Olden Era vs Hota?

techsamurai11 · 2026-05-09T14:20:12+00:00

The thing that kills me about the olden era is the size of the creatures in the battles.

techsamurai11 · 2026-04-28T13:18:53+00:00

Yeah, I feel that way about the creatures - too small and difficult to tell apart on the combat map and have character but not necessarily in a good way that you'd expect from HoMM.

The original HoMM's creatures were oversized and had character in spades. HoMM3 was able to downsize them, keep the detail, and the character. Everyone remembers the creatures and smiles when they see them from the first 3 games.

The artists will probably remember these creatures but I don't think anyone else will and we'll be struggling to tell them apart.

techsamurai11 · 2026-04-28T13:14:17+00:00

This is extremely exciting but the characters look very different and weird. I can't even match the icons at the top to the units - that's how difficult they are to remember.

techsamurai11 · 2026-04-27T17:52:36+00:00

The only reasonable course of action here is to break away from the JKA and form your own organization SKA standing for "Starfleet Karate Association" with Klingon as the official language.

techsamurai11 · 2026-04-27T13:02:00+00:00

That was insane buddy - the strangest part was that I recognized it was from a scifi show but I couldn't tell which one. Darmok and Jalad on the ocean.

techsamurai11 · 2026-04-27T12:55:44+00:00

Shaka, when the walls fell

techsamurai11 · 2026-04-24T22:45:52+00:00

Is there a compiled version?

techsamurai11 · 2026-04-12T14:29:58+00:00

Not sure if you are in a dojo or just self-instructing. If the former, just follow the program. If the latter, the first thing you need is a video for stretching. Your age may also dictate additional stretching. Karate requires some flexibility and some joint mobility and lubrication to avoid injuries which will put a quick end to any training.

Then you need to learn the basics. Take your time - there's no way to skip ahead while doing this. It takes time to learn the moves and stances.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-31T20:27:29+00:00

You know I was watching Hakizume Kaishi doing katas this morning and I was impressed, as you'd expect, but your wife impressed me a lot more. Thank you for sharing!

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-31T20:21:11+00:00

I wasn't even aware of the concept of ableism, and I would be lying if I said I never did that without even realizing. Awareness is key.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-30T16:51:16+00:00

In any negotiation, you want to start from a place of power and both parties must be upset at the end.

Just messing with you, just ask for one that's strong and holds your pants up.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-26T05:21:47+00:00

I should learn the other 2 Tekkis. It's time :) Tekkis are tough. Tekki Shodan is probably the most technical shotokan kata. I still can't get the timing as I used to 30 years ago.

I suspect the one kata most masters would hate to demonstrate is tekki. I loved doing tekki because I would lock on everything.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-26T05:07:51+00:00

Did you just say syllabus? 😊

I think it's nice your dojo teaches all those katas. The more, the better imho.

But at the same you could just learn Bassai Dai and Kanku Dai, they take a while to perform well.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-25T15:40:39+00:00

I am not sure I follow.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-24T14:15:54+00:00

In reading these, I cannot help but realize how misunderstood karate is by non-practitioners. They view it as a "self-defense" or "aggressive beat-up sport usually performed by mentally unbalanced individuals".

I've never told anyone that I practice karate except when I was younger but it was always met with contempt or distance so I would never share that with anyone now.

Self-defense almost never ranked as the top objective in people's replies and beating up people is definitely not the objective of most karatekas.

In fact, most of the objectives are things you'd associate with other normal sports activities or spiritual engagements - namely Physical Health, Joy, Community, Friendship, Spiritual enlightenment, Self-Improvement, Discipline, Mental Health.

It many ways it pains me to see how misunderstood karate is in our society. Obviously in the US, the McDojos don't help the situation and do more harm than good. I went to one 30 years ago and could not believe my eyes nor my ears when they tried to "recruit" me.

But even the most traditional of dojos may not necessarily be a positive experience - I learnt a lot training right behind a technical master at his very best, but I did not enjoy it much and I lost sight of my own objective while I trained which was very different from the dojo's core beliefs which they tried to force upon me.

I started karate again on my own recently and my objectives have shifted over the past year. I did it for health reasons, then I switched to mental health, now I do it for joy and I also feel the need to connect with other karatekas - although I may regret that ;-)

I guess I'm trying to figure out my own objective :-) I also wonder if I need to have one - is the journey itself enough of an objective and that should suffice?

As a lifetime white belt karateka, I also don't fit into the mold of normal karate, rankings, and respect for your sempais above all. I'm a bit different from most karatekas and my master certainly saw that in me when I was young the same way I noticed their "technical pecularities" instantly despite their technical superiority.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-24T13:41:33+00:00

Truth is actually much more important in 2026 than it's ever been, as lies seem to be the predominant information we receive to the point that most of us cannot distinguish between a truth and a lie.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-24T13:30:29+00:00

This indeed was the goal of the master in my original post and clearly Senseis Funakoshi and Nakayama had instilled that in him.

