Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

by Peter Dell'Orto & Sean Punch

Appropriately enough, GURPS Martial Arts was written by a tag team:

Peter was the book's lead author. Sure, Sean wrote lots of material, but that was almost
entirely rules text. Peter did the hard work of researching print resources, interviewing
martial artists, and actually fighting. He also wrote up all the styles and historical
material . . . which is to say, the larger part of the book.

Sean was the project's designer and editor. Ultimately, it was his job to structure a
rulebook around the research. Which isn't to say that Peter didn't do his share of the
rules brainstorming, organizing, and trimming.

We're going to tell you the book's story from both perspectives.

Peter Takes a Trip . . .

I came home late one night in 2003 to find an e-mail from
Sean titled "Wanna write a book?" My first thought was "No!
Writing a book is a lot of work!" But this wasn't just an offer
to write any book. It was a chance to work with Sean on
GURPS Martial Arts for Fourth Edition. I'd be the subject-
matter expert and he'd provide the rules expertise. I couldn't
say no. I'd been playing combat-heavy GURPS games since
Man to Man and doing martial arts since junior high school. I
couldn't imagine letting anyone else write it!

I was living in New Jersey at the time, so I drove up to
Montréal to visit Sean and draft the outline in person. It took a
couple of days of systematic work, with breaks for local food
and to watch an imported copy of Zhang Yimou's wuxia epic,
Hero. The trip was dimmed by someone breaking into my car the night before I'd have
left for home, forcing me to stay another day to get window repairs. (No, we didn't track
the guy down and do a little reality checking on him.) But the important work was done:
We'd outlined a major revision to a critical Fourth Edition book. It was the first step on
a long journey. By the time we'd finished, I had moved to Japan and become an amateur
fighter.

The Mission Statement

A crucial preliminary to writing the book was outlining our mission. Sean and I tossed
around phrases like "GURPS Magic, but for fighters," "combat book," and "expanding
the Basic Set" until we settled on the South Park-derived phrase "Fightin' Round the
World." It was funny enough and it did summarize exactly what we wanted: to ensure
that the book covered fighting from all over the world . . . from antiquity to modern day

Pai Mei: It is
your wish to
possess this kind
of power?
The Bride: Yes!
Pai Mei: Your
training
begins . . .
tomorrow.

-- Kill Bill: Vol.

2

Page 1 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

and beyond . . . armed and unarmed . . . from the hyper-realistic to comic-book ninjas
and wuxia movies. We wanted to expand coverage of martial arts that were sadly
overlooked in earlier editions of Martial Arts -- or that had expanded like wildfire since
those were written. We also wanted to correct the perceived bias of previous editions
toward barehanded martial arts from Asia, as well as the European armed-combat bias
of GURPS Swashbucklers.

Early on, Sean decreed that techniques wouldn't be required purchases, which freed us
to interpret each style's techniques list as both "recommended purchases" and "moves
that gamers playing stylists should try to favor in play." I suggested that we include a
paragraph of common tactics for each style in game terms, to make roleplaying a Goju
Ryu karateka different from playing a Wushu practitioner or a Pankration stylist -- even
if they all had the same skills. Sean thought this was a great idea, so in it went for every
style! This was central to our goal of making the book a (hopefully!) complete
roleplaying sourcebook for martial artists, not just a rulebook.

Reality Checking and Reliable Sources

The first two editions of Martial Arts were great books. Two
of my favorite books, and ones that heavily influenced
GURPS. But they were relatively old.

The explosion of the Internet in the 1990s blew the doors off a
vault holding a wealth of information about the martial arts. A
trend emerged toward academically rigorous works and away
from books based on hearsay and odd speculation. Lots of
primary source material became available. Obscure fencing
manuals once published solely in their original languages and
accessible only to historians were translated by enthusiastic
recreationists and published. Martial-arts styles virtually
unknown 20 years ago became widespread. As the subject-
matter expert of our tag-team pair, researching and reality
checking this material fell to me. Reality checking was the
easy part . . .

Our biggest problem was finding reliable, academically rigorous sources. Ad copy was
commonly passed off as truth, while far too many books reported second-hand
information as fact. Often, an assertion would be repeated across many works . . . all of
which could be traced to a single source that provided no evidence to support its claim.
"Common knowledge" was rampant, much of which was rumor cloaked in the guise of
fact.

