Jeswandi, a very 'soft' martial art, hails from Bothawui, the product of Bothan civil conflicts. This seven thousand year old martial art was developed in ages past, when the Bothans were constantly engaged in clannish warfare.
The style was named and codified by Magh Dar'lya, having used decades of battlefield experience to survive and emerge triumphant from many a battle to hone the rough art to it's more or less present state. Having grown angry at his clan elders for risking his men's lives so many times, Magh taught the fighting style to members of each of the other clans. No longer able to rely upon their battlefield mastery to get what they wanted, the clan elders were forced to usher in a more democratic era on Bothawui. This of course, caused the Bothans to wage war upon each other in the political arena, generating the stereotypical sneakiness that the Bothans are known well for throughout the Galaxy.
The style itself caters well to those who are not capable or willing to take damage from a full scale frontal assault. Using misdirection and smooth movements, the Jeswandi practitioner prides herself on her ability not only to avoid getting hit, but to use their opponent's aggression to their own benefit.
The proficient Jeswandi stylist specializes in their ability to make a target enticing for their opponent, then being able to remove the target from harm's way and act in a fluid motion to take advantage of their opponent's failed strike. This can be done with simple throws or pushes, or by weaving their limbs into their opponent's form and flexing in such ways that joints or limbs are stressed or broken.
Stance:
When one begins training in Jeswandi, they are tought to turn sideways, their off hand and foot closest the opponent, with almost no weight on the leading leg. This is done to minimize their opponent's target area, and to lead them into attacking the leading leg, the target that students first learn to use as bait. As students progress through the art, their stance becomes more and more neutral, their body language honed to seem as though they aren't really fighting at all.
Strikes
While Jeswandi prides itself on it's trapping, locking and throws, it does not neglect the striking art. The art places great emphasis on using the whole body as a weapon, but has much time and study devoted to the 'biting fist', a punch with one or two knuckles extended slightly. By careful targeting, this technique focuses all of the power of a punch in a very small area, with often devastating results. This technique is used to hit nerve centers and the insides of joints in order to collapse their opponent's strikes or momentum. These techniques are used sparingly, as if done incorrectly, the blow may be ineffective, and could even result in broken knuckles.
Defense
While the art has no blocks, The defensive realm is where Jeswandi shines. Using quick and seemingly erratic movements, the stylist narrowly dodges their opponent's strikes on purpose. The ir proximity to a missed attack is a massive window of opportunity for a Jeswandi specialist.
Utilizing these windows of opportunity in many different ways is drilled repeatedly during the course of training in Jeswandi. Repeating the forms and techniques over and over again provides a 'muscle memory' for the master, allowing their reaction to occur almost without thought.
Movement
Younger students of Jeswandi are in an almost constant state of motion, using their speed and dexterity to help evade incoming attacks. As a student masters more and more of the concepts of the Art, the less active and more calm they seem, their actions not slower, just more direct, and less wasteful.
Training
Initiates in the art of Jeswandi are taught in classes of ten to twenty students, with one or two teachers instructing them in the basic skills of the art. As a student rises through the ranks, they will find that their class size will shrink, and that they are expected to train newer students in the art. At the peak of their training, a student of Jeswandi trains with only one colleague under a master, using their fellow as a sparring partner and as a constant challenger to their own skills. At the end of their tutelage, only one of the two will be permitted to for a school of their own, and so, competition is fierce between the two, despite the outward appearances of friendship.
Weapons
Jeswandi encourages the use of several weapons, prime among these being flexible weapons. With a whip or a chain aiding them, a Jeswandi advocate is far more able to bind up an opponent's strikes in order to take advantage of their defenselessness. Jeswandi also teaches some students in knives, using the same principles of the 'Biting Fist' to make the incapacitating blows far more lethal.
Level: Advanced
Prerequisites: Dulon 3, Hapan 3, Dex 18
Style: Soft
Weapons: Empty hand, flexible weapons, knives
• Evade, throw, punch
•• Narrow evasion, baiting, bind attack
••• Evasive attack, power strike, attack trapping, misdirection
•••• 'Biting Fist', Misalign attack, attack locking, Irrupt attack
••••• Limb destruction, Rib-spreader, smoky movement, unbalance opponent, 'Biting Fist' mastery