What I refer to as combat skill is a fighter's ability to actually fight.
More often than not, duelists will have next to no practical skills when it comes to violence. Some may have thrown a punch or been to a firing range once or twice, but the vast majority have no firsthand experience with trying to do harm to another human being. The good duelists make up for this with the help of the Internet and a vivid imagination. This works well enough, but there are occasionally disconnects with reality. They'll lose track of which hand is holding what weapon, or how far away from their opponent they are, or which way elbows bend. Sometimes their opponent will catch it, but usually smaller mistakes will go unnoticed, because the other guy has only a vague idea of what's going on as well.
As a judge, you should be able to pick any random two consecutive posts and be able to figure out where your fighters are relative to each other, which way their weapons are swinging/shooting, where their feet are, what direction/how fast they're moving, and whether they're being encumbered by any injuries. If the fighters are of the "fake it until you make it" variety, this can be a real headache. They can usually place themselves fairly well to start, but that tends to go out the window once they get close to the other guy, at least for the first few duels. After a while they tend to get the hang of it and it's no big deal, so long as they've got good judges to help guide them.
When it comes time to write a judgment, if a lack of detail or spatial awareness is a problem, let them know what they're lacking. It's never a good idea to get too critical in a public forum, since plenty of folks take that personally, but you should at least be able to let them know what's missing. Sometimes that answer will be "freaking everything." If that's the case, try to lay out the groundwork for what a post is supposed to include, and hope like hell they listen, or their GBA career will be short and miserable.
I find that the fake it crowd tends to start off kinda iffy, but the ones who take guidance, or at least know how to learn from their mistakes, tend to do really well. Most of them know they're just sort of flailing about, and don't mind being nudged in the right direction, so long as you don't poke too many holes in their pride.
That's not true of the next group. Occasionally, you'll run into folks who might have taken a few martial arts classes, or maybe go shooting every now and again. They know just enough in real life to be a danger to themselves, but when they come into the GBA, they think that little bit of knowledge makes them badass. And you know what? Maybe it does. I've run into a few folks over the years who took a little bit of practical knowledge and stretched it out a long, long way. But by and large, this group will be your most problematic.
They're not hard to spot. They'll be the ones all full of piss and vinegar at the start of a match. They know the damn serial numbers of the guns they're using. They'll wax eloquent about how badass their gun or their sword is, or about how awesome they are. They'll take up a stance, likely described in great detail, that they learned last week during their free trial at the local MMA studio taught by a guy who changed his name to Gracie after a discovering that teaching people useless moves was better paying than getting one's face pounded in by real fighters.
Now let's be clear: this doesn't necessarily mean that they're a wannabe. Some people just like detail and have a little swagger. What sets the wannabes apart is what happens next. Usually, the fight will progress for two or three posts, and then their opponent does something they didn't expect. That's when the PMs start.
"WTF dude? I just used my Ninja Crane Style Ultimate Gun-fu! You should be dead!"
"Uh, you closed your eyes and fired a round off in the opposite direction. I didn't even have to do anything."
"Whatever noob. Edit your crappy post or I'm gonna PM the judge and let him know what a piece of ish you are."
About half the time, they won't have the balls to actually follow through. Instead, they'll make their next post really passive aggressive and catty and the other person usually just decides it's not worth it. If they do PM you, it'll almost always be the sort of arrogant, self righteous rambling that makes you wish you had a time machine, a coat hangar, and the coordinates of the city they were conceived in.
Now, if things have progressed to this point, chances are it's not going to be enough to simply ask them to cool down. Obviously you'll have to try to get them to back off and see reason, but rare are the occasions when that's actually effective. No, chances are you're going to have to shut them down. Hard.
Politely inform them that you're looking into the matter and that it will be handled appropriately. Reach out to their opponent and try to ascertain exactly what was said. You probably shouldn't say anything that will let either of them know you're picking a side. Polite neutrality is the goal. I would say the exception is when the wronged party is so frustrated that they don't want to come back to the GBA every again. In that case, do what you can to mollify them, but try not to tip your hand and let them know what's coming next. NOTE: Other judges may disagree with the recommended method for handling the problem. I can only write what's worked for me.
