Martial Arts Dance

**Martial Arts Dance** is a fighting style to unites the two disciplines of Martial Arts and Dance.

## History

Martial Arts Dancers earnest seek attainments in entertainment and innocently follow the road down that path. Just like the people of old who believed that god was invited down through music, and through dance you could become one with the world. Dance has a lot of importance in history, particularly to the history of the martial arts. In fact, you can pretty much say that dance and fighting had the same origins. It isn’t just limited to Japan; all of the so-called martial arts in the world controlled by the country’s culture and rhythm to a surprising degree.

In fact, nearly every culture in the world has had a longer tradition of dance than martial arts. Just think of all the terminology we use. Things like 'shuffling feet' or 'spacing' all originated in dance, not martial arts. Even the kanji for "Butouka" which means martial artist can be alternately read as "Butou-ka" which means dancing/performance + house/family. So, in a very real sense, you could say dance is the parent of martial arts. And, in a sense you could even say, one that has mastered dance, has mastered fighting.

## Philosophy

Martial Arts Dance views martial arts itself as a dance and no matter how hard you try to hide it, that dance has a rhythm to it. Think of the kata that martial artist practice. Many martial arts focus on kata as set series of strikes and kicks that are taught to practitioners, with the assumption that they will be used in a specific combat situation. Typically, the explanation behind the kata are not given, as the martial artist is expected to learn the form as part of a connected whole. While this may lead to initial fluidity in battle as the kata are designed to function well together, ultimately it deprives the practitioner of complete understanding. However, Martial Arts Dance is not nearly so formal in its practice. It goes far beyond the rigidity of the fundamental "respond and counter-attack" strategy.

**Bunkai** (分解, lit. "*disassembly*") is a term used in Japanese martial arts referring the ability to break kata into their constituent parts in order to analyze each strike, which allows the user to better understand and react to an opponent’s attack. Martial Arts Dance takes this a step further. Reading opponent’s rhythm is the very core of the style. Knowing your opponent's rhythm is like being able to read their mind. You know their every tactic, and plan ahead to counter and avoid them. Everything in Martial Arts Dance is built upon this. Two fairly equally match martial arts dancers can fight for hours, both trying to deceive and trap the other, and all the while it looks just like they're dancing.

Further more any single kata may be broken into a dozen different applications, this allows the art to use bunkai in order to quickly gain a sense of, and even emulate, the opponent’s style of fighting in combat. Similar to the Anything Goes style martial arts dancers are able to synthesize various different styles and techniques with greater efficiency, and apply their own techniques in reflexive, untraditional manners.

It is important to remember that bunkai is more of a concept of perception rather than a strict martial arts technique. The reason Martial Arts Dance is so dangerous is because everything as a rhythm, and thus it can be used against non-physical attacks, such as chi. Its ability to adapt to the circumstances and read the rhythm around it makes it possible to perform even the most difficult and nigh impossible feats as if they were a natural act.

## Practitioner

* **Rippa Buyou**: Master, Rhythm Flow
* **Kitsui Buyou**: Master, Rhythm Alteration
* **Unnamed Master**: Deceased
* **Ranma Saotome**: Practitioner
* **Shampoo**: Practitioner

## Fighting Style

Softness is about working together with an existing power rather than openly opposing it through force. Such a method requires finesse and acceptance; coordination with the flow of the opposing power. The way of softness is inherent to Martial Arts Dance, to such tremendous effect yet with a subtle grace, like as its name implies a masterful dancer moving themselves across a dance floor busy with others dancing about. Practitioners learn their opponents timing and adjust their own to fit into their defensive gaps. Most people fight with patterns, and that’s all they know. If you can flow through those patterns, they won’t even be able to see how you’re hitting them, let alone find a way to block you.

For a run-of-the-mill fighter, they would view a dancer of their choice, watching closely as they sway and move in the manner of their choosing, most commonly to the song playing, and once they feel comfortable, they would jump in and join in the dance as that individual's partner. Martial arts dancers however train for this to become a natural action on their part, so much so that practitioners can shift between partners as they move through the proverbial dance floor without needing to wait out their chance. This is describes as a 'waltz of souls', in which the mind and body flow with the opposing power in true harmony before inflicting its interference.

