Good tips and discussion here, thanks again.
If people rely on bashing to escape a feinter they will never learn. Only way to learn is to get your butt handed to you every time until it no longer happens. But I can see why not everyone might like that. You can suffer through it though. That is what I did and I never played the boomers' game.
I don't think the tips are bad per se, but maybe they take the focus away from the skills you should get, mainly knowing your space and blocking, learning proper attack direction in a situation. All combined with footwork of course.
Fair enough! In my mind, keeping the beginner in the fight for
one more beat after ****ing up is worth it, both for fun and for learning (especially the latter). I'm not suggesting anyone abandon the fundamentals, the stuff that really matters, for any of these, though. And in the case of the kick AND the turn block, you're still totally free to block properly. The turn block even gets you used to the idea of "turning" the mouse in the direction of the attack as you would for a block, albeit a little more aggressively than you would normally, so I think there's some skill carryover there that might help beginners pick up basic block mechanics faster, too.
If someone is going to die because they got out-feinted, I'd rather they die after they get an ACTUAL rep of practice in, with an attempt to block or manage distance. If someone is already too close to me, like:
(i.e. close enough to kick or bash), I've already screwed up my distance management. So when it comes to learning the game and improving, is it better to die here, or have a way to reset the exchange and try again?
At that point, I'm not managing distance properly anyways, and if I'm getting hypnotized by feints, it might be best to reset the exchange and start over so I can actually learn something, instead of just getting cut down. And by start over, I mean using the "skills you should get" mentioned above.
Bashing and kicking are both advanced techniques which can be punished and should not be attempted without a good understanding of movement and footwork which comes well after learning basic blocking. "Turn-Blocking" instills an incorrect muscle memory reaction to an opposite side swing, when the first reaction that should be instilled is simply blocking in that direction. You shouldn't let an opposite side swing dictate your footwork, you should be reacting to an opposite side swing by an opposite side block as opposed to doing a 180 with your camera.
In regards to turn-blocking, the muscle memory is very close to what you use for proper blocking—a slight turn in the direction of the incoming attack. This video clearly isn't for you so I won't ask you to watch it, but I will say there is plenty of "turn blocking" footage and the amount of actual turning is negligible... it's certainly not a 180 degree camera swing lol. Turn blocking also does not dictate your footwork in any way; it's a reactive, last second move you make when already committed to a foot position, and it leaves you free to move throughout.