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Name: Kilik

Game(s): The Soul Calibur series

Skills/Attributes:

Expert martial artist

Pure hearted

Driven

Passionate

Loyal

Overview:

Kilik is a martial artist from the Soul Calibur fighting games series. He specializes in fighting with the staff, or rod (also known as a bo in Okinawan and Japanese martial arts). With his build and skillset, Kilik falls square in the center of the fighter archetype, and while he may have lived among monks as a youth, his specializations clearly define him a an expert-level Weapons Master.

Kilik is a driven individual, coming from great tragedy and aspiring to do something almost impossible: destroy the Soul Edge. After his home was wiped out by an evil plague, forcing him to kill his adopted “sister” in self defense, Kilik travels the world, searching for a way to purge his own impure infections from his soul, and destroy the evil blade, Soul Edge. Along the way, he gathers several companions, including Xianghua (who ends up being the one to wield Soul Calibur, Soul Edge’s pure counterpart), and Maxi. Kilik eventually manages to overcome his own corruption through intense training and meditation, and now his son represents him in the most recent Soul Calibur game. Let’s take a look at what makes Kilik tick!

Supreme Martial Artist

Kilik can roll with the best in the world (and regularly does) when it comes to the martial arts. He’s a weapons prodigy, and when he was under control of the Evil Seed he slew many, many competent monk fighters. Afterwards, he went on to test his mettle against some of the strongest and most skilled fighters in the world, in addition to training with the legendary Edge Master to overcome his own corruption.

Kilik’s martial arts style heavily favors the staff (or rod). This long-range weapon is incredibly simple, and incredibly powerful. As a large lever, it can deliver fantastic amounts of force for a hand-held weapon, much greater than that of a sword or other small hand-held weapon. In fact the only hand held weapons that may be capable of delivering more force than the staff are flails, nunchaku, and long-hafter hammers (and flails and nunchaku are incredibly difficult to control after striking something solid).

If you’re interested in learning how to fight with a staff you have many options to choose from. The staff is one of the most ubiquitous weapons in the world, appearing in every major culture in history. The idea of picking up a stick and defending yourself with it is ooooold. Like, really old. One of the oldest weapons in the world old. As such, almost any weapon art will feature some staff techniques. The closest fighting style to Kilik’s would probably be Shaolin kung fu, however Okinawan Kobudo techniques would also be very close. Wushu staff forms are very pretty, but not quite as functional. European staff fighting looks a little different from the Asian styles, but many techniques are similar (only so many ways you can swing a big stick).

Regardless of which art you choose, the result of any martial arts study is up to you. You get out what you put into it. If you commit halfway, you will only get half of what you can out of it. You need to be…

Driven

Kilik is, in some ways, haunted by his past. The deaths of his monk friends and “sister” weighs heavily on him. Although he knows he was under the influence of the Evil Seed at the time, this gives him little comfort. Instead, it drives him to push himself further, and harder, doing everything he can to eliminate the evil influence within himself, and drive it before him. This kind of single-minded purpose is something that’s common with quite a few iconic video game characters, and we’ve talked about it before with Kratos and Sephiroth. Both of those guys, however, are antiheroes at best, and villains at worst. Kilik is a good guy, through and through. He may be seized by corruption, but instead of allowing it to overtake him, or allowing himself to fall into despair, he drives himself ever onwards towards a brighter future.

How do we embody this drive? Well, first, you need to identify what you are passionate about. It could be a hobby, or your job, or a concept or ideal you live by. You can, in fact, be passionate about a few things. I’m passionate about building a better tomorrow. I’m passionate about the martial arts. I’m passionate about helping people. These are the things I have grown to discover I love. You, too, need to find something you’re passionate about. This is the first step. Then, once you’ve discovered your passion, you need to make it your priority. I’m currently trying to do that with this blog, and my karate dojo.

The thing is, sometimes the realities of life can get in your way and slow you down. You may have noticed the late updates this week. Although I am very passionate about the blog, and my dojo, I still need to pay my mortgage, and unfortunately at the moment that requires me to still work a day job as an appliance salesman. However, the important thing is that I’m not letting that stop me. It may slow me momentarily, but hey, as of this post we’re officially caught up and on schedule for tomorrow.

Drive isn’t just powering through everything and not letting anything slow you down. Sometimes things will get in your way, sometimes you will slow a bit, sometimes you’ll run into a rough patch of road. The important thing is that you don’t stop. Being driven isn’t about full-speed-ahead-all-day-every-day. Being driven is keeping your head into the wind, and realizing that sometimes you may get knocked down, but you will get back up again. This drive, coupled with time, can eventually lead to…

Inner Purity

When you are true to yourself, you are inherently becoming a more honest, pure person. I’m not talking about purity in a religious sense, or anything. I’m talking about being completely open with yourself, and purging the daily lies and excuses we make for ourselves. Kilik trained with the Edge Master to cultivate his own inner purity. He let his inner fire purge the evils inside of him, the lies that threatened to drive him to violence and murder.

Here’s a little perspective for you: We are bald monkeys, running around on a living spaceship that is currently hurtling through a universe completely outside of our control. Stop sweating the small stuff, and letting your own insecurities, inner deceptions, and pre-conceived notions control you. Find your passion, find your purpose, and follow it. You’ll find your purity in the process.

That’s it for today. Make sure to check back tomorrow for The Kilik Workout! Until then, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace