Sunagakure Taijustu; Pi Qua Quan

- Pi Qua Quan.


=================



- Style Description:
-- Pi Qua Quan, among all styles of taijutsu, involves the most movements. Mainly, it emphasizes mid to long range attacks, in which the opponent is confused by the attacker’s constant motion.

-- Pi Qua Quan is named from the movement of the hands during an offensive. The downward movement of the hand is referred to as pi, while the upward movement is referred to as qua. As the name suggests, Pi Qua Quan is the circular motion of the hand, much like a windmill. A fist is seldom used. Instead, much of the offensive comes from hands relaxed with fingers extended, being used in a manner resembling a whip. The moves are full of beauty, yet the offenses are sharp and heavy.

-- In Pi Qua Quan the moves are smooth and flexible. It demands the greatest degree of flexibility in any known style of Taijutsu, for the user must learn to move gracefully and without the stiffness of many forms of taijutsu possess.

-- However, while the style is quite fast and fluid, it does lack the raw power of some other taijutsu styles, as such every hit has to count. As a result over the years, countering has become a fundamental aspect of the style, and it has indeed become so recognized as a part of the style that many have expressed a great fear of attacking a user of Pi Qua Quan for fear of their devastating counters.

-- As a result of this focus on countering, the style has evolved over time to incorporate chakra control to improve the users reflexes, better equipping them to counter attacks, making it easily the most formidable and most prominent taijutsu style in the wind country.


=================


[ STAGE: ONE. ]

- Power: At this stage the user can strike slighter stronger than an untrained shinobi, a solid hit causes minor pain and possibly bruising but not much more than that.

- Movements: Movements are awkward at this stage, lacking the fluid motion that masters of Pi Qua Quan possess. The user is still unsure of their stance and move with a bit of difficulty, making each strike rough and slow. Arm movements are difficult to control as the user hasn't learned to keep their arms properly relaxed, and have a tendency to form their hands into fists, which slow down their movements.

- Flexibility: Having just begun training their arms and legs to be flexible, they are slightly more flexible than the average taijutsu user, though not by a lot.
Reflexes: No real advantage for the users reflexes at this stage.


- Basic Techniques:
- Seiryu-Kasho.
- Description:
-- A simple move done will facing away from the opponent. When the opponent is close. The user begins the move by starting to spin on one foot while at the same time swinging their arms downward in front of them, using the momentum from the spin to bring their arms up such that their hands strike the opponent typically below the chin making for a strong blow that is difficult to defend against.

- Bokuho.
- Description:
-- A basic stance that takes advantage of the user’s flexibility; the user crouches down with one leg bent, the other extended slightly. The arms are held out wide and outstretched high above their head, but loose and relaxed at the same time. This allows for the user to be able to target any part of the opponent’s body, whether it be their head or their feet.





[ STAGE: TWO. ]

- Power: A solid strike at this stage can cause a painful bruise, though more significant damage would necessitate multiple focused strikes.

- Movements: Movements are a bit more sophisticated, the user now able to perform the up and down movements of Pi Qua Quan with greater accuracy and speed. The motions are still stiff however when compared to a master of this style.

- Flexibility: At this stage the user is showing greater levels of flexibility, now able to bend backwards to a greater extent than normal, useful for dodging some attacks.

- Reflexes: The user is just starting to make use of their chakra control to better improve their reflexes, however at this stage any improvement is so slight as to be unnoticeable.


- Basic Techniques:
- Fuicanro.
- Description:
-- Catching the opponents kick, the user holds it high while bending down low to quickly grab the opponents other foot, and in one swift movement they wrench the opponents other foot up high while pushing the other down low, the movement typically taking the opponent clear off the ground, causing them to spin in mid air before collapsing on the ground. Though this counter is not particularly damaging, it can provide an opening for additional attacks, making it quite useful in the right hands.

- Teishitsu-Jouhai-Sho.
- Description:
-- A move performed while the user is facing the enemy. Bending down slightly, the user executes a perfect 360 degree spin, striking upwards as they do so resulting in a powerful uppercut that at higher levels can easily lift an opponent off the ground.





[ STAGE: THREE. ]

- Power: At this stage the users hands, held fairly loose can be used to break wooden panels without significant difficulty, making them rather more formidable at this stage.

- Movements: Movements are less rigid than in the previous stage, as the user is beginning to learn how to make each move flow more into the other. Additionally they are more adept at keeping their arms relaxed, allowing them to whip them around with greater accuracy and speed.

- Flexibility: Having practiced more advanced forms of stretching, the user is flexible enough to allow their body to twist and bend into the moves more easily; the user has no problem holding a crouch or other such positions for hours at a time without their legs cramping.

- Reflexes: Only now does the users reflex training start to pay off. Though the difference is only slight, it is enough to allow them to move to lessen the impact of blows that would have otherwise been quite harmful, or dodge blows that would have only just previously found purchase.


