"Force never meets a wall in Ataa. It is drawn into the practitioner and reshaped to one's advantage. Envision water, it accepts all things and cannot be broken." – Sotoharu, Keme'dral Maikami
Hanaryu
Ataa: Hanaryu (Kemite Branch): This write-up is not meant to replace Ataa, but instead show one of the many variations of the Ataa School of Zinn’ka.
General:
Of all the martial schools of Zinn’ka, Ataa is perhaps the most passive and defensive, if not the most beautiful to observe. Relying on technique over force and precision rather than speed, Ataa has long since been the favored martial school of the genteel and the physically diminished.
More than a martial art, the branch of Ataa that is Hanaryu is a way of life. Being a fundamentally passive fighting style, only the patient can utilize the style to great effect. The style has nearly no offensive maneuvers and relies on prolonging fights to wither opponents down with minimal effort, only to end the duels once their exhausted opponents start developing lapses in their own defense. From the very first moment a practitioner is introduced into the style, he is taught to avoid confrontation, and if conflict is inevitable to take down her opponent with the least amount of force.
Because a majority of Hanaryu practitioners are physically underwhelming, the school focuses on using the opponent’s force against her at every opportunity and to remain calm and centered so that one can read and control the flow of battle. Because a Hanaryu practitioner rarely ever has to go on the offensive conservation of energy and gaining maximum effect from minimal effort is at the core of Hanaryu teaching, hence why footwork, an intimate understanding of body-mechanics and spatial awareness is developed during the course of the practitioner’s life.
As for Hanaryu’s legendary grace, this isn’t attributed to some misplaced flair for performance, but because the motions of kinetic linking that preserve momentum must be fluid in order to maximize energy collection. The dance-like footwork also has a place in maintaining the legendary stability Ataa is famous for. Its small, compact, sweeping steps never allow the feet to rise higher than they should. This permits its practitioners to almost always have superior stability with which they can execute the Ataa signature blocks and redirections.
History:
The monks of Zinn’Sunn had always been strict advocates of peace. Since the day of their founding they have endeavored to reach enlightenment, yet despite their best efforts the world has ever proven to be dangerous and for centuries have had to take up arms in order to protect their existence.
After a particularly devastating raid to their temple by an assembly of the most powerful local bandits, the kemite monks had finally decided that it was time they stopped turned their backs from the world. Their answer to this dilemma came in the form of adopting combat styles already used by the Vermillion Guard and turning them into non-lethal martial forms. The first styles they developed were crude, poor imitations of the martial arts that the Saurids had introduced to the kemite people, the one that was supposed to have been handed down by Torek, or at least by kemite reckoning. As time passed by however, the younger monks slowly came to embrace the highly aggressive arts, yet as effective as the style borne from the wild was it did not suit their philosophical views and they would later abandon it as their primary form of defense.
It would take decades more before a debilitated kemite monk suffering from an untreatable illness would develop a martial form that she could effectively utilize, one that embodied the peace-loving principles of kemite monks. This martial form would prove to be the style that would set the foundation of the modern kemite Ataa, Hanaryu.
The Levels:
Basic Level
Ataa is first and foremost a martial school that emphasizes defense and non-aggression. As such a beginner will almost always be instructed in the core techniques of evasion and the theories of redirection. Here, the beginner is expected to develop a firm understanding of the basic footwork and evasive maneuvers with which he can defend herself with. This is also the stage in which a beginner is expected to start honing her self-awareness relative to her environment by orienting her with the concept of a central line. This central axis is not only the pivoting point of the body, but is also its greatest weakness, being the location of many critical vital organs and also the body’s source of stability.
At this level a practitioner will be taught how to best defend her central line, how to increase her stability at all times and how to exploit weaknesses in her opponent’s own central line. Conditioning at this stage uses a culmination of exercises, ideally done with a fellow student wherein the practitioner will move constantly while maintaining the ideal balance and orientation of the central axis.
Examples of techniques at Basic level:
Core Stance, Tulip: The Tulip is the core Hanaryu stance. Because of the inexperienced nature of a novice practitioner, she is encouraged to assume this most defensive of stances during brief pauses in combat, or as she waits for the aggressor to move. In this stance, a practitioner will have her limbs drawn inwards, to protect the central line. Herein a practitioner must not move out of the stance, or risk compromising her stability. She cannot move her hands in such a dynamic way that will force her center of balance to shift, she cannot move into the offensive because this will also force her to take a step out of the stance. This stance allows the practitioner to lure an opponent into making a mistake, or defend against an attack with the forearms, elbows and rarely the knees.