These obstacles to research afflicted the martial arts of every culture. Statements like
"Boxers don't close their fists" and "Knights were honorable warriors but
unsophisticated hackers" were as common as "Black belts must register their hands as
lethal weapons" and "Ninjas hated samurai." Then there were the claims that Western
martial arts are "pragmatic" while Eastern ones are "showy." Such myths are persistent
and highly resistant to being debunked. We needed to separate fact from fiction, to back
our facts with reliable sources. GURPS books are held to high standards, and this one
was to be no exception!

This meant lots of research. I read or reread every book on the martial arts that I could
get my hands on, and then read the books in their bibliographies. I borrowed DVDs and
tapes from friends, and rented movies. I even bought a few important books for Sean so

"If the masters in
the old days
could really jump
30 feet high," he
snarled, "then
why the hell did
they build
staircases in
their houses?"

-- Pan Qingfu to

Mark Salzman,

Iron and Silk

Page 2 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

that I could have a second pair of eyes looking at critical sources.

I also grilled every knowledgeable person that I could find. I talked to USMC recruits
and former hand-to-hand instructors, high-ranking karateka, competitive judo
practitioners, BJJ stylists, professional fighters, and more. I contacted local and not-so-
local schools and asked for permission to visit. With Sean's encouragement, I posted a
message on the SJ Games forums looking for style experts to question. Then I
researched again to confirm or refute everything I'd seen and heard.

The same went for equipment. I had weapon owners weigh their weapons, and I
weighed mine as well. We checked training gear costs by comparison shopping on the
net and picking representative prices.

Interestingly, the schools tended to be dry wells. Some gave
me a hard sell or flat-out ignored my requests to visit. Only
two invited me in and freely answered my questions. One
particular instructor in NJ, Phil Dunlap, opened his doors to
me, inviting me to train at his school and ask any questions I
had. He encouraged me to continue training mixed martial arts
in Japan, and found me a school in my new town. This in turn
led me to compete in amateur Shooto, a form of full-contact
mixed martial arts. Try saying "No, thank you" to a group of enthusiastic Japanese gym
buddies and you'll end up gloved-up as well! I'd like to think I'm the first GURPS author
to score a knockout with a knee strike and call it "reality checking."

Reality checking was crucial. For both personal interest and reality-checking needs, I
trained karate, two forms of mixed martial arts, muay thai, escrima, Brazilian jiu-jitsu,
kendo, and more. Our pool of research experts added even more styles, providing vital
feedback on styles that I couldn't try personally. We included experts and non-martial
artists alike in the playtest to ensure accuracy, clarity, and ease of use. We needed to
make sure that everything was accurate -- and more important, fun and playable!

In short, before we included a style, a weapon, or a technique, we insisted on checking
the facts and the sources -- and if possible, reality checking it in person!

Combat Skills vs. Combat Art vs. Combat Sport

A GM who's designing a style needs to decide if it uses the basic combat skill, a Combat
Art or Combat Sport variation, or some combination of the three. Sean and I had to
decide this for every single style in the book. Martial skills, for game purposes, consist
of three competing elements: form, distancing/timing, and power. Form is the elegance
and attractiveness of the moves -- techniques with good form look good. Distancing is
gauging where you and your weapons (hands, swords, whatever) are relative to the
opponent, while timing is your ability to spot an opportunity and take advantage of it.
Power is simply that -- strong techniques, delivered forcefully and efficiently to the
target. Each of the three skill types emphasizes one or two of these at the cost of the rest:

Combat skills emphasize power and distancing/timing at
the expense of form. Any move that allows powerful
strikes against a mobile, resisting foe gets used,
regardless of attractiveness. Such things might not be
pretty, or effective in a sporting situation, but they work.

Art skills emphasize form at the cost of power and

Boss: Is that your
blood?
Narrator: Some
of it, yeah.

-- Fight Club

I'm a chain belt
in kung-fu!

