Kanrai

**Kanrai** (*寒雷, Lit: Winter Thunderstorm*) less known as **Lightning Gale** is a martial art capable of harnessing the power of the air itself to behave like a storm.

## ***Overview***

While it may look like a standard hard martial art Kanrai is deceptively complex in its inner workings, far more complex than the super-majority of the martial arts in the world. Kanrai's degree of skill is on a superhuman level even compared to superhuman fighting styles as such there are only a handful of cases where one could use an additional style of martial art outside of Kanrai, and even so both of them were learned simultaneously.

## ***Style***

Kanrai is a very distinctive style because of the nature of the consequences of its use are unmistakable, namely its creation of **Lightning Wind** and it's loud **Thunderous Movements**, and finally and less famously the powerful gust of winds every user commands.

## ***Training***

Training for Kanrai is divided into 2 distinct training types: Honing Thunder which is physical conditioning and Honing Lightning which is form work.

### **Physical Conditioning**

Kanrai is a decidedly superhuman martial art which cannot be taught to an average person, in this way it is most similar to Fishman Karate which leverages the innate super-strength of Fishman as a species. Because of its inherent impossibility to be learned by everyone, Kanrai focuses only on the methods of training most befitting those born with superhuman potential as such all the training of Kanrai maximizes this potential.

The most important aspect of the purely physical side of Kanrai is the honing of one's muscles for explosive and instantaneous power. The training seeks to hone the sudden movement potential of muscles to its limits, trading everything at the start for nothing but pure power, as a result of this novices of the style will possess limited endurance. Instead endurance is acquired by constant, fanatical repetition of the forms as opposed to muscular training.

### **Form Work**

The most important aspect of Kanrai training however is the practicing of forms time and time again, slowly at first and progressively speeding up until one can perform the movements in the span of a blink of an eye. Practice is performed in this manner until it becomes entirely instinctual and second nature, as natural as breathing or blinking. Surpassing even muscle memory into the realm of becoming part of the **Autonomic Nervous System**.

While the practice of forms by itself is simple and standard in theory Kanrai is a martial arts which is adjacent to or perhaps inspired by **Life Return** and as such incorporates within itself "mental stances" which allow one to utilize Life Return to a very minor capacity. By practicing these "mental stances" with their physical stances a user of Kanrai can rewrite and reconfigure their central nervous system to treat the **Storm Pulse** as a natural effect of the body.

## ***Storm Pulse***

The **Storm Pulse** is the fundamental concept at the base of true Kanrai, it is what creates the **Lightning Wind** and can also be used for "stunning". It is divided into two distinct but interrelated parts:

*Physical Storm Pulse* is the specific movements that are taught and permanently etched into the nervous system to the practitioners of Kanrai. Each "stance" of the Storm Pulse requires one to move the part that they will attack with in seemingly random directions for nigh-microscopic distances and nigh-instant spans of time, with differing speed and power fluctuating at seemingly random intervals. While these seemingly pointless movements in the midst of a normal attack movement seem arbitrary, they in fact move, compress, uncompress, push, and spiral the air around the body to become dangerously chaotic and lethal, creating the **Lightning Wind**.

*Mental Storm Pulse* is the true path to mastering Kanrai, for it is the unconscious understanding of how the movements that make up Storm Pulse weave into one another to create the extremely powerful wind techniques, in essence it is the study of Kanrai itself. Once the mental aspect of Storm Pulse is fully grasped one can utilize Kanrai as a freestyle martial art that can create techniques on the go, relying on one's nervous system to compensate, because when the nature of Storm Pulse is understood one can create new "stances" on the fly by exploiting the super-muscle memory.

### **Thunderous Movement**

Because of the nature of Kanrai and the Storm Pulse and what it does to the air, it is a very loud Martial Art that almost always creates a powerful shockwaves and sound when used, these are known as the **Thunderous Movements** of Kanrai and they are often used as an intimidation tactic. Masters can dampen these sounds at will.

Unknown to many, Kanrai is a perfectly suitable Martial Art without relying on the creation of **Lightning Slashes** as when the principles of the **Storm Pulse** are applied directly onto skin as opposed to the air it instead creates powerful shockwaves which users of Kanrai can exploit and even specialize in. Opponents struck by Thunderous Movements are often stunned for seconds as their entire body shakes from the powerful shockwaves.

### **Lightning Wind**

The most iconic aspect of Kanrai the **Lightning Wind** is simply an "air slash" that moves in a pattern and fashion similar to electricity without any of the electromagnetic properties associated with it, instead the "lightning" will have immense cutting power, one far superior to most conventional air slashes. While the lightning wind looks like lightning depending on the nature of the attack performed it can even seemingly "travel" around surfaces replicating electricity surging through material.

### **Weapon Use**

While rare it is not impossible for Kanrai to be utilized with weaponry. By applying and addapting the **Storm Pulse** to the use of a weapon one can create the Lightning Wind using bladed weapons for even deadlier slashing damage.

## ***Techniques***

### **Yamaarashi**

**Hekirikei** (山嵐, *Yamaarashi*?, Mountain Storm)

### **Hekireki**

**Hekirikei** (霹靂, *Hekireki*?, Thunder Clap) are the techniques which make use primarily of the **Thunderous Movments** aspect.

### **Senden**

**Senden** (閃電, *Senden*?, Lightning Flash) are the techniques which make use primarily of the **Lightning Wind** aspect of Kanrai.

Some techniques include:

* **Kanrai Senden: Lightning Surge**- The basic technique performed by all practitioners, it is nothing but a straight forward spear with one's fingers outstretched performing one Storm Pulse pattern between 1 to 10 times, when the movement is finished and the rhythm stopped the iconic *Lightning Slash* will fly forwards and strike the enemy with great cutting and concussive power.

### **Ogis**

Ogis in Kanrai are the most advanced techniques employed and are distinct from basic and advanced techniques in two aspects: the order of magnitude of the number of repetitions of a pattern one must use to employ them in tiny spans of time.

* **Kanrai Senden Ogi: Great Heavenly Strike**- The logical limit of the basic **Lightning Surge** move, it is the same exact move but performed with around **500-1000 Storm Pulses** in the same space of time, the ensuing *Lightning Slash* is several degrees more powerful and capable of destroying an entire building.

## ***Notes***

* Users of this style should only ever be able to know 1 more style, and that should be learned at the same time or after learning Kanrai.

## Trivia

* Contrary to popular belief Kanrai does not in fact ever electrocute anyone, despite it appearing to.