A Return to Martial Artistry

I'm currently enjoying an online combat sequence with my OGG, and really waiting for my old martial artist character to get defeated by another more skilled and more versatile martial artist.

However, the act of fighting as best I can (and losing) is very instructive as it brings me into contact with rules and tactical options and timing issues that I haven't thought about in years -- and in some cases the rules have changed! It's interesting to see the approach my opponent has taken in building his character and in using his character -- sparking my own ideas on how to improve my character while remaining faithful to the original character concept.

Martial artists have always been a fascination of mine in RPGs; in fact, I've always had to take a mental leap in tactics when dealing with any sort of ranged weaponry. My character (the Kawanga Kid) is in fact a "cheat" along those lines by getting a 'stretching' power defined as chain weapons, thus allowing me to use my martial arts at range.

It's odd, though, having had some small background in fighting, when you try to model HTH combat with rules not meant to deal with the intricacies. But then again, at some point, abstraction is necessary in any RPG.