-- Billy Ray

Valentine,

Trading Places

Page 3 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

distancing/timing. They sacrifice a lot, but form is
outstanding. The moves might not work in a combat situation, but they look
good -- and sometimes, especially on film or in certain competitions, that's
all that matters.

Sport skills emphasize distancing/timing -- and to a lesser extent, form --
over power. Because sport events generally reward proper form over injury-
causing attacks, power isn't a priority. But distancing is critical if one wants
to score on a resisting opponent. Some sports forms do include powerful
strikes, but these generally have a very limited target set (perhaps just one
area of the body) or limit scoring to only one class of strikes. How pretty it
looks is secondary, although it isn't ignored; many scoring systems only
reward correct technique, but you still need to hit the target!

Thus, full-contact, limited-rules bouts where knockout is a real possibility use combat
skills. At the resolution level of GURPS, if you can strike, grapple, or throw a resisting
opponent with limited regard for his safety, then that's indistinguishable from combat!
Safety gear, immediate medical support, matched opponents, and referee stoppages --
not the underlying skill -- are what changes the contest from combat to sport.

"Why is <style> so <good/bad> in GURPS?"

Martial artists often have very strong opinions about specific styles -- usually their own,
but also others. These range from "This is the ultimate style!" to "That style sucks!" We
tried to present a fair and reasonable description and rules treatment of each martial art.
GURPS is a game, though, so we deliberately erred on the side of combat utility and
function. Even the most questionable styles might have emerged from combat arts, may
purport to teach combat-effective techniques, and are likely to be depicted as extremely
deadly in the martial-arts fiction that people want to emulate in an RPG!

"Why did you call it that?"

We tried to use accurate names for all styles, but we favored the names most commonly
found in widely available sources to make it easy to use Martial Arts to adapt real and
fictional material. This led to a mishmash of two different transliteration methods for
Chinese, complicated by styles having different names in Cantonese and Mandarin (with
different transliterations for each one . . .). Other languages presented their own unique
difficulties. For this reason, we often listed alternate names as well. Our main goal was
to make it easy to find more information -- to give GMs and players the names they'd
find on school signboards, book titles, and the Internet.

"Why did you cut <style>?"

Because we added so much to our edition of Martial Arts, a few styles presented in
earlier versions didn't make it back into print. First, we cut many of the fictional martial
arts, keeping only a small selection that covered a broad range of genres and play styles.
It's easier for the GM to make up such styles than to research real ones, after all!
Second, we cut a few historical styles. Generally, this was because we needed the space
for another style that covered the same ground, geographically or otherwise -- but some
were cut for being less-than-historical. The rundown:

An Ch'i -- This art was supposedly used by legendary Chinese gypsies,
assassins, and proto-ninjas. It's an unverifiable style for unverifiable people.
Amusingly, I own a book on the Chinese gypsies who supposedly used

Page 4 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

it . . . but even that book doesn't contain these techniques, nor does it
provide any evidence beyond the author's assertions.

Kuk Sool Won -- Korean styles were possibly overrepresented in earlier
books. More importantly, I had little access to solid information on this art.
I was able to question a dedicated, willing practitioner of the widely
available style of Hwa Rang Do, though, and I had numerous sources
against which I could double-check his information. Thus, we chose to
replace KSW with HRD.

Military Hand-to-Hand -- This became a greatly expanded section covering
specific styles: the USMC's MCMAP, Israel's Krav Maga, and the
combative version of Russia's Sambo. We also added a lens for converting
any style to a military one.

Ninjutsu -- The biggest cut, but a necessary one. Ninjutsu isn't a martial-arts
style. It's an occupational skill set that has a component fighting style,
taijutsu, that we did include. The same goes for "Hashishin style" -- it's not
a style, but a job for suicidal assassins who need Fanaticism and the
willingness to take a few All-Out Attack maneuvers. There's no evidence
that the Hashishin even trained in a dedicated system.

Police Hand-to-Hand -- This became a lens for just about any style.

Streetfighting -- This isn't a style. We replaced it with a lens for other styles
and a discussion of "untrained" brawlers. This is both more accurate and
easier on potential street-fightin' PCs.