Dance of the Lily: While an outsider could easily confuse the Dance of the Lily with a real dance it is anything but. The Dance of the Lily is actually the core footwork that a Hanaryu practitioner must endeavor to master. The footwork focuses on creating distance between the practitioner and the opponent. This feat is accomplished by constantly watching the movement of an opponent’s feet and responding with each step they make to close the gap. The steps are mostly sweeping arcs that facilitate fluid movement in all directions. These sweeping low steps are designed to prevent loss of balance while the practitioner is moving from point to point.
Crescent-Moon Waxing: Crescent-Moon Waxing is the method of redirecting and evading attacks through the use of winding, circular arm movements. The Hanaryu practitioner is trained to use these elliptical parrying motions, in conjunction with an acute awareness of the different zones of the body to avoid or redirect incoming attacks that could seriously harm the practitioner. At this level a redirection is performed by meeting the fore-arm of an opponent with his own and pushing it outwards, away from the body. If performed alongside the Dance of the Lily a practitioner should be able to position herself away from the re-directed weapon.
Crescent-Moon Waning: Crescent-Moon Waning is the first, and fundamental absorption technique a Hanaryu practitioner must master. It is a risky maneuver that demands its practitioner to move complimentary to the opponent to draw him. Once an opportunity presents itself the practitioner secures a hold on any exposed limbs, applies pressure in line with gravity and forces the opponent down to the ground where the limb can be twisted against body-mechanics.
Cherry Blossom: By turning the palms outward and pressing it against an exposed section of the opponent’s body in response to a strike, it is possible to deal a relatively painful blow that uses the momentum of the enemy against herself. In rare occasions, if an opportunity presents itself a practitioner can move forward as she extends the palm to do additional damage.
Featherfall: By paying close attention the opponent and reading the movements of their feet, a Hanaryu practitioner can discreetly slide their foot in front or behind and opponents own and by using the superior stability provided by the Dance of the Lily, cause the opponent to trip and fall.
Veteran Level
At this level a Hanaryu practitioner is expected to have high familiarity with footwork, so much in fact that he no longer requires intense concentration to apply it in the heat of battle. Evasion no longer becomes the sole concern of a Hanaryu practitioner at this point. Capitalizing on lapses in the opponent’s defense becomes common practice. The many stances of the style that are introduced to the practitioner at this level are designed to put the practitioner in a position of advantage wherein she can launch a decisive counter-attack.
At this level, a practitioner will be rigorously reminded to relax at all times. Softness through strength is the central focus at this level. Unnecessary muscle tension can only fatigue the body and reduce flexibility. A soft, flexible limb is much more difficult for an adversary to grapple because a relaxed arm or leg leaves an opponent with little to work with. Conditioning at this level would be concentrated on increasing response time without eliciting limb rigidity, a practitioner may be asked to be submitted to a soft beating where she must yield at precisely the moment she feels the strike touch her skin. Breathing techniques also come into play to eliminate tension from the body, as well as maintain high oxygenation of the blood which enhances stamina.
Examples of techniques at Veteran level:
Featherstep: With the basic footwork mastered a veteran practitioner of Hanaryu will now learn supplementary techniques to facilitate faster movement and transition from point to point and stance to stance. Quick, fluid steps using momentum from the swaying of the hips and pivoting from foot to foot is the primary basis of featherstep. The more experience a user has, the faster and wider the steps she can make.
Opening Stance, Lotus Blossom: The Lotus Blossom is another basic Hanaryu stance. By facing the adversary with only one side of the body exposed the practitioner decreases the surface area of the body exposed to attack. In this stance both arms are drawn outwards, with both palms open. The legs are also flexed, ready to allow the practitioner to duck, slide, or raise his body as needed. If met with an attack a Hanaryu practitioner needs only to twist and shift his feet accordingly to move out of the way or use the force generated by the twisting motion to deliver a decisive attack on the opponent’s vital points.
Second Stance, Rose Bud: Rose Bud is a stance which heavily emphasizes defense. With both hands slightly extended, the Hanaryu practitioner will weave and glide away egging the opponent to give chase. In this stance the arms are used as a counter-weight to keep the Hanaryu practitioner from losing her balance as she moves to keep her distance from her adversary. This stance has no counter-attack save the foot-sweeps and side-kicks. Its primary purpose is to force the opponent to expend their energy in trying to corner the Hanaryu practitioner.
Rose’s Thorns: Because of the deceptively passive nature of Hanaryu, many opponents are lured into attacking with a barrage of blows in the hopes that one decisive lucky strike may end a duel pre-maturely. This common mistake is exploited by a Hanaryu practitioner by luring an opponent into over-extending within close-quarters, then taking advantage of that opportunity by cutting short an evasive maneuver and ramming an elbow or a knee into the opponent’s body.
