I had my Aikido grading.
For the uninitiated, Aikido is a Japanese martial arts that uses and redirects the opponent's attacking energy back onto themselves. Aikido's techniques are very practical in real life situations and are used for disabling and/or disarming an attacker and can be quite lethal if you really intend to hurt the attacker. Aikido means "The Way of Harmony".
The grading system goes like this:
6th Kyu (n00bs)
5th Kyu (university/college n00bs start here)
4th Kyu
3rd Kyu (where I was before)
2nd Kyu (where I am now)
1st Kyu
Shodan/1st Dan
2nd Dan
3rd Dan
4th Dan (the highest rank you can get from grading, the other ranks are given as honors - current highest rank in Malaysia is my instructor, Low Sensei)
7th Dan (Steven Segal sensei)
8th Dan (Seiichi Sugano Shihan* who is the Shihan* for us)
*Shihan - a master's master
Our grading involves doing techniques as the instructors grading us tells us to do.
All this is done non-stop for both the uke(attacker) and nage(defender).
In the 5th Kyu's case, they have to do 6 techniques before they can pass. In their case, it takes roughly 15 minutes per person to finish his/her technique which means for 5th Kyu graders, they are doing techniques for 1/2 hrs non-stop.
In my case, 2nd Kyu grading has about 40++ techniques...
Lets just say, it's like running a marathon carrying 30 Kg backpacks with no water for 10km. Aikido really trains your stamina during grading. O_O
We did the techniques roughly 30-40 minutes per person. Which is about 1 hr non-stop.
I'm glad I managed to pass. Now, I'll have to prepare for 1st Kyu. :p
Monday, February 28, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
My Life (Or Lack Of One) - New Year
LayZee virus alert!!!
Yeah, I've been infected... for a long, long time already.
No updates for... how long? And I think I stopped half-way through my view of Online Games.
Went home to Melaka for the Chinese New Year.
My family always gather around my Grandma's house for any family gatherings.
We had the usual yee sang and the reunion dinner.
(No photos for now, not until I get my hands on my own camera phone... :D )
Too bad one of my cousin's studying in UK and can't make it back home.
Didn't know that Chinese New Year is not a holiday in UK.
He still had to go for classes.
We did use a webcam and chat with him through yahoo, though.
Looks bright and sunny over there... go figure.
I got reminded of how hot Melaka is normally is.
The only nice thing to do in the afternoon is to lie down in bed with the windows wide open and let the breeze lull you to sleep (FYI - this always happens to me when I was lying down and studying in my high school years, I always end up sleeping... hehe >:) )
Every night, I'd go to sleep and wake up with sweat on my back if I don't put the fan speed to 3 at least. It's really hot, and I wonder if it's gotten a tad hotter.
Yeah, I've been infected... for a long, long time already.
No updates for... how long? And I think I stopped half-way through my view of Online Games.
Went home to Melaka for the Chinese New Year.
My family always gather around my Grandma's house for any family gatherings.
We had the usual yee sang and the reunion dinner.
(No photos for now, not until I get my hands on my own camera phone... :D )
Too bad one of my cousin's studying in UK and can't make it back home.
Didn't know that Chinese New Year is not a holiday in UK.
He still had to go for classes.
We did use a webcam and chat with him through yahoo, though.
Looks bright and sunny over there... go figure.
I got reminded of how hot Melaka is normally is.
The only nice thing to do in the afternoon is to lie down in bed with the windows wide open and let the breeze lull you to sleep (FYI - this always happens to me when I was lying down and studying in my high school years, I always end up sleeping... hehe >:) )
Every night, I'd go to sleep and wake up with sweat on my back if I don't put the fan speed to 3 at least. It's really hot, and I wonder if it's gotten a tad hotter.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Online Gaming
Ok, here's my second post.
I havent been posting because I'm busy with work.
And of course I'm a bit new to this blogging thing (which is another excuse for being lazy).
I'm really into online games. Design-wise, that is. (I play any kinds of games).
For one thing, it's all the socializing. Offline games lack this, even with multiplayer options available it still pales in comparison with what online games can offer.