Uechi Ryu -- A popular style, but . . . We needed to add Shotokan, founded
by the man who brought karate to Japan. We wanted to add Kyokushin,
because of its wide availability and colorful founder. We insisted on having
Te, as it represented the root from which all karate sprung. Karate was
overrepresented, so something had to go.

Wudong -- Wudong is a region, not a specific style. The Wudong family of
martial arts consists of the Taoist styles, also known as the "internal" styles:
T'ai Chi Chuan, Pa Kua Chuan, and Hsing I Chuan. We couldn't find
verifiable sources on any style called "Wudong."

None of the above styles made it past the initial discussions, so they weren't converted
to Fourth Edition. Don't look for them in the outtakes below!

. . . and Sean Snips

A consequence of all this research and double-checking was
that we had to snip some first-draft text that was merely "nice
to have" in order to accommodate playtester recommendations
for material that was necessary. Even with cuts, though, we
were running long . . . until SJ Games decided that Martial
Arts would have 256 pages instead of 240. This greatly
reduced the number of necessary outtakes. There were still a
few, however, as well as many rough write-ups proposed
during the playtest that we lacked the time to properly test, or

It's not daily
increase but
daily decrease --
hack away the
unessential!

-- Bruce Lee,

The Tao of Jeet

Page 5 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

that overlapped existing material.

The remainder of this article is a mixture of things that had to
come out and items that didn't quite make it in. Fair warning: we didn't spend much time
playtesting rules that wouldn't fit. Anything involving game mechanics might need a
little adjustment to be balanced in play!

Chapter 1 -- History

We made a concerted effort not to hack on this chapter. The styles in Chapter 5 were so
heavily dependent on laying a solid historical groundwork that every word cut here
meant adding a word in 10 places later in the book -- a false economy if there ever was
one. The biographies, however, were mostly for color . . . so with great reluctance, we
took a famous American fighter out of contention.

Chapter 2 -- Characters

When it came to bulking up during the playtest, this was the only chapter that seriously
challenged Chapter 4. At the request of the testers, we added a lot of notes on
advantages and how to use them in Martial Arts campaigns, as well as several perks.
Not everything made it in, though, and a few items had to come out to make room. The
largest outtake was one of our sample NPCs.

Kune Do

Martin "Farmer" Burns (1861-1937)

Martin Burns earned his nickname when he wrestled in a $25-prize
challenge match in Chicago in 1889. His overalls and obvious rural
upbringing marked him as someone from the sticks, hence the
moniker. Burns wrestled two matches, winning both despite being
outweighed by his professional opponents.

Burns continued to wrestle for the rest of his adult life, fighting an
estimated 6,000 matches and losing only seven. He weighed a
relatively modest 175 lbs. yet had a 20" neck. Pure muscle, Burns
credited his development to a youth spent at hard labor and wrestling
practice. He later came into demand as a trainer, and taught champion
wrestlers such as Frank Gotch.

In the early 20th century, Burns published a mail-order fitness manual
that he sold for the then-tremendous sum of $35. It covered
weightlifting, calisthenics, and self-defense using wrestling and
jujutsu. It also described the "deep breathing" that he believed was so
critical. These breathing exercises and the benefits Burns claimed for
them were almost indistinguishable from Chinese qi gong. Unlike
jujutsu, qi gong was unknown in the West. Burns' explanations didn't
mention chi, but rather the invigorating and strengthening effects of
deep breathing!

João Dias (150 points)

Page 6 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

João spent his childhood in a half-dozen Brazilian cities, dragged
around by his mother, Ana, as she searched for "something better" --
which, as far as João could make out, meant "somewhere his father
wasn't." Eventually, Ana got the cash to take her boy and move to the
United States. Unfortunately, the money ran out shortly thereafter.

João's teenage years went by in a half-dozen American cities in which
being a poor immigrant was grounds for prejudice and violence. Los
Angeles was the low point -- Ana found work, but the gangs found
João. He spent over two years not exactly on the street but not exactly
doing anything with his life.

The day João's best friend, Roque, was shot by a fellow gang member
was the day he vowed to get out of the life. As luck would have it, his
roots provided the means: a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu school owner saw a bit
of himself in João and decided to get him off the street. João trained
with the dedication of a madman, and learned more about his culture
during his training than he ever did busing between cities in Brazil.

