RingoFought last weekend. Did really good in Steel. Did really shitty in stick. The games are so different. I’ll write more on that later. Don’t have much time to get this out though so I’ll talk about a realization that happened during my steel fight. I have consistently been advocating NOT checking or driving people into the rail, as an offensive move. I’ve occasionally changed my tune for very specific people in specific situations, but in general I’ve said it’s a waste of time.
I’m now saying that’s 100% wrong. It’s a necessary part of your arsenal. Like any tool though it needs to be used well. The majority of the time I see it, a person will charge straight into someone’s back as they are facing the rail, hit them…and do nothing. I accidentally did it right in my knight fight. I got stuck in a clinch and wanted to stay in control of the grapple so drove hard towards the rail, knowing that would force my opponent to walk backward, which makes it hard for them to do anything to me. That’s all I was thinking. However I managed to get enough power and drive that when we hit the rail, I completely knocked the wind out of him and he dropped.
What happened that time is that when I got my opponent moving, he had to go with me or fall over. So he couldn’t fight back against me. In addition he could not brace against the hit because he couldn’t see the rail. And because it drove into this back, he didn’t simply bend over it. This only worked because the rail was at the right height. Because we were the right distance away, allowing enough speed. And probably a few other considerations I’m not noticing.
The important thing is it wasn’t a straight charge into a stationary target. That can work too…but in general, that’s going to bend your opponent, not hurt them. That doesn’t mean it can’t work. There are two easy follow ups from this. If it’s a high rail, they will start to bend and then bounce. As they come off, you grab them and pull them quickly down and sideways. It’s very hard to catch balance back after that many direction changes, especially if momentum is going partially in the direction of the throw. The second follow up is you quick scoop a leg and push them over. If they’ve managed to begin planting, that’s fine. Throw heavy punches into their sternum. It should rock through the armor as they are pinned on the rail, acting like an anvil. That will soften them up for a throw. You can thank Lane for that tip, as he discovered it in that same night of knight fights.
I know this is quick and maybe not detailed enough to give the full concept but the take aways are pretty simple. Driving someone into the rail is a great technique once you can get them moving with you a few steps. Otherwise it’s gonna do essentially nothing. And if it’s a high rail it won’t do much. Needs to be in the mid to low back to really fuck em up. Checking someone on the rail will probably not hurt them, but it will allow you to throw them over or bounce them off. Make sure you are ready to capitalize.
Hope there was something useful in that.
See you in the lists
Ringo/