As long as the outfit wouldn't be... Overly 'mature' in nature, I should be able to do the rest. I'm tempted to simply go in a Lolita maid costume this year.
Um, I have a couple of suggestions from both anime and videogames, black and tanned, after a little bit of research! Though I'm hardly even looking at their outfits, to be honest.
- Sheva Alomar from Resident Evil 5 - Purna from Dead Island (Australian) - Fortune from Metal Gear Solid 2 - Iris from Pokemon (although her hair is bigger than her. Best of luck)
Okay, I guess those were all from videogames. But I might have more tomorrow!
So my opinion on this is fairly simple, it matters not what the color of your skin is with cosplay the only thing about your body that really has any play in it is body type and even that is fairly irrelevant. What matters is your personality and how well you can pull off acting like that character.
I say play the character you associate with the most.
And now i shall return to my steampunk pirate captain cosplay.
Across vast oceans, her master will reach her, To teach her delights, no mortals possess. She will enter my world, and discover its splendor, Then completely surrender, to my tender caress.
Lol, thankfully it was only my dog. I do, however, have a short sword in my bedroom, though the blade is a little dull. I probably could have done that, if someone really had been breaking in... And they were unarmed...
Always stab, not slash. Faster. More lethal, and more direct.
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Across vast oceans, her master will reach her, To teach her delights, no mortals possess. She will enter my world, and discover its splendor, Then completely surrender, to my tender caress.
Swinging is too slow. You telegraph the attach. Always use a thrust.
Example. If you take the time to swing your blade at me, I grab your wrist with one hand, and strike you with the other. I then kill you with your own blade. However, if you thrust, I must parry in order to execute this technique. Which is more difficult.
~ Your friendly neighborhood martial artist.
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Across vast oceans, her master will reach her, To teach her delights, no mortals possess. She will enter my world, and discover its splendor, Then completely surrender, to my tender caress.
Thank you. I'll keep this in mind since I actually planned on getting a katana as well as a few guns when I get my own place. People these days are crazy. Why not be just as crazy to protect myself? :)
Katana, and all Japanese blades, are meant to slash through full plate armor. That means they are far less practical against an unarmored target than a weapon/style meant for use on an unarmored foe. They are also typically to long and heavy for indoor use. Im fond of various Chinese blades for their lightweight versatility, and of course a medium sized rapier is still the most efficient weapon for opponents not wearing some form of armor.
Consider the knife. It is an easily concealed blade, which means you have the element of surprise. Also, you can throw knife blades. Personally, Ive slept with kunai knives under my bed for a decade now.
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Across vast oceans, her master will reach her, To teach her delights, no mortals possess. She will enter my world, and discover its splendor, Then completely surrender, to my tender caress.
Heh, Maliance. My favorite tactic, spin the blade, acting like you're going for an upward slash, then thrust into the thigh or leg, since they expect it to be going up for the torso. :) That way you can have a bit of fun when they can't get away.
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Give me literacy or I give you a punch to the face.
In an actual duel, I am rather fond of reminding my opponent that they (and I) have another hand. A good strike to the right spot and they lose. Or, step into a parry and grab their thrusting wrist, giving you control over their blade. The end result to that one is rather comical. I am fond of using that as my opening counter. Catches them off guard. In lue of that, there are spots on the arm that when struck correctly make one drop their weapon. Also a funny outcome. Makes it look like they dropped it from ineptitude, as few observers will know what you really did. A good one to use on those quick to anger over a hurt ego. Do that, and they will never beat you.
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Across vast oceans, her master will reach her, To teach her delights, no mortals possess. She will enter my world, and discover its splendor, Then completely surrender, to my tender caress.
About three years of Mixed Martial Arts (our instructor trained us for street fighting as well) Learned Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Hapkido, Judo, And Tae Kwon Do. Bit of weapons too.
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Give me literacy or I give you a punch to the face.
Ive been training since I was 8. In my school, when we say training, we mean every day, not once a week. I study Wing Chun under Chris Chan (A direct student of Yip Man, and former training partner of Bruce Lee). My style is also called snake crane style. Its also been called Lightning Hands. We have what is considered the most direct and practical style there is, which includes 108 death blows, because 107 just isnt practical enough... After about six months instruction in our style you could take someone whos done most other styles for a few years, with VERY few exceptions. Aside from that, Ive picked up some Bagua, and several other styles. For swords, Ive learned some Chinese double broad sword, Chinese long blade, some Japanese Kendo and non Kendo blade forms, French fencing, and some Spanish fencing. Ive also had a few classes of Philipeno knife fighting. The story for the later is simple. An island nation that gets marauded throughout history by pirates from all over the world tends to adopt all of their best moves into their own style, and add some new ones. That gives it its reputation for being the best blade style in the world, especially for close quarters, and indoors.
This is the part where I fain humbleness by not filling in the rest of the blanks.
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Across vast oceans, her master will reach her, To teach her delights, no mortals possess. She will enter my world, and discover its splendor, Then completely surrender, to my tender caress.
Oh, and Im looking for a suitable Choy Lay Fut Sifu. My school has an old rivalry with the Choy Lay Fut, and it makes it hard to find a Sifu for both. If anyone knows one anywhere on the west coast, let me know. I dont mind traveling.
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Across vast oceans, her master will reach her, To teach her delights, no mortals possess. She will enter my world, and discover its splendor, Then completely surrender, to my tender caress.