Today, João is a serious contender. He's fast, hard to catch, and
excellent at grappling. He has won seven local tournaments -- most by
triangle choke -- and is ready to tackle a regional event. He plans to
fight his way to the top through hard work, and refuses to do anything
remotely questionable. His secret weapon against second thoughts is
the ringing in his right ear . . . it's a constant reminder of the shot that
killed Roque, and only training seems to drown it out.

João is his early 20s, and stands a fit 5'9" at 153 lbs. He was designed
using the Contender template (p. 32), and practices Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
(p. 167) with the "Street" lens (p. 145).

ST 11 [10]; DX 13 [60]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 13 [30].
Damage 1d-1/1d+1; BL 24 lbs.; HP 11 [0]; Will 10 [0];
Per 10 [0]; FP 13 [0].
Basic Speed 7.00 [10]; Basic Move 7 [0]; Dodge 11;
Parry 12.

Social Background

TL: 8 [0].
CF: Latin [0]; Western [1].
Languages: English (Accented) [4]; Portuguese (Native)
[0].

Advantages

Enhanced Dodge 1 [15]; Fit [5]. Perks: Ground Guard;
Style Familiarity (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu). [2]

Disadvantages

Obsession (Win a title and get off the street) (12) [-5];

Page 7 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

We also decided to cut one of our Innate Attack examples, since we felt that it was
somewhat redundant with Flying Fists (p. 45). Still, it shows up in plenty of video
games, and illustrates that not all chi attacks have to be "hard," damaging abilities.

The playtesters proposed a lot of additional Style Perks, and many of them went into the
book -- including Clinch (p. 51), Neck Control (p. 50), and Strongbow (p. 51). Some
didn't make it in, though. In most cases, this was because the testers felt that the
proposed perk was unbalanced, or at least needed more testing than we could give it.
One perk lost out by only a slim margin, largely because the playtest ended before the
debate as to whether it was balanced.

Overconfidence (12) [-5]; Pacifism (Cannot Kill) [-15];
Stubbornness [-5]; Workaholic [-5].

Quirks: Believes that most people are lazy, not that he
pushes himself hard; Curses in English around Brazilians
and in Portuguese around Americans; Hates being called
"Joe"; Minor Addiction (Guarana); Minor Handicap
(Tinnitus in right ear). [-5]

Skills

Brawling (E) DX [1]-13; Fast-Talk (A) IQ [2]-10;
Intimidation (A) Will [2]-10; Judo (H) DX+5 [24]-18;
Knife (E) DX [1]-13; Lifting (A) HT-1 [1]-12; Running
(A) HT-1 [1]-12; Streetwise (A) IQ+1 [4]-11; Urban
Survival (A) Per+1 [4]-11; Wrestling (A) DX+2 [8]-15.

Techniques: Triangle Choke (Judo) (H) [5]-18.

Chi Shove (-50%): Crushing Attack 1d (Blockable, -10%; Costs
Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Double Knockback, +20%; Low Signature, +10%;
No Blunt Trauma, -20%; No Wounding, -50%; Variable, +5%) [3].
Notes: You can push around a distant target by miming a shove or a
Judo Throw. If the victim has never witnessed this ability, he must
make a Sense roll at -4 to realize that he's being attacked! (He may
defend normally against later uses.) This is a standard ranged attack
with Acc 3, 1/2D 10, Max 100, and RoF 1. It requires an Attack
maneuver and a roll against Judo or Push to hit. On a hit, roll damage,
double it, and assess knockback but no injury. 3 points.

Focused Fury

Unlike most fighters, you can combine Mighty Blows (p. B357) with
Committed Attack (Strong), raising the damage bonus to +1 per die or
a flat +2, whichever is better -- like All-Out Attack (Strong). You can
also "stack" it with All-Out Attack (Strong), improving its damage
bonus to the better of +2 per die or a flat +3. Either use costs 1 FP per

Page 8 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

Chapter 3 -- Techniques

This chapter was jam-packed even in the first draft, and the few techniques that the
playtesters really felt needed to be added all ended up playtested and shoehorned in.
Still, there was one outtake, cut mostly because not everyone agreed that we needed it in
light of Counterattack (p. 70), Stop Hits (p. 108), and Riposte (p. 124).

