Post by Puck on May 12, 2015 5:37:20 GMT
SCHOOLS/CLANS/SECTS
Within the Martial Forest Coalition, their society is known to be the Wulin, Murim or Murin before forming this organization. Even now the terms are used by the Ki Artists to describe their society that lauds physical prowess. The Coalition is made up of a network of Schools, Clans, and even Sects. Many of them have their own martial style with a number of practitioners studying under them. But the organizations gets complicated as many styles have gone through turbulent changes including massacres and political alliances. Here are some of the basic definitions of the groups below.
Schools: The lowest denominator of a group of the Martial Forest Coalition. A School teaches only one Ki Arts style and may have one or more sets of curriculum. Schools usually keep their training and secrets only to themselves as expected of the Coalition's society.
Clans: A clique of Ki Artists that are more bound by familial lines. They are divided by the main branches that head the clan and minor branches that serves the main branch. This also describes a number of schools that have been grouped together for a number of reasons. Thus, they may share similar basics so that a member of the Clan can try to learn techniques from other Schools only within the clan. However, there are too many for one member to try to learn them all. Clans tend to be more open to allow outsiders to join through marriage or even adoption.
Sects: Very like the Clan category, but more connected by some ideology of sorts. They may even be heavily religious of some faith like Taoism and even Buddhism. Martial monks may even be part of a Sect. Unlike other members of the Coalition, some Sects may actually cover a small number of magical rituals connected with their religion. But such Sects are very rare given how a Ki Artist's training makes it difficult to learn magic in the first place.
Schools: The lowest denominator of a group of the Martial Forest Coalition. A School teaches only one Ki Arts style and may have one or more sets of curriculum. Schools usually keep their training and secrets only to themselves as expected of the Coalition's society.
Clans: A clique of Ki Artists that are more bound by familial lines. They are divided by the main branches that head the clan and minor branches that serves the main branch. This also describes a number of schools that have been grouped together for a number of reasons. Thus, they may share similar basics so that a member of the Clan can try to learn techniques from other Schools only within the clan. However, there are too many for one member to try to learn them all. Clans tend to be more open to allow outsiders to join through marriage or even adoption.
Sects: Very like the Clan category, but more connected by some ideology of sorts. They may even be heavily religious of some faith like Taoism and even Buddhism. Martial monks may even be part of a Sect. Unlike other members of the Coalition, some Sects may actually cover a small number of magical rituals connected with their religion. But such Sects are very rare given how a Ki Artist's training makes it difficult to learn magic in the first place.
FORBIDDEN STYLES
Styles that delve into the taboo. Such styles are seen as a heresy in the Coalition and are looked down upon. However, that does not mean these styles are inherently evil. Some are misunderstood as their own ideologies heavily conflict with the Coalition's society. Many of such misunderstandings usually include a school that takes in and teaches Hybrid students techniques related to their Hybrid powers, others may just have very dangerous Ki Arts techniques that shouldn't be taught anymore, or that some styles have ideologies that there should be more freedom than the order the Coalition enforces. However, there are some malicious sects that are rightfully villainous as human experimentation seems to be commonplace in their own clique. Such things tends to beget abominable monstrosities so horrible that it is no wonder that the Ki Artists feel the need to purge them. There seems to be one Sect that the Coalition merely puts Hybrids into as they have no idea how to deal with them and sincerely do not want to have anything to do with them anyway.
KNOWN STYLES
There are number of famous known styles within each country. This shall be a list below. More may be included later in the future. But you may make up your own School if you wish.
China:
Japan:
Korea:
Thailand:
Europe:
China:
- Endless Deluge Sect: One of the oldest and most respect Style in China and the coalition, also known for its adherence to its Buddhist religion. Practitioners focus on constant movements to dodge incoming attacks with with the wide motions while using Ki to sense the opponent's action more clearly. Commonly used unarmed focusing on palm strikes. Also teaches weapon forms, mostly Jian Sword and Pu Dao polearm.
- Blazing Heaven School: This School focuses on very close quarter combat through elbows and fists with explosive power to the point some call it an "one-hit-kill style". It adopts a curriculum of spears, swords, and staffs. Many call it an "assassin's" or "bodyguard's" style given how relentless their combat style and power is.
- Gentle Hurricane School: A school with a focus with throwing techniques and countering the enemy while neutralizing their attacks. Puts a heavy emphasis on meditation and internal medicine. This school has been noted to be the foremost in internal techniques, thus very respected. However, it is only one member, being the Grandmaster who is one of the Ten Sages who is rumored to be a Xian.
- Dancing Crane School: A school notable for being women only. Their most powerful martial arts involves swordplay. But the style also contains many unarmed forms. Their curriculum also requires the needle as throwing weapons and for applications in acupuncture. To be considered a Master of the school one must master all forms of the style. Many of their members tend to be in the entertainment industry of many forms and do not seem to judge one another based on their work. Though others do tend to be religious figures as well.
