Metal-Style Block

Thunder-Style Block (雷流梗塞, Rai-ryū Kousoku) is a famous Taijutsu technique created and developed by Konohagakure's Thunder School. Thus, exclusively used by Thunder School students. This technique is highly efficient against strikes of any kind. Let it be kicks or punches. Sei is the dominant force in the thunder school, while Dō is the supporting factor. Sei's concept is basically going with the flow of the opposing force, to receive it and flow with it, while do is to use force in order to dominate the opposite force. The thunder school is deemed on of the most lethal schools as it revolves around going with the flow of the opponent, then suddenly delivering a devastating blow, which is highly unexpected by the opponent and might prove to be fatal. When designing a block for this school, every aspect about the school had to be included in the said block. Making it capable of dodging all sorts of punches and kicks.

The user should have a neutral stance, while leaning slightly on their back foot in order to charge onwards with great speed. There are different mechanics for each type of strike.


 * Low-Punches: Low-Punches are some of the most popular and basic moves in martial arts history. They are mostly directed towards the groin or thighs. In order to correctly block this, the user would need to adjust their footing to gain balance and simply use the mirroring leg (If the opponent is striking with the right arm then the user uses their left leg and vice versa) to kick the user's forearm, directing it outwards causing them to lose balance, the user them is free to execute any blow they wish.


 * Mid-Punches: These are the most common punches as they are direct and the are used by most Taijutsu users. They are intended to strike the chest or face. The user has two options when it comes to dodging these strikes. One would lead them to facing the opponent directly as in face to face, while opening up the opponent for attack. The other would allow them to attack the opponent from the side, while knocking them off balance. The first block is designed for when the target approaches the user with a direct punch to the face of chest. The user simply strikes the target's forearm's bottom (where the flexors and extensors are located) with their knuckles, using maximum speed and brutality. The user should use the mirroring arm to block, and the block should be directed upwards in order to get maximum efficiency. This would lead to two results. One is the extreme pain of the target as the knuckles would strike the flexors and extensors muscles in an upwards motion, and the other would be the nullification of the target's arm. It will also move the target's arm upwards leaving them open for a direct attack to the ribs or stomach. The other method is simply used when the opponent is either charging or punching with high speed. In this method, the user simply uses the same arm as the one used to deliver the punch by the opponent. For instance, if the opponent is striking with the left arm, then the user would use their left arm to dodge. The block is simple, the user simply uses his arms to guide that of the opponent outwards in a downward motion. This is performed by simply pushing the arm of the opponent away from the user in a diagonal direction, which ends when the user's arm is fully stretched. It's noted that this technique requires little physical effort as it uses the momentum and the speed of the opponent against them. After the dodge is made, most-likely the opponent would be at an extreme imbalance. This would occur as the user changed the direction of the opponent quickly, which would lead into confusion and imbalance considering that the speed of the opponent was directed downwards as well. This would open up the opponent greatly as the user would be able to eecute a fatal punch to the ribs or the head. If the block was executed correctly, the user would be positioned on the side of the opponent, which is a vintage location as it would be impossible to hit them considering that the speed of the punch was directed in a different direction as well as the imbalance of the opponent.


 * High-Punches: There are many types of high punches. Ones that drop on the user from above, which are simply dodged by leaning towards one side to avoid the strike then delivering a strike to the head or if the user stood beside the opponent, they can strike the ribs with great speed, breaking them or fracturing them as a result.


 * Low-Kicks: Often referred to as sweeps, are one of the most efficient moves a Taijutsu user could pull off. Considering that they're used to push the opponent off balance or damage them. They are deemed to be highly efficient and commonly used. As such, the Thunder School developed blocks for low kicks, ones that used the concept of Sei and Dō to damage the opponent and turn their attack against them. As the opponent goes for a sweep, instead of jumping or getting out of the way, the user simply counters it with a strike. The user simply goes for a low-round kick targeting the thighs of the opponent with the stem of their leg, the user should always use the same leg as the opponent, in other words, either both use their right legs or their left legs. As the user kicks the thighs of the opponent with great speed, it shall cause immense pain for the opponent and absolutely no pain for the user. The user would be striking a muscle with a bone (stem), which would prove to be very painful for the opponent. It may even break their thigh bone as the user uses the speed of the opponent's sweep against them by striking against the direction of the sweep, causing immense pain.


 * Mid-Kicks: They are simply kicks delivered to the side or to the stomach. The thunder school developed many methods to deal with these kicks as they proved to be tricky and very commonly used, which meant that an efficient blocking method must've been developed in order to counter these kicks efficiently. When it comes to side kicks, it was seen many times that the user would duck and let the kick progress, which would most-likely cause the opponent to lose balance as they would try to change their momentum after they saw the user duck. If they chose to maintain their balance, then they would have no option but to finish the kick and land on their feet. However, that would force them to give their backs to the user in order to resume the kick without losing balance. If they do, then the user is assured to deliver a devastating blow to the spin or the back. Another method to dodge them is to jump back slightly, grab the calf of the opponent and then push the leg in the direction it was originally going. This would lead the target to both lose balance and give their back to the opponent, which is a fatal mistake against students of the thunder school. As for dodging direct mid-kicks, the user would simply lean towards one side to avoid the kick, then push themselves forward, Due to the nature of the direct onwards mid-kicks, it would be hard to stop or change direction without losing balance, giving the user the perfect chance to strike.


 * High-Kicks: High-kicks aren't common between Taijutsu users, yet the thunder school developed perfect dodges for these kicks. The high-kicks are mostly directed towards the head. The target would attempt to kick the user's head with great speed. The user has a couple of options, amongst them is to duck slightly in order to be safe from the strike, then grab the leg of the opponent. This would put the opponent in an awkward position as they would be absolutely powerless, escaping this grapple is almost impossible no matter how strong they may be as the target would be using the other leg to stay balanced. Yet his legs would be open, putting pressure on the muscles between the legs, causing them to be paralyzed in that position. The user can direct kicks to the groin, or simply push the target's leg upwards with great speed, that may cause severe injury as their legs would be completely split, not only that, but it also causes them to fall down, which gives the user the chance to strike.

Trivia

 * This technique is based off Physical Natures.


 * Also see Thunder School