ecovolo
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"Ich bin ein Landsknecht."
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Post by ecovolo on May 10, 2009 8:00:18 GMT
*Spoiler Alert* This is about the recent "Star Trek" remake in theaters right now. If you don't want to spoil it; stop right here. . . . If you're interested in continuing: So, in one scene Mr. Sulu whips out a katana *that folds shut* . I find this amusing, for two reasons: 1) Why is it that the token Japanese gets the folding katana? If the other members of the landing group were chosen for their ability to engage in hand-to-hand combat, you'd think that they would be armed with suitable weapons as well that were issued by Starfleet, or maybe taken along as personal keepsakes (switchblades, brass knuckles, whatever . 2) A katana that opens up when it is drawn? Okay let's have some suspension of disbelief, here: Unlike the Kurgan sword from "Highlander", this one didn't require any assembly-- per the movie, you just whip it out and it assembles on its own, in about seven or eight pieces that automatically line up, one on top of the other. Any ideas as to how this would work? (My guess is that it would either be inertia-- the "whipping out" motion gives enough force for the rest of the blade to assemble, or maybe a spring-loaded mechanism of some kind.) --Edward P.S. Yeah, it's an exercise in mental masturbation, but I'd like to see what other board members would come up with to explain the folding katana .
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 9:40:39 GMT
Why is it that the token Japanese gets the folding katana? Sulu in the old series liked swords/fencing. As to how? Nanotechnology
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 12:32:52 GMT
i was gonna say i think he got the sword cuz of his "fencing" background. as far as how it assembles i don't think it was separate pieces, i think it was all the little pieces linked together and folded up. and it works because it was in the future! i enjoyed the movie but all the flawed military logic bothered me more than his fold up sword haha
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 15:50:59 GMT
Ever seen Iria? It looked like segments that kind of roilled out...... Kinda . Plus, he was trained in fencing, so he would carry a sword.
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Post by randomnobody on May 10, 2009 15:54:01 GMT
I'd never seen the original Star Trek series, and had no real desire to see the movie, but some friends of mine dragged me along. I was almost offended when the captain asked for people with hand-to-hand training and the first volunteer was THE ONE ASIAN MAN. Oh yeah, kung fu master on board, look out guys. Even worse came the news that, oh, his specialty is FENCING. Of course, at this point I figure the man has a rapier or epee or some, gee I dunno, fencing sword, so when he whips out that...thing...I'm damn near pissed. Then he started dancing with it. Oh, right, some call that fighting, I guess.
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Post by sparky on May 10, 2009 16:01:52 GMT
Why is it that the token Japanese gets the folding katana? Sulu in the old series liked swords/fencing. As to how? Nanotechnology I'd rather think of it a Nana technology! 'cause Nana was wicked with knitting needles . I think she even had a pair that telescoped out ;D
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 16:40:47 GMT
Ever seen Iria? It looked like segments that kind of roilled out...... Kinda . Plus, he was trained in fencing, so he would carry a sword. Of course, no form of fencing has ever included a katana of any kind... And Sulu in the series always used an epee or a rapier (depending on whether sport or maiming was his purpose)... It was probably made possible by a combination of force-field and tractor beam technology. But then, so would be a lightsaber, and I'd much rather wield one of those...
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SlayerofDarkness
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"Always give everyone the benefit of the doubt."
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Post by SlayerofDarkness on May 10, 2009 19:35:41 GMT
I just saw that movie last night, and that was the EXACT same thing I thought, random! Pretty good movie, but that guy knew NOTHING about fighting with a sword. When I saw that scene, my first thought was, "I wonder what the guys on SBG would think of this? " ;D -Slayer
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 22:29:51 GMT
I thought that part exceedingly silly too, even if I liked the movie a lot as a whole.
As for how it would work, my best former-science-professor guess would not be quite tractor beam/forcefield stuff, which seems to act on all materials--and would turn a blade into a club--but a magnetic field projecting from the handle.
(Though--check out the Mythbusters episode of Jimmy Bond's watch--it would have to be one hell of a futuristically generated and powerful field!)
Eh. Still waiting for the explanation about not just going w/ phasers. Though it WAS nice the bad guys were cooperative enough to forgo their disruptors and go mano-a-mano ...
