Chapter 20: The Basics Of Martial Arts [Pt 2]
Sido sat cross-legged on the floor and Arnik did the same, they sat opposite each other and Sido had a serious look on his face, he took a deep breath before he began.
"Before I begin the physical aspect of your training, we need to talk about the theoretical side.
Generally, most mages prefer not to use Martial arts in battles against Magical creatures, not like I blame them, it's simply a safer tactic to use powerful long-range spells in a fight.
As such the practice of martial arts has mostly declined from what it used to be, only the prestigious families constantly pass down their arts to the younger generation".
Sido paused and that gave Arnik a chance to ask a question,
"If Martial Arts aren't that advantageous in battle, then why do mages even bother to learn them," he asked.
Sido nodded before responding,
"I understand what you're coming from, but it's more than just battles with Magical beasts, many times, mages have to face humans as well.
Also, I never said that martial arts aren't advantageous, I only said that mages prefer to use long-range attacks.
If they really were useless, prestigious families wouldn't pass down martial arts to their younger generations"
Arnik nodded in agreement, he could definitely see the logic behind Sido's teaching.
Sido saw that Arnik understood everything that he'd just said and continued with his explanation,
"Besides, Martial Arts actually have some advantages over long-range attacks.
The first and probably most important is the amount of mana depleted. As you know mana is all around us, but for mages, there's a restriction as to how much mana one can be used over a period of time.
Powerful long-range attacks, in particular, tend to put a heavy strain on mages and as such, they can't handle long-term battles.
That's why most mages prefer to end fights as quickly as possible, whereas with martial arts, not only is mana depletion heavily reduced, mages can deal a lot of damage from close range especially when several attacks are chained into combos.
There's also more flexibility in changing attack patterns and as such, martial artists can adapt to a battle much quickly".
Sido studied Arnik for a bit as he paused his explanation, when the latter didn't object to anything or attempt to ask questions, he continued,
"Now, I hope you realize that everything I've been saying relates to martial artists that only use mana to boost their attacks in battle.
Everything changes significantly when a martial artist is able to fuse his elemental affinity with his martial style.
It allows for more diverse attacks and even greater damage output, also with better understanding and enough training, it can even give you greater control over your affinity ".
Arnik's eyes widened in realization, ever since he had seen Sido fight, he had been wondering how his body was able to move like that, there had to be some use of his elemental affinity in that fight against Small Pi he thought to himself, he suddenly wished that Sido would show him how he had done it.
Sido as if reading his mind, rose and began speaking again,
"That's enough talking for now, how about a little demonstration," he said, a smile appearing across his face.
Arnik eagerly nodded and jumped to his feet, he observed as Sido took a deep breath before assuming a stance, and he listened attentively as Sido began speaking again,
"For a martial artist, there are three major subjects to focus on, Attack, Defense, and Movement," he said as he demonstrated three stances.
"These three subjects are the foundation for any martial arts and mastering them is very important.
The level of mastery of each form can greatly increase your ability in battle especially when paired with your elemental affinity.
Even though all three are important, however, mages who use the arts tend to deviate toward one field eventually to better suit their battle style.
For instance, many earth mages are inclined to increase their defensive capabilities due to the nature of their abilities, of course, that doesn't mean that they can't choose to further learn the other two, but it is considered most suitable for that affinity.
My affinity is wind, the subject that is most suited for my affinity is movement, although I still focus on attack and defense".
Arnik had been listening with the utmost attention to everything Sido had been saying, his eyes followed the various forms and stances that Sido had taken during his explanation and he committed everything to memory.
At the mention of Sido's affinity, he quickly reflected on the fight with Small Pi and could easily Dustin everything that Sido had said.
He also reflected on his fight with Gerdi and also accepted that the core of Gerdi's as well as Rowan's martial arts had been defense even though they had used different techniques.
Arnik raised his head to look at Sido as he asked a question,
"What about techniques?, even if the basis of all Martial Arts are these three subjects, I've seen mages of the same element fight each other and the techniques they used were quite different even though their family relations were quite close"
Sido nodded in understanding before speaking,
"As I said before, most prestigious families already have a set technique of martial art, most times created by the forefathers of that family. Such techniques are considered sacred and the main families usually don't share them with the branch families.
It isn't considered a problem though as most branch/medium-sized families usually have techniques synonymous with their own families as well, such techniques might be inferior copies of the technique used by the main family, and other times they might even be completely different techniques, the same thing can even be said about spells.
The monopoly of the original or more powerful techniques or spells is one of the many advantages that the prestigious families hold over the rest".
Arnik nodded in agreement, he wasn't a member of any prestigious family, but from what he had seen in the Frost family archives and his interactions with Rowan and Gerdi he knew without a doubt that everything Sido had said was true. He suddenly looked at Sido,
"I can tell from the mansion and the way you're treated that your family is a branch of the Vayu family".
The Vayu family was one of the four prestigious families, their basic elemental affinity was Air. They were known to mostly keep to themselves and as such, not a lot was known about them. One of his classmates was a member of that family but he was mostly silent and Arnik had never seen him speak with anyone.
He continued after seeing Sido nod in agreement with his claims,
"Is your technique simply a copy of theirs? " he asked hesitantly,
Sido let out a hearty laugh before responding,
"You're right, my family is a branch of the Vayu family but you overestimate us, my family is one of the smallest branches and it was until recently that we rebuilt this mansion and grew somewhat".
Arnik wanted to ask what had caused the sudden growth but Sido didn't give him any room to talk before he continued,
"Since our family was just a small branch family, our resources were quite limited. We barely had any spells and had no martial arts technique whatsoever".
"Then where did you learn yours?" Arnik asked impatiently,
"I picked up a few things from my travels here and there " Sido answered before a proud look enveloped his face,
"But the technique I use was something I created for myself ".
Arnik's eyes widened at that revelation, he wasn't sure about the exact details, but from his little knowledge about martial arts and his extensive knowledge on magic related subjects, he could deduce that creating a martial arts technique, especially one that could incorporate elemental affinity was definitely as difficult as making a spell.
Also, he had witnessed Sido's technique first hand and even if he hadn't completely studied it, he could tell that it was something powerful, that would even make it more difficult to create.
"No wonder he had that proud look in his eyes, creating a martial arts technique as strong as that is no small feat," Arnik thought to himself. He could feel the respect for the man standing in front of him increasing more each second.
"Of course, I don't need to tell you the immense benefit of creating a unique martial art. The creator has direct influence over it and can tweak it to suit his strengths and protect his flaws.
Nevertheless, as much as the benefits out-way the disadvantages, you have to understand that it's quite difficult and requires hard work and commitment".
Arnik nodded, with a determined look in his eyes. Sido smiled at that sight,
"Very well then let's create your Martial Arts technique ".
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