A master of the style is said to be able to walk through an entire battlefield filled with opposing sides locked in ferocious combat without ever being noticed or acknowledged by a single one of them. As if they were the natural breeze of the wind flowing along the openings in each and every person's own blind spot, weaving their existence through the battlefield so perfectly that it is hard to believe it is the act of a real person.

However there are two key weaknesses to the style the first is that its movements may look smooth and simple, they require extensive control of the body’s muscle especially the ones in the arms and legs. The second is the fact that the most important part of rhythm reading is defense, and key to that is not being hit. However that becomes impossible once due to the fact that as you read opponents rhythm you fall into your own. To solution to the muscle control as well as not falling into your own rhythm is simple, don’t have one.

The key principle of movement within the martial arts is to have control over the mind and body, to an extent that it becomes possible to unify their passive and active intentions so that the body moves with thought as opposed to at different intervals. When these two are in dissonance, not only does the efficiency of the martial artist's actions fall behind, but they can be easily read and predicted by an opponent during battle.

**Mubyōshi** (無拍子, *No Beat*) is the absolute mastery over ones own self — mind, body, and spirit — where every part of them moves in unison. This is why martial arts dancers train in pairs. Mubyoshi requires concentration and being rendered off-guard can cause the unification of mind and body to collapse. This is why practitioners train in pairs. In order for the act of moving in unison is second nature the training partners examine each others tells so that they can fix. Such that they do not require a conscious effort to keep control of every aspect of their being. Once this is achieved the trainee is able to move on to the next stage, acting act without mind.

By the time sensations pass through the senses to the mind, so that a response can be generated, a crucial amount of time has already been lost. Ideally, what one should want is for each and every part of their body to react, respond, and move independently without losing unity. This can only be done when natural command of the self is achieved. Mubyoshi is not about speed, it is about eliminating the use of muscles that lower the human body’s potential efficiency while strengthen the muscles that are truly necessary.

This allows practitioners to move in such ways that can go beyond what an opponent may expect given the prior motions conducted, but also makes it possible for them to move and act without requiring previous thought. Even if the opponent never allows them to leave their line of sight, they will find that they cannot track their actions and it becomes nigh impossible to predict what they will do. Their movements are entirely natural and serve as proper responses to the situation as they perceive the circumstances rather than needing to consider and make plans to deal with the situation. Such is the way of Martial Arts Dance.

## Branches

### Rhythm Flow

A style that uses latent energies and the flow of battle to users own advantage. It's very flashy, and honestly kinda like the sledgehammer approach.

### Rhythm Alteration

This style revolves around changing the flow of battle the way user desires.

## Special Techniques

### Universal

* **Synchronization**: Synchronization is essentially the precursor to any Martial Arts Dance technique. To perform this technique, the user analyzes his or her target's chi, and then aligns the wavelength of his or her chi with the target's wavelength. This, in effect, causes the two auras to synchronize and become connected, allowing the user to manipulate the opponent's aura - and their bodies in turn - in however manner they so wish, such as either increasing or decreasing ki flow or redirecting attacks.
* **Ten'i Muhou** (天衣無縫, lit. "*Heaven Clad Null Shroud*"): An advanced technique that utilizes very neutral motions that can easily allow various responses while simultaneously attempting to constantly shift one's own beat, effectively reducing opponent's read time by nearly twenty percent. Ten'i Muhou is meant to evade an opponent's attacks and hit them with a strong attack of their own.
* **Mushin**

Main article: Mushin

* **Self-Movement**: A direct consequence of mastering the Mushin state. It is the pinnacle of Mubyoushi, enabling the master to move their body and respond to their opponent without needing to think. Every move they make is based on natural intuition, making it impossible for an opponent to predict their moves because there is no intention coming off of them to use in making those predictions. Thus, sensing the user when they move in to attack or defend becomes nigh impossible. When seen through the eyes of those unaware of the skill or incapable of it, the movements of a Mushin user can feel almost unreal, despite them being clearly witnessed. It is through such a state that even when one is outmatched by an opponent far greater than them, it grants the dancer a chance to catch up to them during battle, possibly even to the point of overcoming that difference in power. Because they are adapting to the opponent with every move they make, fighting someone on an initially higher level than them means that their own movements will continuously improve as the fight continues.