Socializing
And contrary to what people believe, online games help PROMOTE socializing compared to socializing in RL. Gamers are NOT the social recluse that most people think.
Hey, how often do you see a guy in real life going up to a stranger and says, "Hey, wanna hang out together?". More often than not, they'll think you're some kind of nut.
Fact is, in real life, when talking to total strangers, people might shun you because of the way you look (you're fat, skinny, too ugly, race, skin color, clothes, I don't like the way his ears look etc).
But in online games, all of these visual cues are eliminted.
You can go up to a person and say"Hey, Priest, lets party and go levelling" and he'll just think, "(hmm... a Knight), Sure, why not?" And this is the norm. Whatever differences you have in the real world is put aside.
And you will always have a topic of discussion, "Hey, have you seen that huge monster in the new patch?" Having a common interest also helps in socializing. I mean you don't go up to a football fan and talk about basketball. The other guy'll lose interest and you'll find that your conversation is hanging or one sided.
Game Types
There are many terms used when mentioning online games. Some call it Online Games (duh), Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) or Persistent State Worlds (PSWs). All these acronyms can be confusing so, I'm going to explain a bit about them.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) are just a subset of MMOGs.
These kinds of games normally have players selecting a character, selecting a class/race/faction, he usual levelling up your character by level grinidng, quests, item/weapon/armor/mobile crafting etc. (E.g.: Ragnarok Online, World of Warcraft, ROSE Online, Maple Story, Ultima Online, Everquest, City of Heroes etc). These are the most abundant and what most people think when you say MMOG.
But there are other types of MMOGs around. They don't require you to level grind or adjust your stats etc. These kinds include A Tale In The Desert, There and Sims Online.
We also have another kind of Online Games where many people may be online at the same time but only a few play the actual game together. These types are normally casual online games. Meaning, people come, play awhile when they are free and leave. Not much commitment needed. Such games include Gunbound, O2 Jam and Survival Project.
In my opinion, all these games are also known as PSWs because no matter what happens, they still exist. People will still play them for a long long time, until the developers decided to pull the plug on the game, that is.
The there's the lesser known web-based online games. Most of these games are text and are strategy type yet many people still play them. Examples include Utopia, Earth 2025 and Archmage.
Ugh... I've rambled too long. :p
Gomen gomen.
I'll continue more on my thoughts on online games another time.
I havent been posting because I'm busy with work.
And of course I'm a bit new to this blogging thing (which is another excuse for being lazy).
I'm really into online games. Design-wise, that is. (I play any kinds of games).
For one thing, it's all the socializing. Offline games lack this, even with multiplayer options available it still pales in comparison with what online games can offer.
Socializing
And contrary to what people believe, online games help PROMOTE socializing compared to socializing in RL. Gamers are NOT the social recluse that most people think.
Hey, how often do you see a guy in real life going up to a stranger and says, "Hey, wanna hang out together?". More often than not, they'll think you're some kind of nut.
Fact is, in real life, when talking to total strangers, people might shun you because of the way you look (you're fat, skinny, too ugly, race, skin color, clothes, I don't like the way his ears look etc).
But in online games, all of these visual cues are eliminted.
You can go up to a person and say"Hey, Priest, lets party and go levelling" and he'll just think, "(hmm... a Knight), Sure, why not?" And this is the norm. Whatever differences you have in the real world is put aside.
And you will always have a topic of discussion, "Hey, have you seen that huge monster in the new patch?" Having a common interest also helps in socializing. I mean you don't go up to a football fan and talk about basketball. The other guy'll lose interest and you'll find that your conversation is hanging or one sided.
Game Types
There are many terms used when mentioning online games. Some call it Online Games (duh), Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) or Persistent State Worlds (PSWs). All these acronyms can be confusing so, I'm going to explain a bit about them.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) are just a subset of MMOGs.
These kinds of games normally have players selecting a character, selecting a class/race/faction, he usual levelling up your character by level grinidng, quests, item/weapon/armor/mobile crafting etc. (E.g.: Ragnarok Online, World of Warcraft, ROSE Online, Maple Story, Ultima Online, Everquest, City of Heroes etc). These are the most abundant and what most people think when you say MMOG.