Chapter 4 -- Combat

We were strongly opposed to outtakes here. Whenever several styles in Chapter 5
required the same special combat rule, it was more efficient simply to add it once in
Chapter 4 . . . so as with Chapter 1, every word cut here meant several new words later
on. Another way to put it would be to say that this part of the book represented a lot of
research and rules design, and everything in it was something that we really wanted to
include.

This was also the chapter that grew the most due to playtester-requested additions --
mostly, we agreed and added things. We decided not to include controversial items,
though. The following optional rule is just one example.

blow.

Deceptive Parry

Hard

Default: prerequisite skill Parry-4.
Prerequisite: Any unarmed or Melee Weapon skill;
cannot exceed prerequisite Parry.

This technique involves a risky defensive maneuver that opens up
your attacker to a counter. In effect, you start your own attack early to
take advantage of your parry . . . at the risk of failing to defend! You
must declare this gambit before you defend against a given opponent.
It gives you -4 to all defenses against that foe. Deceptive Parry lets
you buy off this penalty for Parry, but not for Block or Dodge. If you
successfully parry your enemy's melee attack, he has -4 to defend
against your first attack if he tries to parry with the weapon or limb
that you just parried. This has no effect on his other defenses,
including parry attempts with other weapons or limbs.

Practice Makes Perfect

When rolling to hit with a technique, how you achieved your skill
level is unimportant; e.g., a karateka with Karate at 18 and Jump Kick
at default and one with Karate at 14 and 5 points in Jump Kick both
have Jump Kick at 14. But constantly practicing one move toughens
body parts and provides hard-won experience that accuracy doesn't

Page 9 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

Chapter 5 -- Styles

By now you're probably sensing a trend: "If the playtesters convinced us that something
was necessary to make Martial Arts a complete work, we added it." Guilty as charged!
And even with the extra 16 pages that a 256-page book gave us, we had to make space
for all of this somewhere. Chapter 5 bore the brunt of the cutting simply because it was
the longest chapter by far, and many of the styles it described were very similar to other
styles.

Here are the missing styles in all their glory. These first two were originally part of
Stickfighting (p. 157).

really reflect. For every two full points in a technique, you get +1 on
rolls to avoid any negative consequences it has (falls, self-inflicted
harm, etc.), and on non-combat skill rolls required to set it up or
recover from it. For instance, if you raise Flying Jump Kick from
Karate-7 to Karate for 8 points, you get +4 to the DX or Jumping roll
to set it up and the DX or Acrobatics roll to avoid falling if you fail.
This bonus never modifies attack or defense rolls -- only incidental
rolls.

Egyptian Stickfighting

4 points

Ancient Egyptian tomb murals depict stickfighting done for the
amusement of the pharaoh. They also show boys practicing
stickfighting -- either as training for war or as a combat form in itself.
Shields aren't in evidence, but warriors of that era would have used
them in warfare.

Skills: Shield; Smallsword; Wrestling.
Techniques: Arm Lock (Wrestling); Armed Grapple
(Smallsword); Disarming (Smallsword); Feint
(Smallsword).

Optional Traits

Advantages: Combat Reflexes.

Tapado

3 points

Tapado is a form of Filipino stickfighting that uses a jo-like stick
wielded in two hands. Practitioners usually study it in conjunction
with other Filipino martial arts.

Page 10 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

The third and final style we removed was part of Jujutsu (p. 166). As a matter of trivia,
it was also the original inspiration for the Styleô box on p. 27.

Skills: Staff; Two-Handed Sword.
Techniques: Disarming (Staff or Two-Handed Sword);
Feint (Staff or Two-Handed Sword).
Perks: Form Mastery (Staff).

Optional Traits

Advantages: Enhanced Parry (Staff).

Small-Circle Jujitsu

4 points

Small-Circle Jujitsu is the style of Hawaiian judo and jujutsu master
Wally Jay. It depends more on stand-up locks than on ground fighting
and throws. Its name refers to the art's basic principle for manipulating
an adversary's limbs or joints: the practitioner pushes the opponent
with the thumb and hand while pulling with the arms, the resulting
motion describing a small circle. This simultaneous push-pull action
uses the victim's body to provide the leverage needed to throw him or
place him in a lock.

