Peltarch's bureaucracy handled, place, equipment and people found, fees paid - and my Dojo is officially open.
Dojo is Kara-Turan (far eastern) word meaning: 'Training Place', but some people consider it also 'Temple of Martial Arts'.
-=- Kenna meditating in Seiza position (sitting on feet) -=-
-=- She's wearing training outfit - Black Gi. -=-
(White Gi is for beginners, Red Gi is for advanced students, Black Gi is for masters).
Beside our training services, we sell basic training equipment for those who want. We have secured virtually unlimited supply of these - if many people want to buy much.
In this place we'll teach Arts of Unarmed Combat (both hand/leg striking and grapple/throw/levers), Kobudo (Peasant Weapons) and Katana-Jutsu (katana sword fighting techniques).
We're open to allow anyone train with any weapon/armor/technique as long as he or she is reasonable, peaceful and knows what he/she is doing. But from our side, we have only three lessons (Unarmed, Kobudo and Katana-Jutsu) to offer. We gladly try these against other weapons, armors, lessons and techniques.
We allow for any kind of nonlethal duels or group fights in our arena, as well.
Unarmed Fighting.
In Kara-Tur - far east - peasants are not allowed to train combat. They train secretly, during the nights to have a fighting chance against trained soldiers.
We practice mostly striking martial arts - hand strikes and various kicks at vulnerable points of enemy's body. Vulnerable points are called: 'Atemi' points.
For those interrested we have also lessons of grappling, throws, chokes, levers and pressures - both for fighting while standing and for fighting on the floor.
We also teach use of Ki - internal energies, and of breath meditations that improve calmness and focus.
-=- Marty (halfling) training groin punches and uppercuts. -=-
Kobudo - Peasant Weapons.
In far east - in Kara-Tur - peasants are forbidden to train or carry weapons, so lessons occur at night, secretly. Weapons
are traditionally peasant tools, as walking sticks, sai - knife for planting rice, kama - tool for cutting rice, nunchaku - flail for threshing rice, tonfa - stick for grinding rice, and so on.
These weapons can be quite deadly in skilled hands and give peasant a fighting chance against armed soldiers.
Peasant weapons combat is called Kobudo in eastern martial arts.
Katana-Jutsu.
It's said that Katana Sword is the pinnacle of weaponsmithing.
It's beautiful and deadly in skilled hands, and it's weapon of choice of samurai, knights under Kara-Turan Daimyo's, feudal lords.
Traditionally, Katana Sword is used either two-handed, or in one hand - but without shield.
Here i advise our students Adaptation over Tradition - using Katana Sword with Tower Shield. Katana with Shield works well here, in lands close to Narfell.
Synergies.
Word: 'synergy' means: 'more than sum of all parts'.
Unarmed Combat is a good start that prepares student for Kobudo and Katana-Jutsu lessons. Unarmed Combat and Kobudo is good starting point for Katana-Jutsu lessons.
These three lessons (Unarmed, Kobudo and Katana-Jutsu) work well together. One can kick enemy in belly before cutting off head, for example. After a succesful kick in belly, enemy bends forward, leaving his/her head vulnerable for cutting off.
It's been quite a while since i wrote anything in my journal.
Been busy with travels, exploring places around, within and under Narfell.
For real combat experience and training, fought mostly Giants next to Peltarch, but also other creatures in other places.
Also been working on creation of training hall, Dojo as it's called in Kara-Tur - where i'll offer lessons of Unarmed Martial Arts, of Kobudo which is training and combat with peasant weapons, and of Kenjutsu which is training and combat with the Katana Sword.
To create dojo, i'll need to go through paperwork and Peltarchian bureaucracy, hire personnel, find and furnish a suitable place. This will require some time and funds that i am working on currently.
Hope it will succeed.
-- Kenna, a Swordswoman in Eastern Traditions of Martial Arts.
In the far east of Faerun - in Kara-Tur - word 'Ken' means: 'Sword' and 'Na' means: 'No'.
Use the Sword or not?
She was so peace-loving girl that parents told her she should become a warrior-ess.
Only a peace-loving people can wield weapons responsibly, after all.
'Na' at the end of a sentence also means seeking confirmation, learning.
In this case it implies following the Way of the Sword (Ken-na), becoming One with the chosen weapon.
'Na' is also related to 'Onna', which means: 'woman'.
So, the word-suffix 'Na' is also a sort of a feminine form too.
Looks:
Lithe woman of average height, with young western face, black hair and black eyes. Small lips, small nose, she has katana sword sheathed at her belt. She prefers to wear red kimono, or sometimes far-eastern black and silver armour with round hat.
1. Martial Artist able to fight well with Katana Sword, eiter in armour or without it.
2. Woman from Kill Bill film (played by Uma Thurman).
Character's Background:
Born in Damara near Narfell, at her age of 18 she went on pilgrimage to Kara-Tur where she met Teacher who taught her Martial Arts as the way to Enlightenment. At her age of 24, she returned to west, to Narfell.
Property.
She owns a Dojo, Temple of Martial Arts & Training Place, in Peltarch's Commerce District.
Description:
Small yet athletic build, this young woman seems carefree - calm and happy. Open to befriending others, as well as ready to help everyone a little. She can be seen wearing either training outfit or armour. She has simple yet beautiful Katana sword in a sheath at her belt.
Spirituality:
- Tempus, Lord of Battles (god of war, primarily concerned with honorable battle, forbidding cowardice and encouraging the use of force of arms to settle disputes),
- Red Knight (deity of strategy and battle tactics),
- During her pilgrimage to Kara-Tur, earlier in this life, she trained basics of the Katana sword combat in one of the Kara-Tur's Dojos, and this Dojo had a guardian spirit named Kenji. In her dreams, Kenji called to her, telling that he wants to help her in training and combat, and he wanted to help to help protect Kenna's Dojo as well. Since then, Kenna worships this minor Kami as well.
More than deity worshiping, she also meditates and seeks liberation (from suffering) and elightenment - as many people in kara-tur do.
Praying makes her more violent, more fierce. Meditation brings peace and calmness.
--
Her stats (at level 16) are:
Strength: 20 (+4 from items),
Dexterity: 14,
Constitution: 10 (+4 from items),
Intelligence: 13,
Wisdom: 14,
Charisma: 9.
-=- Kenna's stats. -=-
-=- Click image to enlarge. -=-
-=- Kenna's stats when without armour and without shield. -=-
-=- Unarmed to the left, with Katana Sword to the right. -=-
-=- She moves faster when without armour and shield. -=-
-=- Click image to enlarge. -=-
The Katana sword i just bought - for a small fortune of 20 000 gp - deserved a nice name to have.
Finally got it ... 'Shine'.
Reflecting moonlight during night, reflecting light of the day.
In the darkness of the night, the light is needed the most.
'Shine' is a name for a certain meditation as well.
Reflecting thoughts and feelings as wielder observes her mind, during and after meditation.
In Shou and High Shou, languages of Kara-Tur - land in the far east of Narfell we live in, word 'Shine' means: 'Die!', and word: 'Korosu' means: 'to kill'.
'To die' can be understood either in spiritual way - killing one's ego, killing one's own demons in mind, or in vulgar way - as murdering someone.
Can murdering someone be spiritual ascent?
... either way, i'll train dilligently to be 'one with this weapon'.
-- Kenna, a Martial Artist, oneness with her Katana sword.
