Teras Kasi

Teräs Käsi Defensive stance

Teräs Käsi, meaning 'Steel Hand', is an unarmed martial art that was invented ages ago by the survivors of Palawa's Destruction. The art is brutal, effective, and adaptive, having been invented, as the rumors suggest, to keep the Jedi 'in check'. The legends tell the learner that Palawi was destroyed by a jealous Jedi Council, and that the refugees fled to Bunduki, where they continued to study the Force as they had for generations. Anxious that the Jedi would hunt even the survivors down, they formulated Teräs Käsi as a method to defend against the Jedi Arts. Students of the Force who have had the opportunity to study Teräs Käsi have remarked that the art seems to draw on the internal Force for it's power, whereas most Force-users draw from the world around them.

Teräs Käsi has gained a high degree of notoriety, many various action holos showing the hero as being a master of Teräs Käsi, which affords a high degree of recognition of the basic tenets of the art, as most actors don't tend to train fully in the art. As a result, there are quite a few academies that teach the basics of Teräs Käsi to anyone willing to pay the tuition fees. However, these academies only offer a limited understanding of ther art. In order to achieve mastery, one must seek out a Master of Palawi, a difficult task in and of itself.

The art is brutally efficient, teaching its students how to step inside attacks to avoid damage while delivering viciously effective strikes themselves. The flexibility and strength required of Teräs Käsi permits attacks that would otherwise be unreasonable, like the famed Death Weave, a series of blows that stuns, then paralyzes, incapacitates, and finally ends the target's life.

Details

Stance

Teräs Käsi uses a wide stance. Rather than turning sideways, like many other martial arts, the Teräs Käsi artist will face their opponents face on, their shoulders slightly forward than their feet, as if beginning a charge. This enables the user to spring into action quickly, often necessary against they typically armed opponents the art was intended to face.

Striking

Open hand, closed fist, elbow smashes, knees, kicks, headbutts and body checks, Teräs Käsi uses all of the body as a weapon, even if unorthodox ways. The art relies heavily on strikes to intercept attacking weapon hands, often with open hand to help deflect weaponry from their opponent's target.

Defense

Heavier on offensive preemptive or intercepting strikes than a true defense, Teräs Käsi still utilizes several static blocks/ Several schools emphasize conditioning of limbs so that one of these blocks is actually damaging for the opponent to strike.

Training

the basics of Teräs Käsi are easy enough to seek training in. Studios can be found in almost any major city across the galaxy. Unfortunately, these studios can often instill bad habits and misinformation in the student. To find a true master is far more difficult. Seeking out one of the Masters can take years, let alone convincing them to actually take you on as a student. As a result, many arguments about who has learned the truest form of Teräs Käsi come up in the martial world.