Swallow Return: Another deceptive technique meant for both intimidation, defense and grappling. Peony begins as a traditional front kick bereft of any cocking motion, usually used to meet incoming kicks to neutralize them. Upon spotting an opening however the Hanaryu practitioner will cause her kick to miss it’s mark so it simply slides harmlessly beside the opponent’s leg, only to be drawn back to lock the opponent’s knee from underneath it. With the distance neutralized the Hanaryu practitioner with her superior stability and stance would normally use gravity to drag an opponent into the ground, possibly securing an arm-lock in the opponent’s confusion.
Elite Level
An elite practitioner of Hanaryu is a formidable opponent. She is highly skilled, easily able to evade long onslaughts from multiple opponents. Practitioners of Hanaryu at this level are experts at wearing opponents down. They able to force enemies to expend their energy in the assault while using minimal effort to disperse the blows of their opponents themselves. An expert practitioner is already intimately aware of the principles behind absorbing momentum, they are also able to use the momentum of opponents against themselves and can use these principles to diminish blows they receive themselves.
At this stage a Hanaryu practitioner no longer concerns herself with evasion. Her concern at this level becomes the ability to both simultaneously attack and defense, the key to this being the ability to maintain a solid stance at every opportunity where she can launch quick, uncommitted attacks that takes almost no effort to recover and reposition from. Conditioning at this stage are done through exercises performed on unstable surfaces, like swaying rope bridges or small boats, wherein the practitioner attempts to maintain balance and stance throughout defensive and counter-offensive maneuvers.
Examples of techniques at Elite level:
Dandelion: More a feint than an actual throw, Dandelion is a maneuver wherein a practitioner will feign taking damage from a previous attack and appear sluggish, if not agonized for the opponent’s benefit. When the opponent attempts to take advantage of the opportunity to land a blow, the practitioner will suddenly lash out with his hands or legs, locking them against the opponent’s joints to prevent them from executing their attack. Then in the confusion the Hanaryu practitioner will use a signature throw against his opponent, or pin him down.
Yielding Petal: Even an expert practitioner of Hanaryu will occasionally find herself on the receiving end of a lucky blow, in such an event, a practitioner is encouraged to simply ride the blow, swaying their bodies in the direction of the blow to ride its momentum and reduce its effectiveness. This principle can also be applied to most blocks.
Bladebane: Weapons have always been the bane of any pugilist. An unarmed combatant will usually have to fight against better range and power when faced with armed opponent. In situations like these a Hanaryu practitioner is trained to immediately scrutinize the opponent’s range and speed. With those facts determined she will usually try to close the gap by luring the opponent to approach or step closer between the intervals of every attack and once in range, force the opponent into a panic by sealing the movement of the enemy’s limbs by pressing their own against them.
Graceful Staccato: Because practitioners of Hanaryu do not compromise their stances while on the offense, it becomes all too easy for them to disengage from an attack in the event it fails and transition it into a defensive or offensive maneuver. This smooth, almost fluid transition can be accomplished because the Hanaryu practitioner will rarely use wide swinging power-generating motions that other martial schools use. Hence, they never abandon their center of balance allowing for quick recovery and repositioning.
Master Level
Masters of Hanaryu are said to be able to predict the flow of attack, capable of avoiding, absorbing and redirecting them with effortless grace. This advanced near clairvoyant form of combat prediction is what truly makes the master untouchable. Masters of the style no longer need to capitalize on opportunities provided by lapses in an opponent’s concentration, instead they are able to lure opponents into making mistakes and a Hanaryu Master often needs only to land one strike to end a duel.
The vast experience of a Hanaryu Master coupled with a brief exchange with an opponent is all he needs to be able to be able to manage the flow of a fight. Conditioning at this level no longer requires honing the body, but instead is done through sharpening the mind. By observing an opponent’s breath, muscle tension and the movements of his arms and legs a Master can predict when an enemy is about to strike and take precautionary measures in the split-second the opponent takes to reach her. Naturally a Hanaryu Master will be roaming the world at this stage of their growth, sparring against those of different martial schools to further familiarize herself with all forms of martial schools, as well as their fighting methods so she can apply her battle-clairvoyance upon those schools and their branches.
Examples of techniques at Master level:
Gentle Whirlwind: Inspired by one of nature’s most destructive forces, the whirlwind is perhaps one of the most formidable defensive techniques in an Ataa practitioner’s repertoire of tricks. Using self-styled kata specialized to deal with whatever kind of opponent an Ataa practitioner engages with, the practitioner will create a veritable wall of ‘pre-emptive’ attacks around her that would catch anyone charging into this invisible wall. The weakness of this technique is while the practitioner remains in the center of the wall of attacks she is virtually invulnerable, however this comes at the cost of not being able to reach beyond that wall of ‘pre-emptive’ attacks herself.
