Flow

Flow, or Flow State (流れ状, Nagarejō), is a psychological state of mind that enables the user to focus on a singular task with absolutely no interruptions. In this state, action and awareness become one. Reflective self-consciousness becomes nonexistent as the mind focuses on the task at hand. The user gains a sense of personal control or agency over the situation or activity. The feeling of a distortion of time and space is common, and the user often feels like everything around them is slowed down to a near halt, allowing them to take stock of everything around them that pertains to the task at hand. In combat, the user gains such a focused state of mind that everything around them becomes irrelevant, and special care is taken to take those situations out of the equation. Attacks become immediately predictable, even attacks that are meant to be as illusive as possible. The body moves like it's on autopilot, evading and blocking attacks with the mind hyper focused on the enemy. Their moves are spread open like a roadmap for the user to exploit, and the autopilot reacts by moving the body independently without the need to think of the next move. The body fills in the gaps that the mind misses, allowing the two to function as one. Such a powerful psychological state requires a mind free of distractions, a mind that's focused only on the task at hand, allowing everything else to become a non-factor in the task of combat.