Time loops, computer games and martial arts.

How we live, die and live again in the combat sports.

Thoughts on; karate tournament formats; death and resurrection in games and movies; the duel as a game and karate rule changes.

Karate tournaments.

In my earliest experiences of karate competitions it was ‘one hit to win’, Shobu Ippon. Score one good point and that’s it, the bout is over and you come out instantly victorious. If you lose, you might be out of that competition but you live to fight another day.

At the time it was explained to us in all kinds of fanciful ways, ‘you would only get one chance against an armed aggressor, so kill him with one technique’. In karate it was seemingly legitimised with the Japanese phrase, ‘Ikken Hissatsu’ (‘to annihilate with one blow’) Wiki link. If it was Japanese then it automatically got the stamp of authenticity; so we swallowed it whole.

Only, in karate competition you don’t ‘kill’ him, his death is symbolic, it’s all part of a game, maybe a very tense game with risky consequences, but a game nevertheless.

To add to this, as part of the rules of competition, under certain circumstances, an extension was granted, with one condition; the first one to score wins. Non-ironically, it was called ‘sudden death’. If you lose, you came away disappointed but not mortally injured (there’s always the next competition).

Then contests became more gamified, mostly because matches were getting too cagey (it might mean unbearable tension for competitors in the heat of the moment, but for impatient audiences who were unwilling to tap into the vibe, it might have been too much of an ask). And thus the competition format was changed; which I will discuss later.

But first…

Sonic the Hedgehog.

Every gamer experiences the joys and frustrations of progressing through ever-advancing levels on a particular game. You aim to move forward beyond certain waymarkers/bossfights etc. and you know that if you fail/die you can always restart that section. It’s annoying and addictively entrancing at the same time – you keep coming back for more.

The idea has been tapped into by the creators/writers of fiction and movies (particularly science fiction). Think of the Tom Cruise movie, ‘Edge of Tomorrow: Live Die Repeat’ (2014), where the hero is trapped in a time loop and has to rescue the world threatened by an alien invasion; he dies and then he has to start all over again. Or ‘Source Code’, (2011) with Jake Gyllenhaal also doomed to repeat the same events over and over, while trying to find a terrorist bomber on a train.

Then there is the darkly comic movie, ‘Groundhog Day’ where Bill Murray is cursed to repeat the same day so many times it almost drives him to madness. This is the concept of the loop.

There is something about the idea that appeals to us; the turning back of time to have another go; like Marty McFly; it’s the ultimate second chance.

It appeals to us because we have to face the reality and limitations of our own existence. There is no ‘loop’ for us; life is not a rehearsal. Humans, being what they are, they always want what they can’t have. Fictions often supply the answers, that’s why we are envious of Harry Potter’s ability to fly (on a broomstick), or enjoy the idea of his cloak of invisibility, wouldn’t it be great.

Duelling.

Modern fencing came out of life and death duelling. Kendo emerged from the samurai’s deadly encounters. You can compete in fencing/kendo matches and imagine the lethal tension without experiencing fatal consequences. This is the adrenalin buzz that keeps these sportspeople coming back, time and time again.

As society sees it.

Not only are we intrigued with the idea of flirting with death, like moths to a flame; but our epic heroes are also believed to have existed in that world.

It holds a special place in our subconscious hardwiring. We would love the second chance of the time loop, and, in addition, coming back from the dead is such a powerful and entrancing thought that whole religions are built upon it.

The fact is that we don’t like the idea of finality.

Here is a poignant quote from American social commentator, journalist and recently reinvented curmudgeonly grande dame, Fran Lebowitz, “I love sleep…It’s like death without the responsibility” (1978, Metropolitan Life).

Each day, after eight hours in a mini coma, a state of suspended animation, we wake up, like Lazarus from the tomb. Our battery is fully charged (we hope). That is as much of a resurrection we are liable to get, but it’s not a wholly unpleasant experience.

Back to karate contests.

In karate, Shobu Ippon was overtaken by Shobu Sanbon - three points (or more) to win; although it opened-up the opportunities for the competitors and removed some of the tedium for the spectators, I couldn’t help but think that we’d lost something. The symbolic death of ‘Ikken Hissatsu’ was instead replaced by the death by a thousand cuts (well, three cuts).

It is a possibility that the flexibility of Shobu Sanbon allowed competitors to develop their skills in more prolonged exchanges; I get that. And you can still experience the ramped-up tension if you are one point down and only thirty seconds left on the clock.

(As an aside; I always wondered how that worked for the grappling arts, because isn’t their objective to ‘dominate and cause submission’? It’s not my zone so I don’t know. But the irony is that Koryu jujutsu (pre-1868) had a very simple (and different) agenda – to maim and kill as quickly as possible. It’s odd to think about that).

Computer games.

But, with the ‘death by a thousand cuts’, wasn’t that also rather like some of those old school types of computer/video games, of the ‘shoot ‘em up’ style? I am thinking of the ones where you have a ‘lifeline’ or a ‘health bar’, like the early versions of ‘Doom’, where, when you are being shot at and your life/health line drops to zero, it’s ‘game over’.

A lot like life really… only without the responsibility.