Velvet Petal: Because many Hanaryu practitioners are physically weak, they can ill afford to suffer from injuries that other martial artists could risk taking. The Velvet Skin is a series of techniques meant to allow a Hanaryu practitioner to escape from martial techniques designed for grappling or binding. Among them involve slipping out of the clothes on their backs, struggling in the direction where the grip is weakest, using momentum to break away from the opponent or pressing on the nerves of any exposed regions of the body to cause a jolt of pain or temporary paralysis of a limb to the grappler.
Smothering Embrace: Smothering Embrace is a technique that allows a Hanaryu Master to stop attacks from ever being launched. By slipping into close quarter combat and pressing her body against that of the opponent, it becomes possible to prevent that opponent from using their limbs by locking them into place or jamming their joints, bereft of the ability to generating power the opponent will have no means of counter-attack save grappling – the forte of many Hanaryu practitioners. Upon trapping an opponent in the embrace, a master will usually have the opportunity to land critical pressure-point touch, ending most fights before the enemy will have a chance to escape this maneuver.
Orchid: Like its namesake, the Hanaryu practitioner will endeavor to make herself unreachable. Orchid is a stepping method that borders on the metaphysical, it is an enhanced version of all the previous footwork techniques the culmination of all the effort placed into mastering footwork, as well as the physical conditioning that comes with it. During Orchid, a master will have such absolute control over her center of gravity and momentum that she can cause it to shift against gravity, killing its resistance against her movements and drastically improving the master’s speed. In conjunction with ‘The Supreme’ this technique will make the practitioner blindingly fast and almost impossible to corner.
Tender Punishment: Ataa is a grappling school at heart and Hanaryu is no different from all the other branches of the style. The primary focus of grappling is immobilization of the opponent’s limb, but because Hanaryu practitioners are rarely in the peak of health they accomplish this through different means entirely. By studying human anatomy, specifically the points where prominent nerves are most sensitive, a Hanaryu practitioner needs only deliver one high-pressure touch at a specific area of the body to paralyze or severely weaken affected limbs. This technique numbs the affected limb and can also be used to temporarily relieve the pain of an ally at the cost of temporary paralysis of the affected body part.
Grandmaster
A Grandmaster of Hanaryu is a force of nature. They are untouchable, beings who move with hypnotic ease and grace, able to detect the slightest change around them and adapt accordingly despite any other external stimuli, such as rain or snow. A Hanaryu Grandmaster is a person who has the highest degree of perception. The moment anything steps within the range of her surroundings it cannot escape detection, regardless of its size, form and speed.
This omni-awareness borders on the meta-physical and can only be acquired through a combination of enlightenment and rigorous training of the senses, which could be anything from preventing a single leaf from touching a section of the forest floor during a particularly windy autumn or preventing the centerline of the practitioner from being touched by water during a rainstorm. This ability, coupled with their frightening ability to evade attacks can make a Hanaryu Grandmaster impossible to catch off-guard.
Examples of techniques at Grandmaster level:
Internal Strike: Without raw power an Ataa practitioner cannot pierce through steel or pulverize stone like the other martial forms. However the Hanaryu Grandmasters have discovered a different means of attacking an opponent without the need to destroy their defenses. The Internal Strike is the ultimate counter-attack. Ignoring any form of defense it can pierce through any kind of matter, including air, by converting an attack’s power into a high frequency vibration wave. These waves of energy can flow into matter, past defensive barriers by flowing through them, using them as conductors only to be released past these defensive barriers in an explosion of force. Used wisely a grandmaster can incapacitate an opponent by application of minimal force. Careless use of the Internal Strike can cause severe internal bleeding and organ damage upon its victims.
Untouchable: The perfect synergy of instinct and intent. A Grandmaster of Hanaryu is considered untouchable once an opponent steps within a few meters of her. Her body, having undergone rigorous training can move even without conscious thought. A true Grandmaster can instinctively avoid anything and her extremely keen awareness allows her to dodge with only the slightest of steps.
Blossom Step, Full Burst: The pinnacle of the Hanaryu footwork, Blossom Step, Full Burst is a stepping technique that applies all the aforementioned footwork techniques, including the concept of annulling body-weight present in Orchid, to achieve incredible dashing speed. This technique was devised as a means to keep up with high-speed combatants, as well as traverse surfaces against gravity for a limited amount of time.
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