong. And that's something freestylers have to learn early.
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