### Rippa

* **Flicker Step**: This technique is utilized by matching up the circulating Ki to the ankle and synchronizing the flow of Ki with the physical movement of stepping, to initiate. It consists of five different basic moves:
	+ **Zenshin** (*Advance*): Draws the user close to his opponent.
	+ **Taikyaku** (*Retreat*): A technique which allows rapid movement to retreat or create distance between user and opponent.
	+ **Manukareru** (*Evade*): Allows the user to avoid the opponents attack and gaze.
	+ **Kōgeki** (*Attack*): Attacks the opponent.
	+ **Bunshin**: A secret technique which affects an opponents mind and willpower, creating the effect of the user being in multiple places at once to distract the opponent.
* **Kei**: While hard and soft denote the form a technique takes, it is 'kei' (勁, "*power*") that comprises the nature a technique will take. Although most martial artists are only familiar with the idea of their strikes smashing into their targets in order to crush them, this is but one of the methods in which a martial art technique's power, or more specifically its 'kei', can take. There are some martial artists who can transmit the force of their punches, so as to harmlessly let their attacks pass through structures in order to cause injury to their true target. Some strikes can seem like they can crush bones, yet when they impact the flesh, the outside remains with nary a scratch yet the insides of the target are rent asunder. 'Kei', in other words, is what determines the nature of a martial art technique and how exactly its power will manifest. Using the concept of 'kei' this technique allows Rippa to express the power of his techniques so that they are limited only by his own imagination.
* **Hakke Hasangeki** (八卦破山撃­; lit. "*Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher*"): A momentum based attack where the fighter utilizes circle walking in order to collect the rotational force of his motion. Then by adding its mass to their own they transfer it to opponent via their leg, normally yielding incredible force. The typical counter to this technique is to keep your distance. Rippa has mastered the technique to an incredible extent, allowing him to hit with the equivalent of several tons of mass.
* **Devil Leg**: User spins at high speeds, heating up their leg due to friction, adding extreme heat to the impact of their kicks.
* **Madoka** (円, lit. "*Circle*"): User receives an attack, taking the power, then they rotates themselves around as if making a circle, then send it back as a counter.
* **Bakudō** (縛道, "*Way of Binding*"): This technique allows the user to create and set traps. The user manipulates the inter-atomic binding forces of matter, allowing them to form temporary molecular bonds between victim and another object. Most often it is done on surfaces, such as floors allowing user to affix their victim to it, sorta like having magnetic boots on, or maybe a hyper gravity field. This technique takes time to set up due to the surface energy needing to be properly aligned with the victims. The reverse can be used as well causing the the victim to be repelled off of the surface.
* **Resshū Kō Kyū Ha** (裂蹴紅球波, *Fissure Kick Crimson Ball Wave*): This is an external chi gathering technique similar to the Ha Do Ken only done with one's legs, concentrating the energy by the feet rather than using the arms. Though unlike the Ha Do Ken which gathers the ambient energies from the environment, this technique merely gathers the energy user and their opponent expended in their fight. Thus the longer the fight and the more combatant there are the stronger the blast. User then compresses that energy into a ball before kicking it at opponent. However, the main disadvantage of the attack is both the amount of time needed to complete, as well as the incredibly drain it takes on user

