[Groop] Wow! (etc.)

Thu, 25 May 2000 21:35:30 -0700

Hi Folks!

Groo is a VERY skilled swordsman.  Groo is THE MOST skilled swordsman-maybe
in a tie with Chakaal-on the planet.  It is not all luck and stupidity.  It
is skill and stupidity.  There was one episode where Groo demostrates his
skill with a sword by tossing a fish up in the air and preparing it for
cooking and fancy display with his swords before it hits platter.  Also, in
the Eclipse Special, Groo IS trained in the course of being schooled to take
Saskima's place and his already considerable skills are refined.  If he
accidently kills people-in addition to all those he kills on purpose-it's
because he is stupid and does not properly control his skill, not because he
doesn't have it.

Look.  Groo is like a savant.  Only instead of being able to play a piano
like Mozart or remember what the weather was on every date of his life while
not being able to count his toes or find the door, Groo is a fabulously
skilled swordman while being a complete idiot.  Remember that in The Life of
Groo we found out that Groo is stupid because of a curse on his father.  So
he was stupid from the word go.  But he also attacked the doctor who
delivered him with a scapel moments after birth.  So perhaps being a skilled
swordman was an unintended result of the curse.  A sort of balancing effect.
Groo is as skilled a swordman as he is an idiot.  Anywho, that's my two
kopins.

Re: Jackie Chan (aka Greatest Action Hero (and stunt man) on the Planet)
Read his biography.  "I Am Jackie Chan"  One of the things he discusses is
the differences between real fighting, what he learned in the Chinese Opera,
and how he applied it all to the fighting style he invented for the screen.
Great stuff from the man with the fastest hands in show business.

Re: Chakaal & Arcadio miniseries:  Hey ReallyBigChin guy, There is a small
Chakaal & Arcadio element to the second Groo Round-Robin if you are
interested.  It's not real Groo, but it's fun.  I forget the web site it's
on.  Somebody?

OK  SPOILER TIME  DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU HAVEN"T READ "Mightier Than the
Sword" #4!  You have been warned!  To those who haven't read #4 yet, take
care!  To the rest of you:

S
E
E

B
E
L
O
W

Keep going.

OK  Larry and I were talking about this earlier and these are my thoughts on
the end and the series as a whole:

It is my favorite of the three mini-series I loved it!!!!  Lots of
interesting and unexpected plot twists, while at the same time also giving
us the stuff we expect and want. Did you also notice how they had Groo do
something really smart to escape, but his reasoning and dialogue made it so
that his stupidity and general character were not compromised.  Imagine a
really smart hero-like Indiana Jones-consciously doing the same thing,
risking a firey death on the thin chance of escape!  We'd say, "Whew! What a
brave, clever and daring
guy!"  But they way they handled it with Groo, we say "Gee, what a moron!"

As to the surprise, I had to think about a bit, which is hard (and also not
surprising) since I am a Groo fan, but I'm sure the "surprise" is that Pipal
Khan died from the realization that his loathed
and feared enemy, the being that had single-handedly thwarted so many of his
plans, turned out to be just an ugly, stupid wetch!  I mean Wretch!  It's
one thing to be defeated by a titanic monster, but to be defeated by the
likes of the real Groo would indeed be too much for the great Pipal Khan's
mighty ego to deal with!!

Anywho, that's my two kopins on that!  Take care all -Gary G.

----- Original Message -----
From: <RABuswell@dstsystems.com>
To: "Iain Bryan" <mrbisco@pacbell.net>; "groo" <groop@groo.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2000 3:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Groop] Wow!