But there are other types of MMOGs around. They don't require you to level grind or adjust your stats etc. These kinds include A Tale In The Desert, There and Sims Online.
We also have another kind of Online Games where many people may be online at the same time but only a few play the actual game together. These types are normally casual online games. Meaning, people come, play awhile when they are free and leave. Not much commitment needed. Such games include Gunbound, O2 Jam and Survival Project.
In my opinion, all these games are also known as PSWs because no matter what happens, they still exist. People will still play them for a long long time, until the developers decided to pull the plug on the game, that is.
The there's the lesser known web-based online games. Most of these games are text and are strategy type yet many people still play them. Examples include Utopia, Earth 2025 and Archmage.
Ugh... I've rambled too long. :p
Gomen gomen.
I'll continue more on my thoughts on online games another time.
At killarkai's Request
This is the opening of the SUD. :p
The story.
And you're off.
Create your character. At the moment, only the Combat Mastery skill is available. I didn't do the others (so sue me).
And here's your stat, randomly generated.
What you have in your pocket for now. Pathetic aint it?
Now you're in control.
Oh no! Big bad monster. Gotta kill it or save my cowardly skin and flee!
And the battle rages on. What excitement! Can you feel the adrenaline pounding in your ears!?
Friday, January 28, 2005
My first blog
Yeah, just another stinkin' blog.
I joined some time ago but couldn't think of anything to say.
So, I thought, what the heck, I'll just blog about my favourite subjects!
Anime, Games and Designing Games!
Game designing is something I'm very interested in.
I'm not an official Game Designer yet though I am working(hard) towards that goal.
I am not some newbie who thinks that designing games are easy and that they can make great games based on a few senteces like "It'll be something like Warcraft 3 and Half Life 2! It'll be cool!"
I DO know how much work it will take to make a good game (anybody can make a game) I have designed and made a few in my University years.
As a matter of fact, most of my computing projects are games.
Gee... I wonder why. ;;)
Out of the 5 games I designed, only 2 are what I considered a success... albeit a minor one.
One was a text based, game which looks like a single player MUD (a SUD? :p) based on a game book I played in my past (Lone Wolf roxx!!) and the other was a plat form fighting game made using the Yaroze (a developer version of the PS one). The others are total failures... big time!
Anyways, my ideas on game design are my own.
I do get inspiration from reading articles in Gamasutra or get valuable insights in the IGDA forums as well as my local Game Developer Community forum, MyGDC (I'd say we are a pretty close knit group).
Okay... that was alot. :p
And all about my past and nothing design-ish.
I think I'll blog more about my game concepts another time.
It's getting late and I need to work tomorrow.
Shigoto shigoto ^o^
I joined some time ago but couldn't think of anything to say.
So, I thought, what the heck, I'll just blog about my favourite subjects!
Anime, Games and Designing Games!
Game designing is something I'm very interested in.
I'm not an official Game Designer yet though I am working(hard) towards that goal.
I am not some newbie who thinks that designing games are easy and that they can make great games based on a few senteces like "It'll be something like Warcraft 3 and Half Life 2! It'll be cool!"
I DO know how much work it will take to make a good game (anybody can make a game) I have designed and made a few in my University years.
As a matter of fact, most of my computing projects are games.
Gee... I wonder why. ;;)
Out of the 5 games I designed, only 2 are what I considered a success... albeit a minor one.
One was a text based, game which looks like a single player MUD (a SUD? :p) based on a game book I played in my past (Lone Wolf roxx!!) and the other was a plat form fighting game made using the Yaroze (a developer version of the PS one). The others are total failures... big time!
Anyways, my ideas on game design are my own.
I do get inspiration from reading articles in Gamasutra or get valuable insights in the IGDA forums as well as my local Game Developer Community forum, MyGDC (I'd say we are a pretty close knit group).
Okay... that was alot. :p
And all about my past and nothing design-ish.
I think I'll blog more about my game concepts another time.
It's getting late and I need to work tomorrow.
Shigoto shigoto ^o^
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