Assorted Gong Nam 7 Freaks questions (imported from cinple.net Wuxia Forum)

[Ken Cheng]

Now that we're back in business here...

Gong Nam 7 Freaks vs. wulin average during LOCH?

When we think of Gwok Jing's first martial arts teachers, the Gong Nam 7 Freaks in LEGEND OF THE CONDOR HEROES, we tend to think of them as weak fighters who are easily bested by just about every opponent they fight. That's largely because their opponents tend to be high-level fighters themselves...including the likes of Yau Chui Gei, Mui Chiu Fung, and even Greats such as East Heretic Wong Yerk See and West Poison Au Yeung Fung. Against that kind of opposition, most fighters would look pretty bad.

But how did the Freaks stack up against the wulin average in LOCH? Was most of the wulin of their time composed of fighters at their level, or were they actually above average (even if they couldn't challenge Greats-level fighters)?

Gong Nam 7 Freaks and Burning Wood Monk

What was the exact nature of the relationship between the Gong Nam 7 Freaks and the Burning Wood Monk? The Burning Wood Monk specifically requested their help to deal with Yau Chui Gei. It probably wasn't because the Gong Nam 7 Freaks had overwhelming martial arts skills (they didn't). Did they owe him a favor?

Did the Gong Nam 7 Freaks have a fighting formation?

What can I say? I'm at the beginning of LOCH '82 again and I'm on a Gong Nam 7 Freaks kick.

Now we know that the Gong Nam 7 Freaks didn't have an elaborate fighting formation such as the Cheun Jen 7 Disciples' Big Dipper 7 Stars Formation or the Mo Dong 7 Heroes' formation. That being said, did the Freaks have any kind of standard battle tactic for attacking their enemies, or did they just kind of swarm after their enemies at random? The latter option seems highly inefficient, as it seems likely that the individual Freaks would start crashing into each other and otherwise getting into each other's way.

[yittz]

I think they are above average. Guess it depends on how you classify average. Give an example from another era? Its hard to say since novels obviously focus on the top crop.

Dont' think they own burning wood a favour. Rather they are well respected in that Jiang nan region and close by?

Seems to be a plan in attack, esp with regards to shooting poison needles.

Now that i ve made a feeble attempt at answering your qs, I am gonna join the 7 freak questionathon:

Which 7 freak seems most out of place. I'd say the last one, but she is related to another.

[flyingfox2002]

1) We meet virtually all the known elite fighters in wulin in LOCH, therefore it is hard to blame the Freaks for appearing out-classed. I think JY also consciously played down their abilities to emphasize their heart. They are like the 7 little (well, maybe not so little) engines that could (most of the time). It appears that only the first two Freaks had any inner power ability, so they would be near the bottom of the barrel vs. those at the advanced level, those with inner power. Verses the fighters who had no inner power, such as your everyday robbers, however, they probably ranked at the top.

2) They were just friends.

3) They had no formal formation, but they knew how to work with and complement each other. They always fought together as a unit, whether against one foe or 1000.

4) Yeah, I agree. Han Xiao Ying was the one who was most out of place. She was the only good looking one of the bunch, and her personality seemed pretty normal, as far as butt-kickin' ladies go.