>
> Do we have any references of Groo being trained with a sword.  I don't
> remember any.  Frequently, when he is asked to train others, he simply
hits
> the trainees over the head and tells them to block the hit.  Since we can
> probably assume that we train others the way we are ourselves trained,
that
> Groo learned to fight with swords by blocking incoming swords and cutting
> at open targets.
>
> He simply has a knack for using a sword, but there is still no technique
> behind it.  There is no fear.  There is simply mindlessness, and an
uncanny
> knack for not cutting himself.
>
> Another reason I would think he hits by accident is the fact that he
> frequently decimates his own side in a battle.  He isn't looking at what
he
> is hitting, he is just hitting it.
>
> He is very good with his swords, I agree.  I just can't call it skill.
>
> Richard Buswell
> http://www.kcstage.com
> http://www.naughtynobles.com
> http://www.geocities.com/rabuswell
>
>
>
>
>
> Iain Bryan <mrbisco@pacbell.net> on 05/25/2000 05:07:50 PM
>
> To:   Richard A. Buswell/MF Support/DST/US@DST
> cc:
> Subject:  Re: [Groop] Wow!
>
>
>
> if you've read all of the issues, and think back..there are many many many
> times where groo is displayed as knowing what he is doing w/ the swords.
> and
> it's not always when he is fighting.  remember life of groo?  as a child
he
> was
> superb w/ the blade.
>
> he was born, grabs a knife and slices w/ it.
>
> iain
>
> RABuswell@dstsystems.com wrote:
>
> > Ah, but he is also described by his opponents as mindless in his
attacks.
> > His methods would be attributed to innate natural talent, and not to
> > training or technique.  He uses no strategy, doesn't know what strategy
> is,
> > and couldn't care less.
> >
> > Like many of the Berserkers of old, the real edge he has is that he
shows
> > no fear in battle.  What sane, rational, thinking person is going to
> engage
> > in combat with someone who has absolutely no regard for his own personal
> > safety?  That person is going to win.
> >
> > Groo does what Groo does best, which is the mindless destruction of
> > everything around him.  Those windmilling blades make a formidable
> barrier
> > to all his opponents.  Many times he is lost without his swords, and is
> > usually easily defeated.  This is not a man of fighting skill.  This is
a
> > man who waves his swords around to lethal effect.
> >
> > There is an old Japanese tale of a peasant who offended a Samurai.  The
> > Samurai told the peasant that he would return in a month's time, and
> fight
> > the peasant in a duel.  The peasant went to hermit master and asked the
> > master to teach him enough swordplay so as to put forth a decent effort
> > before dying.  The master refused, saying there was not enough time.
> > However, there was one move he could teach the peasant that, if properly
> > executed, would defeat (kill) the Samurai.  The peasant practiced this
> > particular move, day after day, and mastered its technique.  Eventually,
> > the Samurai returned, and the two took up their stance for the duel.
The
> > Samurai looked at his opponent, and saw the stance the peasant took.  He
> > knew that if the peasant performed the move he set up for, he would kill
> > the Samurai, but the peasant would be killed in the process.  (The old
> > master neglected to tell the peasant this.)  The Samurai looked in the
> > peasant's eyes and saw no fear of death in them, and called off the
> match,
> > knowing that the duel would end in the death of both.
> >
> > The lesson in that story is that those who face death without fear can
> > defeat death.  The peasant won his life out of ignorance.  Groo wins for
> > much the same reason.  Neither one realizes that what they are doing is
> > supposed to kill them, and so their opponents back down.
> >
> > Plus, there is the added protection of his body odor.  It's hard to
fight
> > when you are gagging from the smell.
> >
> > (This is all a moot point if Mark and Sergio say otherwise.)
> > Richard Buswell
> > http://www.kcstage.com
> > http://www.naughtynobles.com
> > http://www.geocities.com/rabuswell
> >
> > Iain Bryan <mrbisco@pacbell.net> on 05/25/2000 03:50:16 PM
> >
> > Um...Groo is an excellent fighter..that's what he does best.  It's not
> all
> > an
> > accident.
> >
> > iain
> >
> > > > Stylistically, Groo should have no form or technique whatsoever,
> > > > but should
> > > > blindly and stupidly fight, parrying as much by accident as by
> design,
> > > > killing people on a backswing without even knowing he hit them.
Both
> > > > "Blade" and "Gladiator" showed hits that were intentional.  Groo
does
> > not
> > > > plan that far in advance.  Usually the goal of fight choreography is
> to
> > > > look cool.  For Groo, the goal should be to look stupid.  Fast,
> > > > but stupid.
> > > > Strong, but stupid.  His skill is only an accident of birth.
> > > >
> > > > Richard Buswell
> > > > http://www.kcstage.com
> > > > http://www.naughtynobles.com
> > > > http://www.geocities.com/rabuswell
> > >
>
>
>
>
>
>
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