EPTKiai
Kiai is a Japanese go term representing an attitude of aggressively parrying your opponent's plans and pushing ahead with your own. Often translated as "fighting spirit", it has a positive sense, and can also be applied to individual moves demonstrating the kiai attitude.
Wei Qi?
The Chinese game of Wei Qi is thought to be at least 3000 years old, up to a possible 4000.
Wei qi is also played widely in Japan and Korea, where it is known as Go/Igo or Baduk/Paduk respectively.
![[image loading]](http://i41.tinypic.com/28m2yp1.jpg)
The Game itself is one of capturing territory. Players alternate placing black and white stones on a 19x19 grid (intersections of this grid), fencing empty areas of the board to capture this territory. When players clash, the fighting can be quick and brutal. These fights can scale the width of the entire board, with groups of stones (stones adjacent to each other) life hanging in the balance.
Paduk/Go/Weiqi is said to represent a players personality, known in some Asian cultures as “Hand Talk”. In the battles that occur, a quality is shown by the players.
This quality is Fighting Spirit. This Fighting Spirit is the undying resistance shown by players. Where ever possible, players will find another way to what their opponent intends. They will resist every blow as much as they can, whilst finding a way to push back themselves for a suitable, if not superior result.
Starcraft today, in my humble opinion, has become bland. Players play standard build orders that maximise their chances of winning, and minimise the risk of suffering to 'cheese' plays, or all in builds. Players have become robotic, albeit mechanical monsters.
What we see in the great players is Fighting Spirit.
The players who have demonstrated this have always had considerable, consistent force. Iloveoov, Nada, Savior, Boxer. These players have shown their unbreakable will, at least whilst in their primes.
I think that today, no player better emphasises the concept of Fighting Spirit than Shin Sang Moon, or, as he's better known as, Sea.Leta of OnGameNet SPARKYZ.
An interlude
I should give some information about myself. I have followed Starcraft since roughly 2005. I started playing on Europe, under the aka of bonjordo. A player I knew from some forums I visited (Nemesis.cF-, for those who know anything about English starcraft), would occasionally play with me. I saw a challenge in beating him, something I thought was impossible! Needless to say, I would have no interest in the game if he didn't nurture it. He would play with me, critique my play, and show me videos of progamers. The first video I remember as being particularly inspiring was Xell0s_Plutos infamous Julyzerg highlight video. I was in awe. Back in 2005, mutalisk micro was a shadow of what it is today. There was no latency fixer, nothing. My experiences with mutalisks on battle.net taught me that they were a BAD idea. When I saw july dismantling his opponents with aggressive mutalisk openings, I could think of nothing else. I was amazed at the raw aggression, at the dominating playstyle he possessed.
the classic video
That is how my interest in progaming bloomed. Soon after I discovered teamliquid.net, which was a way for me to watch VOD's. I preferred watching VOD's, because as an Australian, I had typically shitty internet. ADSL which was unable to stream videos on youtube. So I would lurk and read the forums.
Sadly though, my interest in actually watching starcraft waned. I wasn't interested in watching 99% of games played that didn't involve savior. In savior I felt the same powerful, masterful, dominating style that july possessed, but expressed in a different manner. I will never forget watching savior pushed to his absolute limits in a game, yet pushing back, always fighting, never giving his opponents the actions they wanted. Who could forget Nada vs Savior on longinus II?
Shin Sang Moon Rising
No players have captured my imagination since Saviors decline. Yet recently, Manifesto's wonderful power rank edition introduced me to Sea.Leta. I had read in live report threads of Leta's amazing play, but have never bothered investigating.
But the power rank made me investigate the games. The descriptions sounded outlandish. Leta defeating Guemchi (the prophesied protoss messiah who never rose), starting an incredible comeback. All I could think was...
“Pure bullshit, how could players at that level be undone by a dropship!”
God. I was wrong.
![[image loading]](http://i39.tinypic.com/omgk3.jpg)
Yep... Dropships.
Jesus Christ. 20 minutes of pure harassment, after an aggressive opening gets punished. Coming back into the game with some of the most amazing harassment by a terran I had ever seen. His vulture harass unbelievable. He dominated the game. He played by his own tempo, creating a vivid storm of non stop harassment, whilst he slowly crawled back into the game. Just like that classic Nada savior match on longinus 2, where savior came back from being pushed into the very reaches of his natural, I felt Leta claw and tear forward with each vulture.
I can understand how Guemchi would of felt. Securing such a gigantic early advantage, especially in a game where small advantages escalate into increasingly bigger ones, all to have it undone by a player who showed nothing more than his force.
Amazing. I sat Awestruck. Not since July or Savior had I been so compelled, entertained by how a gamer had played. I was inspired once again.
Maybe that was a fluke. I've been disappointed before.
Not a fluke?
This game had me enthralled. Opening with a saucy factory into dual port build, Leta showed how he would not yield. Even when luxury, who is without doubt one of the top tier zergs of this day had made a suitable counter, Leta kept pumping wraiths, moving into a 1 base play mixing wraiths with Marine, medic and firebats. He showed luxury that they would play on his terms. His Wraith micro was beautiful, his harassment unrelenting.
Active play. Play with real, REAL fighting spirit.
Once again, on the same map, Leta dominated luxury. This time with an elaborate 'cheese' build.
http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/players/185_Leta/games
Go there now, and watch as many games as you can. Your cheating yourself if you never discover the fighting spirit of Leta.
Sea.Leta to me is without doubt the most interesting player in starcraft today. As Yum Bo Sung is to Fakesteve, so is Shin Sang Moon to myself. I only wonder what great heights that Sang Moon will rise to.
What scares me more is that he Waxes and Wanes like Yum Bo Sung, never fully realising his potential.
yay Leta fans
, but it's still nice to know that there is support for him. And by all means, he's deserved every ounce of our support, he's probably the only player i like who hasn't ever really let me down, even when he looses he always put up a good fight, or it was a BO win or something. 
