Greetings and salutations, Splendid Seven devotees and martial arts aficionados. Antoni here. It is said that the martial arts have their place in culture, history, and sociolinguistic norms throughout the world. It is also said that when Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran practice various martial arts and make it a way of life, they not only become a powerful septet of Yokai warriors but also a strong family united by honour, courage, fortitude, discipline, attitude, confidence, and valour. Nothing can ever separate their bond as martial artists and as a family.
For this written entry, I am going to do something that is called East meets West in which each Splendid Seven member has two Eastern martial arts and two Western martial arts. This match-up would open them up to various combat possibilities and would combine specific physical aspects from each martial art to create adaptability to overcome stronger and more skilled opponents. While this would apply to all of The Splendid Seven members, the only exceptions are Shuran, Hakkaku, Ginta, and Shunran whose fighting styles are predominantly Eastern with one martial art being of Western origin, thus having three Eastern martial arts and one Western martial art for the four of them. With that said, let us get kicking, punching, grappling, and mauling, everybody.
Sesshoumaru combines tradition with innovation through Japan’s Shotokan and Kyokushin Karate, Brazil’s and America’s Mixed Martial Arts, and America’s Marine Corps Martial Arts. Shotokan’s and Kyokushin’s focus, balance, and power are combined with Mixed Martial Arts’ sheer brutality and Marine Corps Martial Arts’ speedy reaction time, survival tactics, and lethal precision. For Sesshoumaru, timing is everything when it comes to how he blocks, throws punches and kicks, and grapples his opponents to the ground to choke and batter the life out of them with his bare hands. If that were not enough, the Japanese and American army bases would be really proud to have Sesshoumaru on board with his skills in Marine Corps Martial Arts, for he has the speed and lethal accuracy to make his enemies squirm with terror, especially when he snatches their weapons away with lightning-fast quickness and incapacitates them with soul-shattering blows. He would even incorporate Karate’s main principles of Kihon, Kata, and Kumite in Mixed Martial Arts and Marine Corps Martial Arts as a means to condition himself, his teammates, and his troupes well against their enemies. Sesshoumaru is truly a martial artist worthy of respect and admiration.
Inuyasha combines power with brutality through Korea’s Taekwondo and Hapkido, Greece’s Pankration, and Hawaii’s Kapu Kuialua. Taekwondo’s and Hapkido’s speed, power, balance, and timing are combined with Pankration’s brute strength and Kapu Kuialua’s fierce brutality. Inuyasha’s raw power, super strength, and muscular virility are a wonderful yet dangerous combination should thugs, hellions, and lowlives dare cross paths with him. He uses every part of his body from his fists to his elbows to his knees to his heels to overcome his enemies and make them submit to his awesome power. Furthermore, Inuyasha’s combination of Taekwondo’s predominant punches and kicks with Hapkido’s, Pankration’s, and Kapu Kuialua’s joint locks, arm bars, submission holds, bearhugs, back-breakers, and neck-breakers demonstrate how serious of a fighter he really is. Whether he delivers a series of fatal spinning back kicks or disfiguring jabs to the face or devastating uppercuts to the chin or submission holds so tight that an anaconda is strangling his prey, Inuyasha can accomplish them all with pride and glory as well as having his muscles being bathed in his enemies’ blood. There is no escape when Inuyasha invites his enemies to their own demise.
Shuran combines brute force with grand virility through Japan’s Sumo Wrestling, Mongolian Wrestling, Korea’s Ssireum, and America’s and Great Britain’s Professional Wrestling. Sumo Wrestling’s, Mongolian Wrestling’s, and Ssireum’s grandly time-honoured tradition and cultural significance to Asia are combined with Professional Wrestling’s macho bravado and boundless thrills for all the spectators to witness. Locking enemies in various submission holds and throws is only one part of Shuran’s game in doing what he can to not falter. Consistency in his technique and dedication to his craft as a martial artist as well as to his family are also what make him thrive in perseverance and fortitude. Should any opponent dare to squeeze the life out of Shuran, he would just retaliate a million times harder with bearhugs, back-breakers, neck-breakers, suplexes, arm bars, joint locks, Boston Crabs, and Full Nelsons that can easily suffocate them to submission. Even his palm strikes and bodyslams have been proven to cause so much collateral damage. The ring and the ground are essentially home to Shuran. When potential opponents try their strength at him, they would not even last one nanosecond, thus bringing them to their knees.