- Basic Techniques:
- Kasui-Sho.
- Description:
-- When an opponent attempts to kick the user while in their Bokuho stance, the user slides extended leg forward while crossing their arms over their head to defend against the kick. With the opponents leg pressed against their arms, the users then swiftly pushes themselves upward forcing the opponents leg high upwards and sweeps their other foot through the opponents other leg, causing them to fall onto their back or neck. This is typically followed with a sharp kick to a vital area and can be devastating against ill prepared opponents.





[ STAGE: FOUR. ]

- Power: With the users continued focus, their attacks can now fracture bones, with repeated strikes typically breaking them. As such, combined with their speed at this stage they are becoming very dangerous to face.

- Movements: The whip-like form of the arm becomes more pronounced, though the user doesn't have quite enough skill to move around nearly as fast or fluidly as higher stages. Offenses are still a bit slow and unwieldy, but are far less jerky than in the previous stage.

- Flexibility: At this stage the user's flexibility and agility allows them to duck in and out of a slower opponent's blows, bending their bodies to dodge attacks. While this is extremely handy against taijutsu users that specialize in slow, powerful moves faster opponents still prove to be a problem.

- Reflexes: The user is showing real improvement in their reflexes, such that they are now not only better able to dodge attacks, but they are now more often able to catch and block direct attacks, a particularly important part of the style.


- Basic Techniques:
- Tenshin-Bansa.
- Description:
-- A deceptively simple counter in which the user catches the opponents punch with both hands, then pulling the opponent forward and turning such that they are behind the opponent, the user then leans forward, forcing the opponent to the ground, while still holding onto their arm, typically resulting in the arm breaking or being dislocated at least.

- Koran.
- Description:
-- Another quite simple but powerful move. Quickly catching an opponents kick, the user immediately lashes out with a kick of their own to the opponents groin, and stepping forward as they do that, they finish it off with a kick to the opponents other foot, typically leaving them face down on the ground struggling to stand.





[ STAGE: FIVE. ]

- Power: At this stage a single solid strike from the user can break bones.

- Movements: The elegant fluidity of the style is beginning to become apparent at this point. Stiffness is still an issue, but only a minor one as the user becomes more conscious of relaxing their arms and hands properly. Attacks are performed much quicker and flow together better, though they still suffer from a bit of hesitation and awkwardness.

- Flexibility: Now having quite an exceptional degree of balance as well as flexibility, the user is now adept at keeping their positions whilst trying to move the opponent off of theirs. The user's ability to weave through an opponent's attacks is improved at this point.

- Reflexes: The users reflexes are now at a stage where striking them seems an exercise in futility. Only very carefully planned combinations of attacks, or attacks by multiple people will have much chance of striking.


- Basic Techniques:
- Uryu-Banda.
- Description:
-- One of Pi Qua Quan’s signature moves, it is essentially a very fast spin in which both the users body and their arms spin rapidly, though their arms are focused in one direction making them appear much like the sails on a windmill. The speed and fluidity of this move is easily the most impressive part, and due to the swiftness with which the move can be started it is a very dangerous move to anyone foolish enough to get too close. Lastly the move provides an ideal opportunity to move into the Bokuho stance, allowing the user to press the offensive further afterwards.





[ STAGE: SIX. ]

- Power: At this stage a solid strike can dent, sometimes crack a tree, naturally making their attacks against an unarmored opponent very punishing.

- Movements: The user’s movements take on a more graceful appearance with each move, as the technique now becomes almost second nature. The arms are for the most part properly relaxed, though the user still has a tendency to move a bit more rigidly than a master of this style. Lower level shinobi may find their movements difficult to anticipate and counter due to their speed and focused nature.

- Flexibility: Now able to bend their bodies in ways most normal people can't even imagine, shinobi of this level are almost more of a gymnast than a taijutsu user. Not only can they weave through slow opponents attacks relatively easy, but they can often find ways to sweep the opponent off their feet while keeping their own easily.

- Reflexes: No significant improvement is seen at this stage in terms of the users reflexes.


- Basic Techniques: None.





[ STAGE: SEVEN. ]

- Power: One solid strike from the user at this stage can break a solid tree in half.

- Movements: The fluid style of Pi Qua Quan is now at its peak; all moves are performed quickly and easily without hesitation, making the user’s hand and leg movements appear as a blur to the enemy. Each move of the hand or leg melds completely in with the next, making it quite a spectacle to watch.

- Flexibility: By this stage there is virtually no position the user cannot perform, their flexibility having advanced to almost superhuman levels. Their balance is exceptional; knocking them off their feet is extremely difficult as they can stay standing still with no problems even while the earth shakes violently under their feet. Against a slow opponent, the user can pretty much bend and twist their body around their attacks and strike the heart of the enemy with ease.

- Reflexes: At this stage the users reflexes are quite incredible. The user will register and begin to react to attacks the moment they begin, which combined with their flexibility and speed makes them nearly impossible to strike.