Thread:JakCooperThePlumber/@comment-2089817-20140529212234/@comment-2089817-20140530041810

No matter what martial arts you do, it is connected to your personality based on how you use it and how you fight with it. Even if two people have mastered the same art form, like Taekwondo or Karate, their method of using it would be entirely different. This is tied into the principle of Shuhari. Shu, which means "obey" or "follow", refers to keeping to the way the art form is supposed to be. One is taught the "right way" of doing a technique or a form. They go through repetitive exercises to completely commit those techniques to their mental memory and muscle memory. Ha is the next step, which means "detach". It means to alter certain things about an art form in order to make it more befitting of a martial artist's method of fighting and their preferences. In many cases, it means to use concepts from other martial arts to supplement pre-existing ones. Let's use Taekwondo as an example.

Assume that both Neji and Lee learn Taekwondo.

Neji's style of combat, as he trained from birth to use Gentle Fist, is calculating and receptive. He would most definitely utilize mostly the various blocks used by Taekwondo and the transitioning techniques in order to use multiple blocks in succession. Furthermore, he would definitely make use of grappling and Ho Sin Sul techniques. This is probably going to come in handy when he would want to force the opponent to reveal an opening so he can strike them down with a Gentle Fist strike. Now, of course, he may still use kicks and stuff, but within the scope of my explanation, this demonstrates how he has invoked the principle of Ha to supplement his pre-existing Gentle Fist.

Lee, on the other hand, has trained himself in the Strong Fist. Aggressive, fully committed strikes with the entirety of one's being with every strike, expansive movement. Without a doubt, the most useful aspect of Taekwondo for Lee would be the speed and strength of kicks. Taekwondo hosts several linear and circular-based kicks that would be extremely beneficial to Lee's Strong Fist techniques. Actually, it can even be said that Lee, and Guy for that matter, already utilize several techniques that resemble Taekwondo. Likewise, the hand strikes in Taekwondo, especially the various fist-oriented ones, will also be useful to Lee.

This is what I mean. You need to think about what stuff from martial arts fits with Shikyo's personal fighting style and only use concepts that will actually benefit him. The stuff on Seireitou's page fits him, it isn't meant for your character, so it's just silly to try and use that as a basis. By an original method, I mean stop looking at Seireitou's page and trying to make it look similar.

Eventually, you'll be able to invoke the Ri principle. Ri means "leave", meaning to separate entirely from teachings and become an embodiment of martial art. After working with the Ha principle and you use concepts from other martial arts to supplement Shikyo's fighting style, then you can start to develop unique styles as well, that are his and his alone.

And yeah, the quote's fine.