Why learn a martial art?

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by lexington

End of the second paragraph.

Ayup. I see it clearly now, thank you. If it had been a cliche, it would have bit me.

Unfortunately, in my SF setting, not all martial arts descend from this particular one, though most have taken at least bits and pieces of this one. However, there are very few places and people who use this style, though there is a sport style that includes a lot of the original, but not all. Her teacher made sure she was qualified in the modern version as well so she could always have a job teaching if she wished.

She also has a few style familiarities for arts that she could not study the cinematic parts either because of a lack of True Masters (The Gentle Way - basically Aikijutsu) or because she lacked the ability (Blue Star Striking, where magical control over gravity and time is used to deadly effect). Her master didn't teach her the military martial arts because he really doesn't believe they're useful other than teaching soldiers to understand that pain can be ignored and that it's good excercise: after all why wrap a battle suit or a starship around you and then fight hand to hand?