### Kitsui

* **Sensory Control**: The user can manipulate the ki of his or her opponents. The user uses his or her ki to override the opponent’s nervous system controlling their senses. The user enters the mind of the opponent taps into key portions of their brain and then it back into their senses. It can trigger calming illusions, or nightmarish ones, however despite its versatility the illusion can only be created based off of the opponent’s memories.
* **Nightmare Waltz**: Kitsui traps her opponent into a fully encompassing nightmare. She isn't just affecting their senses, she is putting them into a dreaming state, effectively forcing you to sleep walk. Even their memories are distorted leaving little avenue for escape as their very mind gets wrapped up in the illusion just like how you usually inherently accept the absurdities of a dream. Kitsue does not know exactly what the victim experienced. She merely taps into a memory which is personally frightening to them.
* **Shadow Imitation**: This is a variation of Sensory Control where the uses user uses his or her ki to override the nervous system controlling opponent’s muscles. The drawback to this technique is that in order to control opponent’s muscles, the user has to feed them info directly from their own, effectively making the opponent move just like the user: if the user walks forward, the target walks forward; if the user raises their right hand, the target raises their right hand. And since they are controlling the nerves to the muscles directly. The strongest person on the planet would be just as helpless as the weakest. Shadow Imitation is more effect in Endurance Matches then actual combat. This technique is weak against techniques designed to disrupt chi flow however Kitsui’s skill is so great that she can instantly reassert it. Another weakness is that the link itself can be reversed in order to grant the opponent control, but this requires both and enormous amount of power and skill.
	+ **Puppeteering**: Performing Shadow Imitation on an unconscious victim eliminates the weakness of synchronizing user being forced to synchronize their body moments. Since the victim is unconscious they can’t fight user’s control granting them significantly more of it. Kitsui is skilled enough to use this technique with just her hands. The true strength of this technique is that unconscious will prevent the victim from being affected by any attack traumatizing the brain. Trying to counter force with force has the adverse effect especially with combat styles such as aikido and judo. But an unconscious body will react instinctively to the blows coming and because of that they don’t try to fight against the force. Using Puppeteering to guide the victim’s body causes it to become totally natural and the accuracy of the power of its attacks beyond comparison. However the victim is still flesh and blood so can only be pushed so far.
* **Ultimate Defense**: One of the few techniques that can be acknowledged as a Ultimate Defense. User projects an aura of pure in-hostility. It repels hostility, preventing even the lines of intent from connecting with them. So long as they keep it up, user cannot be intentionally attacked, since to form any kind of attack, it must be done with hostile intent. The moment that intent is formed opponents focus will become distorted and the trajectory of their attack will be changed. The technique does not have any affect on attacks that are done accidentally. The upper limits of this technique is entirely depended on user’s skill level.

### Both

* **Sōjō Kōka** (相乗効果, "*Synergy*"): Traditional chi manipulation is a well-defined technique with specific properties and a clear purpose. On the one hand, this greatly facilitates their usage in combat. Conversely, the attacks are somewhat limited in what they can achieve and dangerously predictable to knowledgeable enemies. In order to alleviate this, as well as obtain access to a vastly greater scope of possible tactics, dance partners learn to synchronize with one another, enabling them to produce techniques that are highly effective and unpredictable. This technique can be compared to the usage of an electric guitar, while the sound (chi) that comes from an electric guitar (dancer) by itself is rather faint, it gains a lot of power when connected to the AMP (partner).
* **Dancing Dragon**: This is a two part technique that generates a rapidly expanding circle of fire. Rippa initiates the flame and provides the raw energy needed to keep it alive, while Kitsui manipulates and controls the existing flames so that she and her brother aren’t hurt.

## Competition

### Endurance Match

The basic idea is simple; an anything-goes competition where each side will start with one hundred points. When a side loses all its points, they lose. There are a number of ways to lose points but the 3 most important are.

* **Number 1**: Stop dancing. Dancing is interpreted very liberally in a Martial Arts Dance match, so basically just keeping on the move will suffice. Every second you are not dancing you lose 1 point.
* **Number 2**: Leave the dance floor. You have to stay inside it. Leave it, even for an instant, and you automatically lose a point, and another point for every second you continue to be outside.
* **Number 3**: Leave the ground for more than a second. Naturally this means high jumps are not advisable. If it takes you more than 1 second to complete a jump, you'll lose a point. However, as long as you keep a connection to the floor, you're okay, so your partner can lift you, or you can even use your opponent as a connection.

There is one last way to lose points, and this will cost you 25 points, and that is to break the rules. That isn't very easy considering nearly anything goes, but if one side believes the other to be cheating in some fashion, they can make an appeal to the judges. If the judges agree, the cheaters lose 25 points and must discontinue the illegal action or automatically lose. However, if the judge believe the action is legal, the accusers lose the 25 points.

There are typically 3 judges who decide when to deduct points. Each side has a judge on their side who takes the points off the opposing team. The third judge is there to solve disputes and make rulings.

## Inspiration

* **Tenjou Tenge**
* **Vocaloids**
* **Samurai Deeper Kyo**
* **Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan**
* **History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi**
* **Dragons Rioting**
* **The Breaker**
* **Claymore**
* **Naruto**
* **Soul Eater**
* **Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru**
* **Quantum Mistake**
* **Super Powereds**
* **Gamaran**
* **Bleach**
	+ **Seireitou**
* **YuYu Hakusho**

## Notes

The Names used for the techniques are currently placeholders and thus subjectable to change.