Those movie villains and their psychology. Gotta love 'em!
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Post by Kilted Cossack on May 10, 2009 22:33:48 GMT
Syndrome: Oh, ho ho! You sly dog! You got me monologuing! I can't believe it...
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Post by sparky on May 10, 2009 22:38:18 GMT
Syndrome: Oh, ho ho! You sly dog! You got me monologuing! I can't believe it... ;D LOLOLOLOL ;D That's just incredible!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 22:45:33 GMT
Ever seen Iria? It looked like segments that kind of roilled out...... Kinda . Plus, he was trained in fencing, so he would carry a sword. Iria: Zeiram the Animation! Awesome movie.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 23:12:00 GMT
Well look at it this way, he was traditional to his Japanese heritage and used a "folded steel blade" not thorough hardened ........................................................................ *smirk*
*Runs into bomb shelter*
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 23:45:35 GMT
hahahahaa that was great
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 23:49:03 GMT
Brissy..... *facepalm* I can't decide whether I want to laugh or break down weeping at that pun.... maybe a bit of both....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2009 2:18:34 GMT
besides it isnt made of steel but of a duranium compound thus allowing it to be not only perfectly balanced but stronger than steel even if it is not all one peice due to the properties of a mythical metalic compound and magnetics wold be right out as that would attract other blades completely screwing up edge alignment and defeating the purpose
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2009 13:51:57 GMT
I'm thinking pocket-space technology; it wasn't 'unfolded' per se as it was enlarged via the redistribution of mass along the length of the blade- from the pocket dimension. When not in use that extra length/mass is stored in said dimension.
My question is, why CAN'T an Asian man be a hand-to-hand expert? I'm just going off Random's comment that he/she almost got offended (I stand corrected random) because Sulu jumped up first.
In the old series, Sulu was THE hand-to-hand/sword expert onboard ship, stands to reason he'd serve in much the same capacity.
I have yet to see the movie, but I'm sure its good...I'm a Trekkie at heart anyway.
As far as hand to hand training in the military, it is very basic unless you're in some form of special forces (SEALs, Rangers, Nightstalkers, that sorta thing) where it goes in-depth.
I've always imagined Star Fleet officers being good administrators/task leads but not necessarily 'warriors' of a sort; maybe they should be but that was never how I viewed them. Kirk, Spock and in some cases Sulu were the main 'fighter' dudes.
I gotta go see this movie. But again, Random, Sulu was like this in the original series so...it made sense in THIS movie.
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Post by randomnobody on May 11, 2009 14:02:27 GMT
I never said he couldn't be and I never said I was insulted. I did say I was almost offended. I'm just getting tired of Hollywood's Asian Man = Martial Arts Master EVERY TIME. One time I'd like to see a non-Asian step up first and actually know what the hell he's doing. On that note, this particulae Sulu has not convinced me he's much of a "fencer" at all. His...whatever it was...was awful to watch. It just irked me a bit that it's always the Asian guy who's the only one who is trained to fight, and the rest are stupid enough to pull their chute late or get their asses kicked trying to use a gun instead. The other thing that bothered me was the guy asking the question to begin with. If you're in the military or law enforcement or whatever Star Fleet is supposed to be...you ARE trained in hand-to-hand combat. Even the navy teaches their guys a thing or two, I imagine Star Fleet ought to include some training, too.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2009 14:41:33 GMT
Sorry, Sotark, but Physics 101: whether a magnetic field is attractive or not (or repulsive) depends on its orientation. It would not a priori attract other weapons. If each segment of Sulu's sword is oriented N to S with each other segment (anad again, if ridiculously, unrealistically strong) it would hold together, but add up the vectors of the field along the sword's length and they would be neutral.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2009 16:00:58 GMT
Sorry, Sotark, but Physics 101: whether a magnetic field is attractive or not (or repulsive) depends on its orientation. It would not a priori attract other weapons. If each segment of Sulu's sword is oriented N to S with each other segment (anad again, if ridiculously, unrealistically strong) it would hold together, but add up the vectors of the field along the sword's length and they would be neutral. true but you are foggeting that this is sci fi so almost everything is based off of the theorys of quantum mechanics, quantum physics, temporal mechanics, particle physics, and all around "coolness"
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