The sound of drums, low and rhythmic, echoed from within the Iron Banner as a group of younglings each held the exact same stance. They were each training in the Zantou kenjutsu style, measuring their breath against the sound of the drums. For the most part, each student held matching Oodachi. Hatsuyuki, however, did not. He held his katana forward, parallel to the ground, while holding his wakizashi over his head ready to strike. On each third beat of the drum he raised his katana up in a block before twisting his hips and stepping forward, bringing his wakizashi down in an overhead slash. By the time the fourth beat of the drum sounded he was back in his original position.
He breathed in slow and steady, filling his lungs entirely with air before each strike even as the sweat pooled around his feet. He knew that he could regulate his body temperature with his Hyouton techniques, but felt that it would take away from the training. One beat, exhale, two beats, inhale, three beats, strike! Again he “blocked” before slashing his blade down. Despite having trained in Sekisetsu for the entirety of his time as a Genin, this was not easy on Hatsu. Being an entirely different style than he was used to, he had to force himself out of his usual habits.
Over and over again he blocked with his katana and then made an attack with his wakizashi. The lord samurai who was overseeing the training marched back and forth between his students, kicking at their legs to make sure that they held a stable stance. He even got in some of the students faces and screamed at them, attempting to make them falter. When he approached Hatsu, and kicked at the underside of his thigh, Hatsu grimaced in pain but held firm in his stance as he twisted and struck out with his wakizashi again. He saw the samurai nod in approval as he walked away.
They were then divided into pairs and told to take turns blocking and attacking. Hatsu bowed before his fellow trainee before taking up his stance. As the boy struck forward with his Oodachi, Hatsu blocked with his katana, as he had been trained, before twisting forward, getting in closer than the other boy could, and struck out with his smaller wakizashi. He didn’t harm the boy and moved slowly enough to give him time to practice his blocking technique. That was the goal of the training after all. Over and over again they “exchanged blows” as they practiced before, finally, the drums stopped. As though they had practiced it for years, all of the trainees, Hatsuyuki included, bowed respectively to the samurai.
Taijutsu TrainedShow
*[Zantou • Winter Solstice]
D-Rank Taijutsu Stance
The basic Stance of Zantou, the practitioner holds one blade forward, parallel to the ground, and holds the other high over the head, pointing toward the opponent. The low blade grants the practitioner the ability to quickly defend against an opponent's attack while the blade raised overhead allows the practitioner to either quickly attack or counterattack with a powerful downward swing or thrust. This pairing of defense and offense serves as one of the cores of Zantou's swordsmanship. Drawing in a deep breath, the practitioner also gathers up their energy and releases a kiai. This Stance allows the practitioner to ignore non-critical distractions and minor environmental factors, such as small amounts of excess heat, small amounts of excess cold, small amounts of fatigue, and even small amounts of pain, allowing them to focus entirely on their opponents' movements and the tasks at hand. While in this Stance, the practitioner is conferred with a +2 increase to Strength and +1 increase to Will Power but suffers a -2 penalty to Chakra Pool and -1 penalty to Control. The practitioner may end this Stance whenever they so wish.
D-Rank Taijutsu Stance
The basic Stance of Zantou, the practitioner holds one blade forward, parallel to the ground, and holds the other high over the head, pointing toward the opponent. The low blade grants the practitioner the ability to quickly defend against an opponent's attack while the blade raised overhead allows the practitioner to either quickly attack or counterattack with a powerful downward swing or thrust. This pairing of defense and offense serves as one of the cores of Zantou's swordsmanship. Drawing in a deep breath, the practitioner also gathers up their energy and releases a kiai. This Stance allows the practitioner to ignore non-critical distractions and minor environmental factors, such as small amounts of excess heat, small amounts of excess cold, small amounts of fatigue, and even small amounts of pain, allowing them to focus entirely on their opponents' movements and the tasks at hand. While in this Stance, the practitioner is conferred with a +2 increase to Strength and +1 increase to Will Power but suffers a -2 penalty to Chakra Pool and -1 penalty to Control. The practitioner may end this Stance whenever they so wish.