Tag: Martial arts »

Shadow Fight 2, by Nekki, is the popular sequel to Facebook-based game, Shadow Fight. Nekki reports that Shadow Fight 2 has reached the #1 position on the App Store and has received 35 million downloads to date over various platforms. The game combines RPG elements with martial arts action as you send your ninja against skilled fighters, demon bosses, and eventually try to close the Gate of Shadows.

“We are thrilled to see such an enthusiastic reception for Shadow Fight 2, allowing us to reach 35 million downloads in under four months,” said Nekki Co-founder and CEO Dmitry Terekhin. “Our goal is to always create games that we want to play, and we know we’ve gotten it right when our community of loyal and vocal fans use the power of word-of-mouth to propel our games to the top of the charts.”

Shadow Fight 2 is available for free on the App Store.

It seems like more and more people are taking self defense classes these days. It's a practical skill, sadly, but I also think some of them do it because it's a lot of work and can burn off calories and tone muscles like nobody's business. But unless someone's nine, it can be hard to make time for lessons X number of times a week. Sometimes people just can't make it to the dojo.

This is why we have Self Defense for All, courtesy of YawaraJitsu. This "interactive self-defense course" sticks to the basics with a chronicle of many different techniques to learn. Each one also includes 3D video (featuring models with MASSIVE HANDS) that can be viewed from multiple angles to help users to fully understand the motions.

I want to stress that I don't believe this app will truly teach anyone to be a self defense master. Something like that requires a senei with years of experience to point out inconsistencies in forms and other students to toss around so as to get an idea for what the moves actually feel like. But I do think it's a useful tool for students that want to keep practicing off the mat. Self Defense for All is available on the App store right now in English, Spanish and Dutch for $5.99.

Taekwondo, like all the martial arts of the world, is as much about its heritage and culture as it is about learning self defense and enjoying as a form of exercise or sport. As the national sport of South Korea, there's much to learn about the traditions of this ancient art. Fortunately, there's an app to aid in learning that knowledge courtesy of What Design Studio.

TKD Notes, available in both iPhone and iPad varieties, covers all of the fundamental Taekwondo techniques. There's a concise explanation of how to carry out each movement as well as interactive photos that help users visualise each phase of the movement. Eight videos focused on poomsaes also help beginners and more experienced students learn their way around the subject. Information about the history and vocabulary is available along with a belt test section.

It's all done through an attractive and traditional appearance to add to the whole experience. Hopefully TKD Notes will be an ideal way to understand the theory behind this noble martial art.

It's out now, priced at $4.99.

I remember going to video game arcades in the 80’s and feeding all of my hard-earned allowance into the mouths of select, unassuming coin-operated, wood-encased predators.

While the majority of arcades all died off in the mid-to-late 80’s, there are developers who still work to bring us back to those beloved, nostalgic days of soda-soaked fingers and greasy joystick bliss, only without the joysticks.

One of my favorite games was Data East’s arcade classic, Karate Champ, which, in addition to providing me with hundreds of hours of entertainment, played an integral role in teaching me Karate moves I would later need to fiend off bullies, thugs and arcade employees.

Imagine my delight when I learned Revolutionary Concepts is working to bring the original fighting game that started it all to the iPhone! Karate Champ’s controls consisted mainly of two joysticks and only those players with expert timing, intuition and the satisfaction of knowing Chuck Norris would be proud were declared winner.

Karate Champ will include:

Dual Stick Control

1 Player vs CPU over 12 environments

2 Player Mode via Bluetooth and WIFI

Classic 80’s sounds

Look for it in April!

[via Finger Gaming]