I am going to focus on feedback for the first video, because as you said that one will be performed many more times:
- Did that slanted ground give the two of you any trouble?
- I personally found the constant weapon changes a bit distracting. You both had to slow down to make careful throws, which really cut into the flow of things.
- The back kicks need work, they often weren't even extended.
- In general your strikes could use more force behind them, for instance at 1:36 those two swings had zero stance and power backing them.
Things I liked:
- I like the idea of peaceful form work in the beginning being interrupted by a fight. It's a concept I've suggested to my own group before.
- Around 0:53 when you both come back in to reengage felt suitably epic.
- The incorporation of so much unarmed combat is great, and seldom seen with lightsaber performances.
Thanks, I figured there was a way to do it, I just didn't have the time XD The slant of the ground did really F with us. Near the end I lost momentum on my back roll and stand up because of it (and fatigue) We will be performing on mostly flat surfaces in the future. As for the kicks, that is something we always have to warm up ahead of time to get the spacing and things right but we didn't have enough time this performance because we were both more concerned with our other fight and the memorization.
THIS WAS AWESOME. Seeing people actually put the force into their duels is always a welcome treat! Good Show would love to see more in the future!
Cool! I like the flow of the wushu in there!
Good stuff. I have to ask though as I can't quite see it: is the guy in the background who tosses you things and kicks them away wearing a shirt that says "The Force". If so, well done. Well done indeed. In a related question, would you consider having him run out onto the field and choke or push people when appropriate?
Thanks all! We really wanted to incorporate some open hand fighting because of our shared Wushu background. And yes, his shirt does say the Force. That was my idea
He has been asked about tackling people int he future and he is totally down for it XD We just have to figure out how to put it in. Also, the video cut it off, but after I kill her and walk away, he crosses the field and picks her up and 'absorbs her' into the Force.
Hello! I'm looking through the fights you posted and the others on your playlist. Enjoying it so far.
Few questions and notes on the first fight:
- How did the gauntlet block sell to the audience? Not a lot of people in the general population know/care about Lightsaber Resistant Materials like Phrik or Cortosis. I've seen fights where audience has called foul on the use, as many see a lightsaber as a cutall weapon. Curious to see how it worked for your team, it might have been easier considering the prominence of the gauntlet in costuming. The best way is to have the attacker treat that block as something clearly not normal. It tells the audience that one of these opponents is not playing by the rules.
- The fight uses the terrain a lot, which is a good thing, but it tends to go EVERYWHERE. This can turn in to a mess, especially as the audience has to keep tracking you. I would suggest tightening it up if you're using that space again.
- I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but take your time with this fight. Allow the audience to see and register the hits, allow yourself and your partner to set up for the next chain. Use the force power use in this, allow it as a break to add tension and to give yourselves a break. This will make the fight look cleaner. This felt like a 3 minute+ match in 2:30. Allow it and yourselves the time to breathe. The audience will appreciate it too.
- The use of the stage hand for weapon swaps with the force is amazing. You don't really see that used much actively in the fight.
Overall, this was a great fight that can be made greater. I hope you share the next iteration with us again.
Thanks! We had some pretty great tallent at this performance. The gauntlet didn't get much of a reaction at all. Our audience was 4-12 year olds so if they cared, they didn't say anything. Everyone was just really excited in general (kids are such an easy audience XD) It would probably help in a darker performance space because the gauntlet actually lights up.
We are Wushu athletes and we are used to our forms needing to hit all four corners of a performance space when being judged so we kept that mentality for our fight. But I will definitely talk to her about sticking in one place more. I didn't even think of it as distracting.
When we usually practice, it runs at about 2:45. Adrenalin sped it up and we went faster then normal. We were also told we couldn't g over 3 minutes and we knew we were close so we were nervous about any pauses.
I thought having him clear the weapons was awesome too
that was my idea, as was the shirt. When she force pushes my saber away after disarming me the second time, he usually swings it around and runs off with it but there wasn't space
Thanks again to everyone whos posted so far! Keep the critiques coming
