by Crazy Ivan
First, a candid admission. I've written a lot of blog entries where the title promises the "best" of something. Whether it's the Best Myachi, Best Myachi Player, or the Best Trick, there is one thing that all of these articles have in common: I never actually get around to answering the question. I usually spend the whole time drawing "apples to oranges" comparisons to justify my unwillingness to provide a definitive answer.
So before I even get started with this entry, let me tell you in advance that at no point in the following paragraphs will I actually name a person that is the best Fu player. I'm not really going to make any effort to and if I did I would be drawing too large a conclusion based on the information that I actually have.
Instead, I want to talk here about what kind of person would likely be the best Myachi Fu player on the planet. For the purposes of this discussion there's no reason to limit ourselves to people that have actually played the game or even heard of it. What we're looking for instead is a transplant. Someone we could take from one profession and stick into a Fu battle.
The obvious first answer is a martial artist. The whole concept of Fu comes from martial arts and it stands to reason that a talented martial artist would be pretty good at the game really fast. They might not take to the trick element of Myachi as fast as some other select groups, but when it comes to playing Fu, they'll already have all the skills they need; balance, hand speed, body control, fast reactions and full-body coordination. What's more is that I've actually had the chance to play Fu against a few accomplished martial artists in my time and this anecdotal evidence definitely favors the common sense assumptions above.
But there's no reason to limit ourselves to this one sport. Anyone who was skilled in hand to hand combat would likely have a huge advantage in Fu. Sure, body blows and uppercuts wouldn't play into it, but a pugilist would have huge advantages in a game of Fu. Simply knowing how to use good footwork to dictate your opponent's actions is a major part of the game. It also doesn't hurt to be adept at blocking strikes, getting out of the way of an aggressor and redirecting a blow.
And of course, we needn't restrict ourselves to combat sports. I know from experience that football players (specifically offensive linemen) make great Fu players. They can frustrate virtually any attempt to move inside for a strike and can really wear down even a veteran player. Basketball players are fast and used to feigning in and out to get around people so they always end up popping up behind your defenses. Baseball players even have a huge advantage when it comes to catching wayward strikes and desperation passes.
But of course, we can go much further afield than that. Consider the advantage that a lax player has. Considering that cradling a lacrosse ball and verting a Myachi are almost identical skills, it doesn't require much of a stretch of the imagination to see a good lax player translating those skills to Myachi Fu. Fast centrifugal movements combined with the aggressive nature of lacrosse is a pretty likely fit for a great Fu player.
Acrobats and dancers deserve some mention as well. Considering the amount of flexibility and balance that you need to be a true master of Fu, somebody with a head start in that regard could easily surpass the crowd and become a true master of the game. For the same reason, one should consider most "extreme" athletes as well, since virtually all such sports hinge on balance foremost.
So as near as I can tell, the best Myachi Fu player in the world would be a basketball playing, lacrosse phenom ninja acrobat with a penchant for skateboarding. As for the best Fu player in the multiverse... I guess that title would simply go to the life form with the most arms.
Showing posts with label myachi fu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label myachi fu. Show all posts
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
The 4 Essential Tricks for Myachi Fu
by Crazy Ivan
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.
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.
-----
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.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Sometimes I can't Believe They Pay Me...
by Crazy Ivan
When the only part of your workday that stinks is the commute, you know you've got a pretty cool job.
That was certainly the case today. Kid Myach and I did a party out in Jersey today. The party was about 2 and a half hours but the drive home was about 3. A good hour of that was spent creeping along at the speed of touch on our way into the Lincoln Tunnel.
But why focus on the bad part when there was so much good part? The party itself was as awesome as any Myachi party I've ever done. The whole family was awesome, all the kids there were cool (and had sick skills), there was plenty of room to play and there was free Mountain Dew. Anybody who knows me probably knows that I'd have done the party just for the free Dew.
