Swordsmanship

There are 6 forms of swordsmanship.

Shi-Cho: the most versatile style, best used for two-handed large blades such as the Zweihander and zanbato such as those belonging to Zabuza

Makashi: the most elegant technique, emphasizing on Fluid movement. Makashi is a one-handed style that allows the user to fluidly change their attacks and can cover one's whole body area while tiring the opponent out. It is good against all other styles except Djem So and Soresu. Unlike common belief, Makashi is actually rather bad with two swords, similar to one conductor using two conducting rods on two different orchestras.

Soresu: The most defensive form. Soresu is based on movements close ot the body, generally making it capable of defending almost all attacks. It has little-to-no attack moves, and generally wears the opponent down. The philosophy of Soresu is described as "being within the eye of the storm." Practitioners remain centered in their mindset, never being moved by what is around them as they stay where the outer chaos cannot harm them. But as the storm moves, so does the practitioner move to keep within the eye. Thus Soresu commands powerful defensive techniques that seem to adapt to almost any circumstance, but at the cost of never reaching past the figurative eye of the storm—they lose attacking power. Many who study this style use it to wear down their opponent by defending a long onslaught with minimal counter-attacking, until their adversary's energy is spent; then an alternate style is often employed. IT has no weaknesses except possibly against Ataro

Ataro: the most acrobatic style, and also htat most suited ot hte Ninja. It emphasized acrobatic strength and power in wielding the blade, attributes which were frowned upon by many traditional samurai and shinobi. Ataru relies on wide slashes, acrobatic proficiency and an open space for the Jedi to fight. It allows the user to baffle the opponent by strikes from all sides and the ability to leap suprising heights. It is good agains Soresu due ot its versatality, but bad against Makashi. It's severely limited in small spaces. Due to its aggressive nature, it is an effective form to use against single enemies; however, it leaves the user open to attacks from multiple opponents; therefore, it is wise to use Ataru in a duel, but not in open warfare.

Djem So: The offensive defense style. Built on Soresu, Djem So uses Soresu's solid defensive power for offense. It can be described as a mix of medieval swordmanship and kendo. Form V is a powerful style developed by Form III practitioners that preferred a more offensive angle. The defensive nature of Form III often leads to dangerously prolonged combat. This style came about from combining Forms IV and III. Form V also uses elements of Form II. However, where Form II concentrated on precise and elegant parries, Form V permits the user to actually fully block and repel attacks since it calls for the use of more powerful strength.Iti s good against Makashi, bad against Niman's more unpredictable twin sword attacks.

Niman: The twin-sword style, also known as the diplomat's styl.e The basic philosophy of Niman is "the leaf swept in the winds of the Force". One who uses this form attains a mindset of one who is not perturbed by his or her surroundings, but rides the currents of the surrounding chaos, being harmonious and balanced within. It is a style of balance. Niman's greatest weakness is its lack of specific strengths to capitalize on and a very long and steep learning curve to mastering it to the point of great martial effectiveness, in contrast to a single-paradigm Form (e.g., Soresu, which effectively is derived from its near-impenetrable defense) with a higher mastership-to-study time efficiency relative to Niman. However, it has the advantage of being capable of using two swords perfectly.

*Walks in while reading his book* Yo..

Can I learn Soresu, Niman and Ataro in that order?

I wish to be taught exclusively in Makashi.

-taps foot waiting for Jan-

im here and i kno basic ataro

Micah, so do you want to work on that or to train in another style?

Alright, Shinjin. Makashi is considered the nobleman's style, because of its elegance and beauty. However, one who overexploits its use will end up in quite some trouble, as Makashi is more of a defensive style. The idea is that a weak force in the right direction will knock a far stronger force off track, also using less strenght. The idea is for even wimpy people with low stamina to be able to wear out a far stronger opponent. Therefore, Makashi flows, using momentum from the last attack for the next attack. Here you go *tosses Shinjin a thin stick whiel Jan holds a giant wooden axe* you can win with it. I'm going to freeze your legs...and then you try to prevent yourself from taking damage.

i wanna learn makshi style to

Alright, then wait for shinjin to post and then we can continue

ok gotcha

shjinn isnt on

I know. but it's easier to teach two people at once

(SHinjin, if you're here, look at the abov etopics nad respond)

k

*catches Jans stick and wields it sheepishly...*