Hakkaku combines fierceness with quick reflexes through Thailand’s Muay Thai, Cambodia’s Pradal Serey, Hawaii’s Kajukenbo, and the Philippines’s Panantukan. Muay Thai’s and Pradal Serey’s lethalness and brute force are combined with Kajukenbo’s versatility and Panantukan’s no holds barred determination to triumph. Hakkaku’s repertoire of punches and kicks may be devastating, but how he uses his clinches, elbow strikes, knee strikes, and shin kicks is nothing short of phenomenally jaw-dropping in the most brilliant way possible. He could never begin to tell the many occasions where he found purpose in kicking oak trees and banana trees with his bare shins to the point where Thailand and Cambodia honoured him as a fighter worthy of discipline, respect, and dignity. No mugger nor murderer would be impudent to dare besmirch Hakkaku’s good name. While Hakkaku’s punches and kicks can disfigure skeletons and break bones, his clinches combined with his knee strikes, shin kicks, and elbow strikes can leave his enemies bleeding, bruised, and beaten almost to death. There is no stopping Hakkaku when it comes to dishing out a huge serving of pain and punishment when he puts his elbows, knees, and shins to phenomenal use.
Ginta combines ferocity with speed through Myanmar’s Lethwei, Indonesia’s Pencak Silat, China’s Sanda, and Russia’s Systema. Lethwei’s brutality is combined with Pencak Silat’s relentlessness, Sanda’s power, and Systema’s methodical fierceness. Ginta may possess a repertoire rich in punches and kicks, but he is also very capable of clinches, knee strikes, elbow strikes, shin kicks, and head-butts which can leave potential enemies reeling and writhing with pain and anguish. There have been occasions where Ginta’s hand wraps have been soaked in so much blood, given all the beatings he has served up to his enemies. Moreover, Ginta’s signature head-butts have even seen his opponents suffering concussions and brain damage to the point where they cannot move their head around anymore. The secret to Ginta’s clinches, takedowns, and strikes is his daily ritual of punching, kicking, and head-butting oak trees and banana trees to harden and toughen his bones, thus becoming an indestructible force of nature. Whenever enemies attempt to strike Ginta down, he counters their attacks using his quick reaction time before punishing them with clinches, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and head-butts galore. Victory is not that far away for Ginta.
Ayame combines instinct with toughness through Japan’s Nippon Kenpo and Shorinji Kenpo as well as America’s Kickboxing and Boxing. Nippon Kenpo’s power and Shorinji Kenpo’s spirit are combined with Kickboxing’s lethal speediness and Boxing’s brute force. Ayame’s iron fists and fleet feet are the hallmarks of her skills as a fighter who strikes without respite. Her vast repertory of punches and kicks means that she is always reliable in ensuring that every enemy should get down on their knees and plead defeat. Regardless if Ayame throws an uppercut, a hook, a jab, a cross punch, a reverse punch, a spinning back kick, a roundhouse kick or a side kick, she is never going to hold back on her attacks and will go all out on them. It is no secret that Ayame’s ambition, determination, and wilfulness fuel her attacks with panache and power, which have seen her come out on top in nearly every competition and battle alike. Her series of powerful punches and speedy kicks aside, Ayame is also the bearer of quick reaction time and her signature Dempsey rolls, side steps, dodges, and blocks that have seen her obliterate her enemies with all her might. There is no doubt that Ayame’s physical strength, psychological fortitude, and quick instinct are what make her a consistent champion.
Shunran combines graceful agility with lightning-fast rapidity through China’s Shaolin Kung Fu, Wing Chun, and Wushu as well as Brazil’s Capoeira. Shaolin Kung Fu’s and Wing Chun’s forcefulness is combined with Wushu’s deadly precision and Capoeira’s effective timing, zero-gravity agility, and thorough flexibility. Shunran’s lightning-fast limbs and amazing acrobatic abilities are proof that she is never to be underestimated with, despite her being the youngest and the shortest member of The Splendid Seven. In fact, Shunran’s lithe physical build gives her an advantage over bigger opponents because she can effectively propel herself and always fall back on technique to make them fall. This is also clear in her repertoire of kicks, backflips, foot sweeps, somersaults, and dance-like movements that have seen her form a mixture of Capoeira’s elaborate choreography and Shaolin Kung Fu’s fierce attacks all united under the roof of quickness and precision. Shunran does not pigeonhole herself to kicks and flips alone because, given her background in Shaolin Kung Fu, Wushu, and Wing Chun, she has her backfists, reverse punches, elbow strikes, and knee strikes to make her enemies immobile. Versatility truly is the spice of life in Shunran’s martial arts skills.
The Splendid Seven demonstrate that mixing Eastern and Western martial arts not only encourages global unity and diversity but also taking advantage of other styles and disciplines that would aid them be more effective fighters. To them, there is no one size fits all approach to their styles. There is harmony in power, precision, speed, balance, timing, tradition, and innovation through mixing these Eastern and Western martial arts styles. Therefore, combining these martial arts styles truly makes The Splendid Seven superhuman weapons capable of great self-defence for each other and great destruction against their opponents.
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