What kind of Martial Arts would StarFleet be teaching to it's Officers?

[Kor]

There is only one answer -

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It's the ultimate in martial arts, complete with unintentional Tron cosplay outfits too!

At the time I thought they were trying to play off of the popularity of American Gladiators, just with more modest outfits. And of course I thought it was awesome.

Kor

 

[fireproof78]

Although I've been told by people in the know that in close-quarters fighting, like in starship or space station corridors, a blade can be preferable to a firearm, due to the risk of friendly fire or the difficulty of aiming a ranged weapon up close. So it kind of makes sense there. But a small blade like a d'k tahg probably makes more sense there than a huge, elaborate sword.

This has been my thinking as well as I research for writing. That initial space travel and boarding parties would utilize far more of bladed and melee weapons for a variety of reasons and situations.

 

[Christopher]

This has been my thinking as well as I research for writing. That initial space travel and boarding parties would utilize far more of bladed and melee weapons for a variety of reasons and situations.

Of course, the old saw about how you shouldn't fire bullets in spaceships because they can breach the hull is ridiculous, since spaceships and spacesuits are designed to be micrometeorite-proof, and thus are also bulletproof. There would be a risk of equipment damage, though, plus there's the drawback of using such loud weapons in enclosed spaces. Though in my novel Only Superhuman, they use much quieter Gauss guns that accelerate projectiles magnetically.

 

[fireproof78]

Of course, the old saw about how you shouldn't fire bullets in spaceships because they can breach the hull is ridiculous, since spaceships and spacesuits are designed to be micrometeorite-proof, and thus are also bulletproof. There would be a risk of equipment damage, though, plus there's the drawback of using such loud weapons in enclosed spaces. Though in my novel Only Superhuman, they use much quieter Gauss guns that accelerate projectiles magnetically.

Yeah, that was my initial thinking when I first started research but of course that's quite wrong. Hard less but I learned it.

But, yeah, spaceships have a lot of delicate and important equipment that probably won't react well to bullets.

 

[Farscape One]

If I remember correctly, it's precisely why PPGs were used in BABYLON 5's Earthforce.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

If I remember correctly, it's precisely why PPGs were used in BABYLON 5's Earthforce.

Yup, that was the original reason, but phasers have their default settings on stun for a reason.

 

[Oddish]

In general, if you're going to use blades, better make sure the other side is doing the same. Watch the "boarding" scene in "Way of the Warrior" to see why... a lot of the Klingon boarders were cut down because they had bat'leths and the station crew had phasers. And had they not needed to show some hand to hand combat to make it exciting, they probably would have all been taken out just as easily.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

In general, if you're going to use blades, better make sure the other side is doing the same. Watch the "boarding" scene in "Way of the Warrior" to see why... a lot of the Klingon boarders were cut down because they had bat'leths and the station crew had phasers. And had they not needed to show some hand to hand combat to make it exciting, they probably would have all been taken out just as easily.

If DS9 and every StarFleet ship or facility had this type of Automated turret posted in every corner of every room / hall way / door way and around every section of the ship.

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The Boarding Party would be FAR easier to contain / slow down.

Imagine beaming into any hallway or room and having all turrets that can see you attack your party simultaneously.

You'd have to beam in with personal shields up and be ready for a grueling war of attrition against all the turrets, Android Security Officers, Holographic Security Officers, Actual Biological Security Officers that are part of the crew, etc.

Just boarding in without shields would be a death trap to those who haven't scouted a properly enforced StarFleet facility.

Every Hallway, every Floor would have Force Fields up just to slow your progress down and attempt to trap every intruder in Force Fields.

 

[Christopher]

Watch the "boarding" scene in "Way of the Warrior" to see why... a lot of the Klingon boarders were cut down because they had bat'leths and the station crew had phasers.

And that's another thing. Why do the Klingons wear armor that doesn't actually armor them against anything? It's neither phaser-proof nor blade-proof. If you're going to depict a warp-era warrior culture engaging in armored personal combat, then design their armor and weaponry to be high-tech and functional, not just faux-medieval cosplay.

 

[Oddish]

Or at least armor that's fist-proof. Didn't Riker beat up an armored Klingon in "A Matter of Honor"?

 

[C.E. Evans]

Klingon armor is like stormtrooper armor in Star Wars. More of a uniform, or something to evoke dread in others, than any kind of practical protection.

 

[Kor]

I just call the TMP-onward Klingon getup a "uniform" since it doesn't actually function as armor. Has it ever actually been referred to in on-screen 'cannnnnnnon' as armor? Or has that been a fan assumption?

