Paonga

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Paonga

There are many who make the mistake of underestimating the prowess of the Gungan warriors of Naboo. This is a dangerous mistake, born out of misunderstanding the Gungan's crude accent of common and their apparently sloppy motions. In reality, the amphibious warriors have a rich military history, and have developed some of the most effective grappling techniques ever used.

This Art, called Paonga, is taught to their children in schools alongside sciences and maths. Taught as equal parts self-defense and theatrics, Paonga often teaches set forms to replicate famous battles between the feuding generals of the past. Such displays are publicly shown during feast days, where the best wrestlers would play out the parts of their history, each playing a part of a great warrior or general from their rich history.

Paonga is comprised of two elements: the 'Wobow', a state of flexibility bordering on limpness, utter looseness that many opponents confuse for clumsy inebriation, and the 'Kranni', a method of becoming suddenly inflexible so as to cause harm by exerting pressure on the sensitive joints of their opponent.

It is by using both of these elements in tandem that Paonga can boast wrestling excellence. People trying to wrestle a Paonga expert have said it was 'like trying to hold a slippery, dead fish that still manages to bite'.

It is only recently that martial scholars have taken the time to actually study Paonga and have come to realize that the seemingly sloppy method of wrestling was not only far more developed than it first appeared, but also, viciously effective. Many soldiers are beginning to incorporate elements of Paonga in their own hand to hand methods, seeking to emulate the dangerous art for greater effectiveness on the battlefield.

Details

Stance

The Paonga teachers make their students start from a semi-crouched state, their feet placed slightly outside their shoulders, bent at the knee and hip, arms slightly forward and out, hands open to catch an opponent's strike. The weight is shifted erratically between both legs, giving an impression of instability, when in fact, the stylist is rather solid.

Strikes

There are few strikes in Paonga. Most of the aggressive motions are very flexible, and geared towards ensnaring an opponent, wrapping their limbs around their foes so they can wrench them out of their sockets momentarily.

Defense

Paonga relies upon trapping an opponent's strikes for it's defense, as there are no blocks or counter-strikes to really speak of. By being in the state of the 'Wobow', the Paonga adherent can effectively slide around a foe's attack to gain leverage on their own technique.

Training

Paonga is taught in schools, the young Gungans learning the wrestling style along with their history, and basic life skills. On occasion, a Gungan warrior will open up a Paonga Den, a school to teach outlanders some of the art, for both money and the chance to help make people recognize that their people have such a rich military history.

Weapons

By and large, most Paonga techniques are unarmed. However, a few traditional Gungan weapons do have techniques tought. These are primarily the 'Poak' - a spear, the 'chuaka' - a launcher for the spear, originally used for hunting, and the 'krus' - a knuckle-blade.

Summary

Level: Advanced

Prerequisites: Broken Gate 3, Dulon 3, CON 18

Style: Soft

Weapons: unarmed, polearms, fistloads

• • Guard, Mount, Lock
• •• Heelhook, Breakfall, Sidecontrol
• ••• Shrimp, Sweep, Take the Back Suplex
• •••• Chokehold, Armbar, Takedown, Guardpass
• ••••• Hammerhand, Leglock, Iron Bridge, Four-Spot Lock

Brotherhood Practitioners

• Taigikori Aybara Dupar
• Du Maurier d'Tana
• Sith Bloodfyre-Tarentae