If the offense isn't too terrible and they want to continue dueling, by all means, let them. And hell, if it was just a temporary misunderstanding and both of them are fine at the end, no harm no foul. Make note of it in the judgment, but that's all that needs to be done. If, on the other hand, the offending party is too insufferable or the other fighter just doesn't want to continue, lock the thread. And when it comes time to judge it, this is one of the few times when it can be considered appropriate to absolutely destroy someone.
Bear in mind that I'm not talking about calling them names or insulting them in any way, shape, or form. That is a definite no go. Instead, you take apart the duel, piece by excruciating piece, and set out exactly what they did wrong. Every violation of etiquette, every questionable move or passive aggressive aside. Nothing gets overlooked, nothing stays hidden.
In most judgments, your focus should always be on the positive. Instead of saying "This is what you did wrong," try to say "this is where you can improve." That sort of ego saving crap can go a long way. Here though, there's no room for it. There cannot be doubt in the mind of anyone who reads your judgment that this person has screwed up. You're still not being mean or hateful. Quite the opposite, in fact. But you need to be clear.
Now, if it comes down to this, it's already too late to save this fighter. 9 times out of ten, they'll whine to their friends and give up the GBA. The 10% that come back and learn from their mistakes are generally better for it, though they might still have a chip on their shoulder. The takedown isn't for their benefit, however. It's for everyone else that might be reading that particular duel. It's for the person who just had to put up with the ass clown. You're sending a message that we won't tolerate that sort of nonsense.
Maintaining credibility in the eyes of the writers is paramount. 99% of the time, that means being positive and professional. We're coaches as much as anything. But that 1% of the time where someone steps drastically out of line, we need to show that we've got teeth. On JvS, that wasn't as much of a problem, though it's arguable we had more problem children. But the GBA there was officially sanctioned, and we had the backing of the Whills when push came to shove. We're on our own here, and that means we've got to demonstrate to the world that we hold our fighters to a higher standard. Occasionally, that'll mean pulling someone's teeth.
The third archetype when it comes to combat skill is the expert. Maybe they've been fighting their whole lives, or maybe they've only been at it for a few years, but usually they've been around the block enough to know what they're talking about. Generally, this sort of fighter won't give you much of a problem. They know what they're doing well enough that they're not going to try anything stupid.
Some of them can be a bit arrogant. They might not have much tolerance for amateurs, and that impatience can leak through. In that situation, it's best to remind them that not everyone has actually had the chance to fight for realsies, and ask them to tone it down. Mostly they'll take the hint, but every now and again they'll rebel against the idea. We'll handle those cases as they come. Real fighters are few and far between, and usually they're worth the effort required to make them at home in the GBA.
Most of your problems with this type will come from either a lack of detail or too much. There's a tendency to just assume that the other guy knows what they're doing and be kinda sparse with descriptions. They might get annoyed when their opponent misses something that, to them, should be obvious. On the other end of the spectrum, some of them might lapse into jargon that will be completely lost on the layman. In both cases, gently remind them that not everyone has their experience, and the issue should correct itself in a duel or two. Most of these folks have the discipline to learn from their mistakes.
You'll note that I've been writing more about the type of person you'll encounter more so than anything specific to look for. That's because this is one of those areas where it's really hard to cover every little detail that you need to look for. Mostly, it's just common sense. Guns have recoil, and the more powerful the gun, the more recoil it will have. Swords have weight, while lightsabers don't. Use your head and best judgment when it comes to this stuff. If something seems off, it probably is.
Keep in mind that you don't have to do everything yourself. There's a wealth of knowledge and experience here. Feel free to use it. Ask questions if you don't understand something. Not a one of us is going to tell you to go pound sand if you ask for help. And if that does happen, we'll fix the issue with a quickness.
