Akimbo
|
|
- For the digital video company, see Akimbo Systems.
In computer gaming, weapons are akimbo if identical weapons are held in each hand. This usually refers to handguns (many first person shooters have such weapons as "berettas akimbo" or "pistols akimbo") but can refer to any other weapon that can be held in one hand (for example "akimbo MP5s").
This particular version of akimbo is derived from Japanese. The word is used in traditional samurai texts to describe a particular class of samurai that wielded two swords, one in each hand. The word acquired its current slang usage via fans of action director John Woo, who used the word to describe his trademark style of wielding two handguns at once. "Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God." (John Woo's Hard Boiled) It has since entered into the computer gaming lexicon as well (this etymology is mentioned in the book Hong Kong Action Cinema (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0879516631) by Bey Logan).
In role-playing games (especially computer RPGs), holding two weapons with one in each hand is called dual wielding.
In first-person shooters, dual-wielding refers to wielding one weapon in one hand and a different weapon in the other hand. Akimbo is a subset of dual-wielding in that the weapons in the hands of the player character are the same ("dual-wielding Plasma Rifle and Magnum" vs. "akimbo Magnums", to make a Halo 2-inspired example).
The most common definition of akimbo is "in a position in which the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bowed outward", or "bent"/"bowed" in a more general sense (e.g. "the sailor sat with his legs akimbo"). While etymology is uncertain, the Middle English kenebowe (again meaning "bent"/"bowed") is a likely predecessor.de:Akimbo