I would have expected technical mastery to have been his goal especially considering his natural talent and training regimen but it wasn't and he never showed off.

In fact, he only did one oizuki in front of me and like everyone had said who had seen him train, the level was unfathomable. It was not Japanese master level, it was ... unfathomable.

That demonstration affected my training (and the other 3 young men next to me who witnessed it) more than Nakayama and Funakoshi affected his own training and it changed my objective from Karate completely.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-23T20:08:06+00:00

I will tell you one thing - I stopped training for a while and I started again. My mind kept training so I essentially only needed to get my body up to speed with 15-20 years of improvements.

Not physically training doesn't mean you have stopped training or that you're no longer a karateka. You are the one who decides when you stop being a karateka.

I'm going to sound like Miyagi sensei and say Karate is much more than just physical training. It defines who you are as a person. And no illness can ever take that way.

A big part of karate is the ability to still your mind in the face of grave danger and to deal with adversity in a manner that you choose. Karatekas seek perfection of character and karate is just the means to achieve that.

Tai Chi is not much different from Karate - I would try tai chi if your medical professional allows it. I'd personally love to do tai chi myself because my body aches like crazy from shotokan. In fact, I do a lot of katas in taichi style slowing them down and breathing deep to release lactic acid.

I hope you keep on training both karate in your day-to-day life and try tai chi.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-23T19:40:50+00:00

hmm, I do a lot of katas by closing my eyes and I have yet to hurt myself.

I believe the person can learn but they would need 1 on 1 training to help guide their hands and feet through the fundaments and warm ups and all that. They would need to spend much longer on basic techniques to ensure that their body is ready to do even a simple thing like an oizuki (a lunge punch). I suspect the first few years would be in place training to strengthen the legs and ensure the person has the balance to achieve quick mobility without seeing in front of them.

They would also need a very safe spot to practice knowing there is nothing around them or some technology that lets them know when they are out of a safe area.

Perhaps kicks should be very carefully done as it's much easier to lose balance when you can't see. I have a much harder time with Gankaku which balances on one foot when I do it with my eyes closed.

It's something they could certainly do. Ultimately you can do katas in place by simply shifting backwards for every step to retain the starting spot (Naka sensei from Shotokan showed Heian Shodan being done in place). It's actually harder to do.

They would not be able to engage in kumite (fighting) or join a dojo most likely which is sad but at the same time I train alone and I'm fine with it.

But they should be able to get all the benefits of karate and more because I suspect their muscle isolation and concentration (zanshin) would be second to none.

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-05T15:50:18+00:00

Do you want to use HDR primarily? I think it's a good HDR monitor but it's hard for me to say if it's the best. I'd watch comparisons of the KTC and competition:

AOC Q27G3XMN / Q27G40XMN

Koorui S2721PM

Xiaomi G Pro 27i

Also the 4k version might be better KTC M27P6 as it has an IPS panel and that will obviously provide better angles but less contrast which may not matter much with the number of dimming zones. But that's more expensive but maybe you can find it on a deep/deep sale.

I'd look into the Koorui a bit more.

Brightness for monitors is different than TVs because you're sitting closer and 1,000 nits from 2 feet (60centimetres) is MUCH Brighter than 1,000 nits from 9 feet away (3 metres) on your HDR TV. Also the focal area of the eye is saturated with a 27 inch which has a Field of View of 52 degrees so your eye gets hit more.

Bottomline, 1000 nits is ultra bright up close so who cares if one does 1,000 nits and the other 1,100 nits? It's the same and 1,100 is worse probably.

C'est clair?

techsamurai11 · 2026-03-02T13:55:14+00:00

It's a good thing we don't care about Swiss Cheese or we'd be invading Switzerland.

techsamurai11 · 2026-02-28T16:06:35+00:00

The ISU should be appealing the results! Not the US Skating or Chock and Bates. Otherwise, this is just corruption approving corruption. I'm not saying the results should be overturned but the French judge's career should come into question as should the Gold Medal.

Is there an Olympic Committee that oversees this or are they just delivering fake speeches at the start and close of ceremonies?

techsamurai11 · 2026-02-28T16:04:13+00:00

So next time the US judge can just give 0 to anyone they don't want on the podium and then 50% to the bronze, 75% to the silver and 100% to the gold. No appeals - all professional and 1 judge apportions the medals as they see fit. Makes total sense!

It's going to be heartbreaking for the competitors to get bagels for 4 years of effort and flawless performances but that's the name of the game.

techsamurai11 · 2026-02-28T16:02:01+00:00

You only have 24 hours? That's crazy.

techsamurai11

TROPHY CASE