So first let me set the stage. The kids whose party it was had met a couple of the Myachi Masters in the Toys R Us in Totowa a while back. I believe they'd met Bones and Bamboo and at least one of the party-goers had met Animal, Noodles and Mav as well. But most of what they know about the game they know from the various tentacles of our online outreach.
Anyway, Kid and I show up mad early (traffic was easy on us on the way out) and when we drive up to the house we see 15 dudes in the drive way all playing MYACH and Fu. Four of them are already wearing Myachi shirts and before we can even get out of the car we're getting surrounded.
So after a brief barrage of "can you show me this trick?", "how much is this Myachi worth?", "is there a name for this trick?", "you have anything to trade for this?", "which Myachi Master is the best at ...?" and "what am I doing wrong on this trick?" type questions, we got the party started.
Now, honestly, it was fun enough that I could give a play by play account of every contest without running out of stuff to say, but there was one moment that stood out like no other, and I think it typified what an awesome day it was.
Among the many games we played was a 7 on 7 Fu battle with Kid Myach leading one team and me leading the other. We were playing where everyone had a Myachi and only one life. Once all the members of one team were out, the other team won. The idea was that we would do best 2 out of 3. My team all wore Myachi beanies (so we were the "Beanies") and Kid's team went hatless ("Team Beast" for some reason).
Kid's team marched all over us in the first round and were poised to do it again in the second. In the second round i got knocked out pretty early and my teammates were dropping like flies. After a few minutes we paused the game for a second and realized that only one member of our team remained. Kid's team still had 4 players, including Kid Myach. Kid has a bit of an advantage, of course, since he's at least two and a half feet taller than anyone else there.
So this dude (Rex) is surrounded. 4 players against one and they still had 2 of their 3 best strikers on the floor (not including Kid). So Rex goes into full-on berserker mode and blows up with a rampage that would make Wolverine jealous. He fakes left, spins right, cuts behind Kid Myach and takes out one member of their team. Before he can turn back, his own brother (who was on Kid's team) grabs hold of him and yanks him back, knocking the Myachi off his hand.
But the game isn't over. It was clearly an illegal tackle so Rex gets to pick his Myachi back up and the tackler has to do 30 seconds in the penalty box. This makes it a two on one game and by now that seems easy to this guy. He held off 4 players long enough that nobody thought he was at a disadvantage when he only had to face two.
Not surprisingly, he took one of them out quick. That left him facing off one on one against Kid Myach... and the clock was ticking. By that time his brother only had about 12 seconds left on his penalty so if he couldn't take Kid out quickly it would be two against one again... and it would be the two best Fu players at the party that weren't him.
The one on one was classic. Kid was doing a lot of high throw defenses and eventually that did him in. He went to toss the sack from right hand back to left and Rex cut in between, altered the angle of the Myachi and took Kid out with only seconds left on the penalty. Then we were treated to another one on one match up as his bro came out of penalty.
I can't possibly explain how good these guys are at Fu, but they've clearly played each other plenty of times before. The final match was amazing and despite the fact that Rex had been giving it his all for the last 30 seconds while his opponent was resting in the penalty box gave him a clear disadvantage. Despite that, he eventually managed a total victory and kept our team alive.
So, to sum all that up, this dude was taking on 4 players, including one Myachi Master (and one of the tall ones at that) and won. It was the biggest Fu comeback I've ever witnessed.
that Yellow Jacket.
There were a lot of other games and a lot of other great moments, including several other heroic saves and incredible tricks from a number of the party-goers, but I figured if I was going to share one that was the one to share. So if you guys are reading this, thanks for having Kid and I out for the party. It was way more fun than anyone should be paid to have.
When the only part of your workday that stinks is the commute, you know you've got a pretty cool job.
That was certainly the case today. Kid Myach and I did a party out in Jersey today. The party was about 2 and a half hours but the drive home was about 3. A good hour of that was spent creeping along at the speed of touch on our way into the Lincoln Tunnel.