- Global Homeless Association: Once called the Beggar Sect, the G.H.A. is a Style that is almost its own faction in a way. Its numerous members of homeless people and beggars makes it seem overwhelmingly big and boasts a huge information network given how common homeless people are around the world and how nobody really cares too much about them. It almost accepts anyone into their fold, so as long as they don't mind taking up the role of a homeless vagabond or working in some of their more "richer" offices to help maintain their network of data. The school has a curriculum of staff and palm strike techniques.
Japan:
- One Heaven Infinite School: Kenjutsu Style focusing on opening with an iai attack then continuing with quick attacks to create an opening if the first blow didn’t end the fight. Once an opening is made, the practitioner performs another iai attack. One of the fastest sword styles in the archipelago and it shows. It already has a deep history with working together with onmyouji. Thus, making them suited to work against any malicious supernatural forces.
- Guarding Wind School: Pushing the concept of protecting both the defender and attacker’s safety to the foremost this style uses exclusively counters and throws to disable the enemy without harming them. It a style meant for the efficiency of force. It is not a big School, in itself, but it has yielded impressive practitioners through its years after its creation. This is a School in which many have employed them to capture targets.
- Black Earth School: A traditional Jujustu style that focuses heavily on punching and kicking with unrelenting assaults while always remaining grounded. Of course, being a jujutsu-based style, their throws are nothing to laugh at either. The saying goes that master of this style cannot be put off their feet, at least not very easily.
- Crescent Moon School: The spear style that uses a spear with a cross-like shape with two half-crescent blades sprouting out. A ruthless style that attacks from a distance thanks to the spear's range. To many enemies, as a master in this school, it feels impossible to surmount the furious assault of the weapon and makes the wielder appear even farther away than he should be.
- Yagyu School: The style whose sword system that has been taught to a line of the country's shoguns. The Yagyu has a complete curriculum of battlefield training and strategy, weapons techniques, and even some form of healing knowledge. The Yagyu are a group that actually continues to work closely with the government while also being a group known for information-gathering and other forms of clandestine activities. One could compare them to ninjas in a way.
- Thousand Hands Style: A native Okinawan style known for its unarmed forms and its practitioners' rigid constitutions. These men are known to be able to take a heavy blow without much trouble. Other than toughness, their simple techniques belies the complexity of exerting massive forces through efficient movements. While they do attend Coalition meetings, they mostly keep to themselves as they are wary of anyone outside of Okinawa.
Korea:
- Ryoo Clan: A Clan known for fast precision strikes to take out enemies efficiently. Kicking techniques are this style's forte. Other than this, they include short sword and spear techniques in their curriculum. They seem to offer the most number of masters on the continent. Many styles in their country do not look upon them very well because of their strength in their martial arts and in their numbers, especially when they seem to act like local gangsters in a way. Though they have never dealt in illegal products of drugs or any of the sort. Nevertheless, their leaders tend to be rather "gutsy".
- Tiger And Crane Style: An aggressive form of Ki Arts where attacks with bare hands tends to "cut" like blades. Their techniques could be likened to the assault of tiger claws. Even a kick may end up cutting someone in half than simply crushing a target from pure force. Many of these Artists tend to serve as hit men and even bodyguards at times. Surprisingly, the more advanced "soft side" of this style has been noted to have astounding beautiful grace in its movements which seems to be hinted at its name.
Thailand:
- Conquering Lord Style: Has its roots in ancient Muay Thai. A violent style of unrelenting violence and power that hides great control and finesse. Like many Thailand martial arts, they are brutally efficient. Nevertheless, this style tends to send its practitioners to fight in underground fights. Thus, it is not that looked well upon by the rest of the Asian sphere of the Ki Artists. Yet, they acknowledge their prowess.
Europe:
- Union Savate School: Savate in it’s pure unaltered form as it was originally before being turned into a sport, with Asian Ki techniques merged in. Uses a combination of open palm strikes with cane fighting and fencing depending on the situation, but the focus of the art are powerful kicks. Most of the Ki circulation techniques that Western martial artists got came from Korea, thus the style bares resemblance with some Korean Schools.
- White Wolf Circle: One of the last remaining native Ki Artists that have not been absorbed by the Church. It is designated as a Forbidden Style due to its uses of contemporary medicine and even alchemy to mutate one's own body into something "in-human". Ever since its creation, the Circle has had a long career of monster hunting. Their combative curriculum covers swordplay and years of mutagens which gives them abilities such as night vision or other powerful senses. Many members of the Circle tend to have monstrous eyes with considerable disease resistance due to their mutations. What makes them even more formidable is their use of Runecraft on top of their swordsmanship.
STYLE INFORMATION
Please insert this section that is coded below into your character template. Should be below Personal Information section and above Statistics Section.
[div align="center"][u][b][font size="3"]STYLE INFORMATION[/font][/b][/u][/div]
[b]Style Name:[/b]
[b][b]Description:[/b]
[b]Style History:[/b]