| Body Forge | |
|---|---|
|
Kanji |
肢体鍛える |
|
Romanji |
Shitai Kitaeru |
|
also known as |
Forging of the Body, Reconstruction |
This
aspect of Forging focuses solely on the physical side of martial arts. Just as one forges a blade, the body is conditioned and manipulated through various situations in order to "forge" it to the desired level.
Overview[]
Users who train in this aspect are usually conditioned in every respect, their bodies extremely built and their food regiments healthy. They train hard day in and day out, even when their schedule may not permit it. Body Forge is the main form of training depicted in History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. Highlights include:
- Doing sit-ups while hanging from a bar, and a fire underneath which would burn him if he'd stop.
- Jumping off a 100m high cliff. (He is given an option. He could either take the jump and relax on vacation, or spend two days training. He picks the jump.)
- Just getting smacked around.
- Akisame's various torture machines that get more violent and dangerous as they go along.
- Being locked in a cave, with no light or food, filled with traps for days. When Kenichi comes out, an old opponent is waiting to fight him. Kenichi ignores him.
- The very first thing they made him do was horse stance over a fire, holding fifty pound weights in his outstretched arms, with blades attached to his inner arms that will stab him if he lets them down. When he needs a break, Akisame attaches a rope to a tire, sits on it, and tells him to drag it to the store.
- Kenichi: But that's three stops away! Do you expect me to walk there?
- Akisame: No, no, of course not. I expect you to run.
- It's even worse in the manga; where it's humorously implied that he occasionally dies and has to be brought back with Kensei Ma's potions.
- When Kenichi was forced to jump off the cliff into the ocean, he didn't even know how to swim, and the masters still pushed him in anyway.
- Akisame: "So you can't swim? That's no excuse!"
- Sakaki: "It just makes things more exciting!"
This form of training not only allows the pupil to learn the techniques in a relatively short time as they are literally beaten into their body, but also gives them a level of stamina that allows them to match up against seasoned opponents. While trainees can reach Herculean levels of physical perfection with this training for lack of a better term they will have to sacrifice finesse to gain it. For example the Sixth Sense the masters are able to achieve is a synchronization of the mind and spirit so it is unachievable to trainee. While will gain heighten senses and instincts they will be more of a double edged sword since they are just as likely to be used against the trainee. It is the same way with Ki manipulation. Think of Histories Strongest Disciple as sort of like a toned down version of Dragon Ball Z. They see martial arts only in it's physical aspect. This causes them to push their bodies to the extremes and while this does eventually produce huge wells of ki they use that ki merely as a tool not as a part of themselves Since they have limited control trainees can’t manifest aura’s instead it is usually unleashed as shockwaves. Also try hitting Ryoga in the stomach when he exhales and see what happens.
Furinji Style[]
Hayato Furinji also known as The Invincible Superman is the most prominent Body Forging Warriors his claim to fame is the creation of techniques that act as substitutes to the skills lost by focusing on only a single aspect of martial arts. For example his Seikuken and Ryuusei Seikuken act as replacements for the Sixth Sense.