Martial Arts Styles

Within Metamor City chronicles two types of martial arts have appeared to date- the Psi Collective form and Vadkalan.

Other arts from the history of the Metamor City universe that may be used are Bladesong and Sondeckis.

Psi Collective

The Psi Collective has developed a martial art of their own. It is taught to children within the Hive's schools as a method of self-defense and self-control. The members of the Collective who go onto Psi Ops also will use this style on while on missions if engaging in hand to hand combat.

The basic techniques are all non-psionically powered, physical movements, but practitioners are encouraged and taught ways to incorporate their powers into the style as their training (in both the art and their powers) progresses.

The style uses a combination of strikes, punches, and kicks (similar to karate), with additional holds that are reminiscent of wrestling.

Terms - RL Equivalency

samnak - dojo
kano - sensei
baepa - kata

Noted practitioners:

Victor (Making the Cut)
Daniel Sharabi (Making the Cut)

Vadkalan

Philosophy

The Delkarians follow a mostly a Universalist philosophy. They do respect the aedra and daedra, but never revered them as gods.

They believe in re-incarnation, and while the daedra found a way to trap souls in the Hells, they believe that once a soul passes through the Veil they are reborn into the natural world to learn all the aspects of Truth.

The major difference is that the Truth is not the Truth of the Universe… but the Truth of the Self.

The Truth of the Self is represented in the image of the Floating Flame, the balance of Passion with Reason, the Spirit with the Body.

Aside from being an art of self-defense, the first practitioners formulated Vadkalan as a form of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development. They realized that the greatest accomplishment is not martial skill but enlightenment, so martial arts served as a vehicle to attain higher levels of spirituality and thereby attain self realization.

In over a millennia, while some individuals are recognized as great teachers, no single individual in history or currently is considered to have obtained a complete understanding of Truth. Because in a million lifetimes, the world changes, technology advances, so over time so there is no way for a soul to have all of the experiences it can have.

While some would think that this makes the search for truth futile, this transience makes the search even more important to someone on this path.

Note: Gender is no barrier to learning from this art. In fact, the first person considered Gukalan Tasan (a "super" teacher) of the art, was Madya Trytori, a woman.

Massage, Medicine and Meditation

A unique practice of the Vadkalan style is the frequent use of massage and the applying of oils on the body before and after training or practice. This serves a twofold purpose: it helps prevent injuries, speeds healing after injury, and helps connect the mind, body, and spirit before entering meditation.

The art also incorporates a traditional medicine system, very similar to the Ayurvedic medicine of India. Healing techniques involve massage, acupressure, aromatherapy, and meditation.

There are two forms of meditation in Vadkalan; kala or static meditation (what most people think of as meditation) and vadi or movement meditation (also the combat form).

A fully trained practitioner should be conscious of any movements in the surrounding area and be prepared to defend themselves at all times. Folklore even tells of masters who acquired supernatural powers through meditation.

Motion as Meditation

The combat style, as mentioned above, is considered to be both a combat art and a form of meditation. It incorporates strikes, kicks and leaps, grappling, martial dance, and weaponry.

Practitioners learn basic tavi in the first form, then move onto weapons in the second and third forms (wooden weapons then metal weapons). Unarmed techniques are saved until fourth form and are considered the most dangerous.

Terms - RL Equivalency

kuzkari - dojo
gukalan - sensei
tavi - Techniques/Kata

Noted practitioners:

  • Madya Trytori, the first Gukalan Tasan (a "super" sensei if you will) of the art. Lived in Baitam, capital of the Delkari Border State, circa 545-585 C.R. (Tide of Mist)
  • Indar Sivantha (Tide of Mist)

Sources:

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