Kor

 

[fireproof78]

It was able to take two shots from a Starfleet phaser.

 

[Christopher]

I just call the TMP-onward Klingon getup a "uniform" since it doesn't actually function as armor. Has it ever actually been referred to in on-screen 'cannnnnnnon' as armor? Or has that been a fan assumption?

Kor

Well, if it isn't armor, that just raises the question of why it isn't armor, given that they use it in combat. It's the same as the nonsensicality of Dominion War episodes like "Nor the Battle to the Strong" or "The Siege of AR-558" where Starfleet ground troops are waging combat in absolutely no body armor of any kind, just cloth jumpsuits. I'm glad the modern shows give the characters plausible body armor when going into action (we see some in the recently released publicity photos for this week's Strange New Worlds). You could argue that it creates a continuity issue, but that problem started as soon as TNG abandoned the security body armor used in the TOS movies.

 

[fireproof78]

In general, if you're going to use blades, better make sure the other side is doing the same. Watch the "boarding" scene in "Way of the Warrior" to see why... a lot of the Klingon boarders were cut down because they had bat'leths and the station crew had phasers. And had they not needed to show some hand to hand combat to make it exciting, they probably would have all been taken out just as easily.

For drama, sadly. One need not expect logic to rule the day when it comes to armor, as it will still fail when dramatically convenient.

The other side of using bladed or melee weapons for boarding action is more obvious when you realize that the Klingons were quite dumb, dramatically speaking, by beaming straight on to the Promenade. More sensible beaming would be in unsecured, isolated areas, and use melee weapons to remove security quietly.

A bit out of the time period but the first Pirates of the Caribbean film demonstrates this quite well.

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[Oddish]

That's the purpose of blades in modern combat: discreet elimination of enemy personnel. When there's real fighting to be done, guns are generally the preferred tool.

 

[fireproof78]

That's the purpose of blades in modern combat: discreet elimination of enemy personnel. When there's real fighting to be done, guns are generally the preferred tool.

Well, for Klingons it's tradition

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

And that's another thing. Why do the Klingons wear armor that doesn't actually armor them against anything? It's neither phaser-proof nor blade-proof. If you're going to depict a warp-era warrior culture engaging in armored personal combat, then design their armor and weaponry to be high-tech and functional, not just faux-medieval cosplay.

Yeah, sadly it doesn't defend against squat compared to even IRL armor.

Klingon armor is like stormtrooper armor in Star Wars. More of a uniform, or something to evoke dread in others, than any kind of practical protection.

Stormtrooper armour protects charity hiker from deadly snake bite

So apparently Storm Trooper armor is good enough to defend against deadly snake bites.

The greatest threat to people cosplaying as Storm Troopers.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Well, if it isn't armor, that just raises the question of why it isn't armor, given that they use it in combat. It's the same as the nonsensicality of Dominion War episodes like "Nor the Battle to the Strong" or "The Siege of AR-558" where Starfleet ground troops are waging combat in absolutely no body armor of any kind, just cloth jumpsuits. I'm glad the modern shows give the characters plausible body armor when going into action (we see some in the recently released publicity photos for this week's Strange New Worlds). You could argue that it creates a continuity issue, but that problem started as soon as TNG abandoned the security body armor used in the TOS movies.

I'd like to think that the Golden Era of StarFleet in the early 24th century created bad policy decisions that lead to the tragedies at Battle of Wolf 359 and Siege of AR-558 where the upper brass thought they didn't need all the Military Training, High Tech Weapons, Armor, etc. Ergo pointless loss of life by being under prepared. Especially for the Dominion War.

StarFleet upper brass and UFP civilians were unhappy with how unprepared StarFleet was and the Hawks within StarFleet got to take over in the post Dominion War era and made StarFleet FAR more prepared for combat.

Sadly, Cyber Security & Information Security doesn't seem to have improved nearly at the rate it should've. Otherwise tragedies like losing a Galaxy Class to a ancient & obsolete Klingon Bird of Prey or having the Androids rebel and set mars on fire due to internal sabotage by a Romuland Double Agent wouldn't have been so effective.

 

[Christopher]

I'd like to think that the Golden Era of StarFleet in the early 24th century created bad policy decisions that lead to the tragedies at Battle of Wolf 359 and Siege of AR-558 where the upper brass thought they didn't need all the Military Training, High Tech Weapons, Armor, etc. Ergo pointless loss of life by being under prepared. Especially for the Dominion War.

The thing is, "Beyond the Farthest Star" showed that late-2260s Starfleet had personal force fields that could not only substitute for spacesuits, but were resistant to prolonged phaser fire. If only later productions had remembered that...