Small-Circle Jujitsu emphasizes controlling the opponent via joint
locks, finger locks, arm bars, and pain compliance. The stylist
counters an assailant's strikes and grabs with locks and throws. He
rarely lets go after a throw, instead holding on and following up with a
painful lock. In a lethal situation, he might incapacitate his foe with
chokes and damaging locks -- but the style stresses rendering the
adversary helpless, not crippling him. This defensive emphasis is
evident in the stylist's preferred maneuvers: Wait, All-Out Defense
(Increased Parry), and Defensive Attack.

Cinematic Small-Circle Jujitsu masters have little access to chi
abilities. They should have remarkably high levels of Judo, Arm Lock,
and Finger Lock, however, and use the Technique Mastery perk to
exceed the normal limits of those techniques!

Small-Circle Jujitsu has both combat and sport aspects. Fighters train
for self-defense and uncontrolled conditions, but also learn to control
or choke out an opponent safely in a dojo. Training covers reviving a
partner rendered unconscious by jujitsu techniques, and many students
go on to learn full-fledged first aid as well as basic CPR. Because of
these factors -- and the style's emphasis on controlling an opponent
with pain instead of injuring him -- Pacifism (Cannot Kill) suits many
stylists.

Skills: Judo; Judo Sport; Savoir-Faire (Dojo).

Page 11 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

As in earlier chapters, not every idea that came up during the playtest made it into print.
Here's a small box that didn't quite make the grade. We thought it was kind of neat,
because it really suited certain kinds of martial-arts fiction. The playtesters assured us
that it was also rather obvious . . . so we quietly set it aside for this article.

Chapter 6 -- Weapons and Equipment

Needless to say, given Man's gift for coming up with new and brutal ways to kill his
fellow man, weapons could have filled all 256 pages by themselves. The abbreviated
glossary format let us include a lot of weapons. Then the day after we submitted the
final draft, Sean saw a picture in his local paper and realized that he had left out one of
his favorites . . .

This article is provided FREE in support of a SJ Games product, but Pyramid runs
many other articles each week that are available only to subscribers! Become a Pyramid
subscriber today! You'll get access to our complete archive of Pyramid articles, plus the
latest industry news, access to SJ Games playtest material, and more!

Techniques: Arm Lock; Breakfall; Choke Hold; Finger
Lock; Leg Lock.
Cinematic Skills: Mental Strength.
Perks: Technique Mastery (Arm Lock); Technique
Mastery (Finger Lock).

Optional Traits

Advantages: Empathy.
Disadvantages: Pacifism (Cannot Kill).
Skills: First Aid; Judo Art; Karate.
Techniques: Leg Grapple.

Balanced Development

Meditation, Philosophy, Theology, and even Mathematics are core
skills for styles with a strong intellectual element. In a game that
favors this angle over violence, the GM may forbid warriors to learn
combat skills at a higher level than their style's more intellectual skills.
In return, Mental Strength and Tactics default to such cerebral skills at
no penalty -- as does the Feint technique, making wise masters as
tricky as agile ones.

Haladie -- India, Sudan. A knife with blades above and below the
grip. Treat as a L

ARGE

K

NIFE

(pp. B272, B276) that lets the user

choose freely between the rules for a normal grip and a Reversed Grip
(p. 111), as best suits the task at hand. It cannot pummel and gives -1
to skill. $80, 1.5 lbs.

Page 12 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499

Article publication date: July 13, 2007

Copyright © 2007 by

Steve Jackson Games

. All rights reserved. Pyramid subscribers are permitted to read

this article online, or download it and print out a single hardcopy for personal use. Copying this text to
any other online system or BBS, or making more than one hardcopy, is strictly prohibited. So please don't.
And if you encounter copies of this article elsewhere on the web, please report it to

[e-mail]

.

Home

-

Subscribe!

-

Current Issue

-

Playtesting

-

Chat

-

Advertising

-

Index of Advertisers

-

Feedback

Page 13 of 13

Pyramid: Designers' Notes: GURPS Martial Arts

2007-12-16

http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=6499