| Cuthalion interviews Masta! -Cuthalion - Mar 30 05:15pm | |
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For those of you who have recently had your head in the sand, Masta has found himself as the most welcome addition to the Jedi Academy Knight rank. As a retired and highly decorated ‘Honorary’ Auroch he promises to be a welcome addition to the Jedi Academy ranks offering extensive knowledge, advice and many things in between. His skills were put to the test recently in both the annual TIT Tournament and the Red Stance only Tournament, reaching the finals of both with his long term JKA training partner Kain, walking away with the title Champion Red user of the Jedi Academy! His addition to a primarily Yellow Stance based staff will hopefully provide answers to those students out there who have struggled to grasp Red stance for so long, in their quest to become a well rounded ‘Hybrid’ player, incorporating both the excellently taught Yellow stance (Thanks to Dash Starlight, Laziana and Setementor) with that of the slower, more powerful and infinitely more deadly Red Stance. After a round of initial congratulations I was fortunate enough to ask him a few questions about Life, the World and the Universe… Uhhh I mean Jedi Academy.
Cuthalion: If you are on a server what are the various name that you will use? Comrade Masta: err … Masta or P!ng, or Master P!ng usually, although I like Padawan sometimes too though. Cuthalion: Ok thanks. Cuthalion: Roughly when (e.g. 2003/4) did you start playing this game? Comrade Masta: I started playing JKA upon release, but was introduced into the world of MP sometime in early 2004. Cuthalion: What has kept you playing this game, instead of moving on and onto something else? And, what do you like most about playing this game? Comrade Masta: Hm, good question, well, JKA is one of its kind - there is no game that can compare to its intricate and complex sabering system; one that challenges the player and makes aesthetically appealing kills possible, but yeah, lack of a proper alternative is surely one of the reasons I got stuck with JKA. Cuthalion: Never been swayed to try out what some people believe is the JKA upgrade, and go try out Movie Battles? Comrade Masta: MB2 only truly became prominent when my interest in the game began to wane, so I did not bother to try it out. Besides that, I was never a big fan of mods, and mostly focused on the competitive side of JKA, which emphasises playing the game in its original form. Cuthalion: Excellent, that leads directly into my next question; so do you still play for Competitive teams? Or take part in any competitive matches or leagues? Comrade Masta: I quit playing the game competitively when the last batch of aurochs retired sometime in late 2007, I think. Besides the few tournaments hosted at the JA, i have not played the game competitively ever since Cuthalion: Do you ever think about taking up the Auroch mantle again, or is this an official retirement? Comrade Masta: Since I do not find it particularly enjoyable to play the game competitively anymore, I don't think I’ll make any sudden comebacks anytime soon. I’m quite consistent in my decisions. However, what is done cannot be undone, and my desire for battle pushes me to embrace potential challenges in various JA tournaments now and then. Cuthalion: How useful have you / did you, find the Jedi Academy when you first began training? Comrade Masta: Oh it was to my benefit, alright. I mostly stumbled upon it because the person teaching me how to beat up wovians back then thought it was a good idea to make use of the Jedi Academy's servers, which provide a quiet atmosphere suitable for proper instructions. Only later did I actually make use of classes and trained with various other players (Kain). Cuthalion: Who would you say has been the most influential person involved in your playing? If you had to name one player, since you've played? Comrade Masta: The question of influence is a very difficult one to answer, since the person who actually pushed me into perseverance (a.k.a Master Cornugon), despite my relative lack of skill, made the rest of my experience actually possible, thereby technically exerting the greatest influence on me. On the other hand, Kain exerted a tremendous influence on me as a player, as well as a person, so I guess it's somewhat of a close call. Cuthalion: I see, so a question for the newer members of the Academy, would you say "perseverance, despite lack of skill" is a key message when training? In essence, keep practicing and eventually you will see some form of improvement? Cuthalion: And apart from that is there anything you would recommend to improve their game play? Comrade Masta: Yes, perseverance is extremely important, because it actually keeps you practicing. Improvement is not merely a matter of practice though; it requires a multitude of other factors to be in place, i.e. an engaging and challenging environment, an ability to recognize and correct mistakes, a certain degree of mental flexibility, various pattern recognition skills etc. The emphasis should lie on the recognition and correction of mistakes though - if you know what's wrong and can do something about it, you're able to improve quickly. Practicing JKA should therefore be akin to practicing archery: if you miss the bulls-eye, you look for the error in yourself and set out to correct it. Many would also advocate a certain degree of humility, but I disagree, since I find humility to be far more dangerous than useful - I personally would stress honesty instead. Cuthalion: Is there anything you would like to see in the Academy, apart from the obvious, which of course is greater activity? Whether it is greater debates on the Forums, specific things in game? Perhaps both? Comrade Masta: Various in-game events would keep interest peaked, I presume. I’m highly biased towards tournament-like semi-competitive events, but that's just me. Cuthalion: Will you be instigating any of these your self? Would you like to see the return anything like the politics thread, or was that more trouble than it was worth? Comrade Masta: I will probably take part in the organization and administration of various upcoming events, but I cannot disclose any details at the moment. As for the