But why focus on the bad part when there was so much good part? The party itself was as awesome as any Myachi party I've ever done. The whole family was awesome, all the kids there were cool (and had sick skills), there was plenty of room to play and there was free Mountain Dew. Anybody who knows me probably knows that I'd have done the party just for the free Dew.
So first let me set the stage. The kids whose party it was had met a couple of the Myachi Masters in the Toys R Us in Totowa a while back. I believe they'd met Bones and Bamboo and at least one of the party-goers had met Animal, Noodles and Mav as well. But most of what they know about the game they know from the various tentacles of our online outreach.
Anyway, Kid and I show up mad early (traffic was easy on us on the way out) and when we drive up to the house we see 15 dudes in the drive way all playing MYACH and Fu. Four of them are already wearing Myachi shirts and before we can even get out of the car we're getting surrounded.
So after a brief barrage of "can you show me this trick?", "how much is this Myachi worth?", "is there a name for this trick?", "you have anything to trade for this?", "which Myachi Master is the best at ...?" and "what am I doing wrong on this trick?" type questions, we got the party started.
Now, honestly, it was fun enough that I could give a play by play account of every contest without running out of stuff to say, but there was one moment that stood out like no other, and I think it typified what an awesome day it was.
Among the many games we played was a 7 on 7 Fu battle with Kid Myach leading one team and me leading the other. We were playing where everyone had a Myachi and only one life. Once all the members of one team were out, the other team won. The idea was that we would do best 2 out of 3. My team all wore Myachi beanies (so we were the "Beanies") and Kid's team went hatless ("Team Beast" for some reason).
Kid's team marched all over us in the first round and were poised to do it again in the second. In the second round i got knocked out pretty early and my teammates were dropping like flies. After a few minutes we paused the game for a second and realized that only one member of our team remained. Kid's team still had 4 players, including Kid Myach. Kid has a bit of an advantage, of course, since he's at least two and a half feet taller than anyone else there.
So this dude (Rex) is surrounded. 4 players against one and they still had 2 of their 3 best strikers on the floor (not including Kid). So Rex goes into full-on berserker mode and blows up with a rampage that would make Wolverine jealous. He fakes left, spins right, cuts behind Kid Myach and takes out one member of their team. Before he can turn back, his own brother (who was on Kid's team) grabs hold of him and yanks him back, knocking the Myachi off his hand.
But the game isn't over. It was clearly an illegal tackle so Rex gets to pick his Myachi back up and the tackler has to do 30 seconds in the penalty box. This makes it a two on one game and by now that seems easy to this guy. He held off 4 players long enough that nobody thought he was at a disadvantage when he only had to face two.
Not surprisingly, he took one of them out quick. That left him facing off one on one against Kid Myach... and the clock was ticking. By that time his brother only had about 12 seconds left on his penalty so if he couldn't take Kid out quickly it would be two against one again... and it would be the two best Fu players at the party that weren't him.
The one on one was classic. Kid was doing a lot of high throw defenses and eventually that did him in. He went to toss the sack from right hand back to left and Rex cut in between, altered the angle of the Myachi and took Kid out with only seconds left on the penalty. Then we were treated to another one on one match up as his bro came out of penalty.
I can't possibly explain how good these guys are at Fu, but they've clearly played each other plenty of times before. The final match was amazing and despite the fact that Rex had been giving it his all for the last 30 seconds while his opponent was resting in the penalty box gave him a clear disadvantage. Despite that, he eventually managed a total victory and kept our team alive.
So, to sum all that up, this dude was taking on 4 players, including one Myachi Master (and one of the tall ones at that) and won. It was the biggest Fu comeback I've ever witnessed.
that Yellow Jacket.
There were a lot of other games and a lot of other great moments, including several other heroic saves and incredible tricks from a number of the party-goers, but I figured if I was going to share one that was the one to share. So if you guys are reading this, thanks for having Kid and I out for the party. It was way more fun than anyone should be paid to have.
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