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Lucario and Kung-Fu

Tallen

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
388
Location
Brazil (surprised?)
A while ago i mentioned how Lucario's moves looked really similar to that of a kung-fu fighter. Quite a few people asked me about it afterwards in private messages. WELL. If everyone's so interested i thought I would give them the entire picture.
This is NOT directly related to how to become a better Lucario player, however in this you might get some insight in how to make the most out of him (there's a reason why I went from a average Samus user to and amazing Luc user).

Kung-Fu
In a nutshell: kung-fu has fourteen different fighting styles, all based in the twelve chineese zodiac animals (dragon, horse, tiger...), along with the cat style (who was kicked out of the zodiac in chineese mythology but ever since does his best to get back in) and the Drunk style (swear to got I'm not kidding).
Every style has it's own advantages and downsides, much like every character in Smash Bros. The Bear style is the most out-going style, who depends in quick knockouts with forcible strenght to defeat his opponents, the Snake style is about slowly neutralizing one of the opponents arms or legs (hitting key points in the opponents anatomy to make his moves sluggish), the Tiger style is around counterattacks, and so on.

The Swan and the Lucario
The Swan style is one of the most unique fighting styles in kung-fu. Wrongly suspected of being weak due to its name, the Swan has a huge potential of being a strong style if whoever uses it know how to make the most out of it (much like Lucario himself). The dimensional opposite of the Bear: the Swan is about tiring your opponents first, forcing them to make openings for the Swan user to defeat him after a long match. Most of the Swan moves are about blocking and counterattack, with some moves that take advantage of weak-defended spots like the neck and feet. Though not visually impressive, it can be devastating against any fighting style.
Which brings us back to Lucario. Ever since I went into the training zone to try him out I noticed the similarities. Firstly the fighting stance: they're the same. Left hand extended ahead so as to block moves more efficiently and right hand behind to attack with more force when an opening comes. Also, most of the moves relate to kung-fu in some way, especially the idea of Aura (in Kung-fu known as Chi or Ki).
As an example, go to training zone and do Lucario's full-charged down smash, full-charged forward smash, double-team, neutral air and down taunt. See the way he moves his arms?? Watch this video and prepare to be freaked out:
http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=ibI2PR4AUUo
PS: this video is from my kung-fu academy here in Brazil!!

So what does the Swan say?
Pretty much everything about Lucario. They're not about quick, effortless matches and show-off moves. They're both about thinking ahead, knowing how to make the most of the current situation, and forcing the opponent to make a mistake and taking full advantage of it. (want to know why I like double-team so much?? that's why.) The Swan is about resistance (you need to last longer than the opponent in battle), and concentration (never lose your focus halfway through the battle), BOTH of which apply to Lucario players. The idea is: never lose your focus, keep your head cool through the entire fight.

Hope that's some interesting insight. Sorry for the long post: swear I tried really hard to keep it small but that was just not possible XD.
Any questions I'm right here. Hope all of this proves useful or at least interesting. *thumbs up!!*
 

Skrye

Smash Rookie
Joined
Apr 25, 2008
Messages
6
I think he's sort of a combination of kung-fu and shidokan, because he has some combos locked in by stepping and pivoting in a way that places you in good position for defending (double team, shield, etc.)
 

Milln

Smash Champion
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Messages
2,625
Location
Tennessee
I agree with Tallen. Especially on the fact that Lucario nearly REQUIRES a calm and collected player with the ability to focus and calculate.
 

Tallen

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
388
Location
Brazil (surprised?)
Interesting. I was thinking more of a Shao-Lin type fighting, seeing as each stance was very solid, stable, much like that of Shao-Lin.
Well, whut-ever. :p
you know shaolin IS a kung-fu type right?
Actually what you learn in a dojo is a combination of styles. Shaolin is a combination of the Swan, the Lion, the Snake and the Monkey. My kung-fu is Choy-Lay-Fut (currently the one with most adepts around the world), it is a combination of the Swan, the Tiger, the Dragon and the Bear.

lol @ the music in the video
it helps us keep the rythm XD those movements we are doing in there are something called Kati, a series of moves that show you are proficient in your current rank and fighting style in kung-fu.
 

One_With_Sumthing

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Nov 7, 2006
Messages
125
Location
Orange County, CA
you know shaolin IS a kung-fu type right?
Actually what you learn in a dojo is a combination of styles. Shaolin is a combination of the Swan, the Lion, the Snake and the Monkey. My kung-fu is Choy-Lay-Fut (currently the one with most adepts around the world), it is a combination of the Swan, the Tiger, the Dragon and the Bear.



it helps us keep the rythm XD those movements we are doing in there are something called Kati, a series of moves that show you are proficient in your current rank and fighting style in kung-fu.
I know that [or did I], I was just thinking that it wasn't only swan. What kind of a swan shoots aura balls anyways? :p
 
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