politics thread, I don't think it was particularly fruitful, although not necessary troublesome. I believe that serious discussion about certain topics can only take place under certain circumstances, i.e. amongst people who have at the very least a marginal understanding, familiarity or interest in the topics at hand. Although I admit that such a criterion may vary between topics, it applies very well to some of them, and I’m sometimes having a hard time taking uninformed opinions seriously. Cuthalion: Now that you are a JAK do you personally have any exciting plans? Teaching any classes perhaps? Comrade Masta: There definitely are plans to teach some more advanced classes, focusing on red in particular. however, the exact details are still being discussed, so i cannot say anything certain at the moment. Cuthalion: Have you got any intention to take on Padawan’s in the future? Comrade Masta: Actually, that's something I haven't thought about much. I’m sure I’ll take on Padawan’s sometime in the future - at the very least I’ll be able to create my own über army of Red Stancers, all of whom will be recognizable by their explicit colour combination in their names, and who will bring undying glory to red, establishing it as the most prevalent stance in the JA for all time. Cuthalion: Have you got any long term plans, now you are JAK? More established and consistent events, tournaments etc? Yes / No? Or if you have are you going to keep them secret? Comrade Masta: Well again, I do have plans to hold a class, and there will be a few upcoming events that I cannot discuss at this point, but as to long term plans, well, I do intend on becoming a JAC and slowly but surely transforming the JA into a communist revolutionary training camp. Cuthalion: And finally: Apart from gaming, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you other interests? Comrade Masta: Oh, I’m passionate about a great deal, but most obviously about philosophy, art, history, psychology, politics, literature (the classics in particular), mythology, sociology, religion, writing, many scientific topics, the red struggle etc., the list goes on... So beware! When you are training on a server, that “Padawan” who is getting so many ‘frags’ might well be the latest addition to our ranks. One thing is for sure, with his extensive knowledge of the game Masta’s seemingly infinite patience is bound to be tested by the students requesting for the application of his Red stance knowledge, and I for one shall at the front of the queue. For all those students who are despairing because they have hit the proverbial “wall”, the message seems clear ‘consistent perseverance’, and hopefully, eventually, gains will be made! Especially with this guy pointing you in the right direction! I would like to thank Masta for taking time to answer the questions I put to him, and offer him a final round of congratulations on achieving the JAK status. Well done and Good Luck! |
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| Comments |
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Ãà rth Àpòçålýpsè - Student 
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Nice article, very enjoyable to read. The best part was when i commented, because IM DARTH APOCALYPSE B%%%H!!!! Jk. It was nice  _______________ New -[DE]- Site. |
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Piccolo - Student 
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Nice article, was fun to read 
Go go Red Stance. |
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Va'kion - Student 
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Very good article Cuthalion! I hope to see more in the future! 
~Va'kion  _______________ I'm a resident Ashlan Philosopher |
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Kain Sol - Student |
Nice article! _______________ Padawan of Cuthalion |
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R2D2 - Staff 
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Masta ftw!  _______________ "Do or do not, there is no try" Jedi Master Yoda Dual Saberist |
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SaZ - Student 
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go red stance! _______________ playing jk3 since 30th of january (2005), member since 1st of february. [Unofficial Master to Vision and Z�diac ] If you can make a fool of yourself infront of 300 people you can do anything - Jaiko D'kana |
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Sauce - =^.^= 
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masta should have a family/gang war with the purples. it's be like gta except loads more nerdy. |
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ZantuS - Student 
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Nice indeed _______________ Happiness is the ability to say "So what?" |
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Laziana - Jedi Instructor 
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Great article _______________ Proud owner of Buster Senatu's 200th & 300th, Muro's 370th, Maher's 2100th, Henkes' 1639th, Johauna's 400th, 666th and 900th, Sho Koon's 2000th and Kain Sol's 600th comment Download Laziana's lightsaber here! Glory to Arstozka! |
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Dash Starlight - Jedi Instructor 
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Nice Article Cuth _______________ The name is Bond. James Bond. |
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Z�diac Grimclaw - Ex-Student 
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GJ _______________ Facta non verba. Omnia mutantur nos et mutamur in illis. Timendi causa est nescire... |
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Degor - Padawan 
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Good job cuth. _______________ May the force be with you. And may the academy stand forever! |
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Maher - Jedi Knight 
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mhm... very nice! _______________ Still here | My Lightsaber |
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Setementor - Jedi Master 
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Awesome! |
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