Hakuda (Seireitou)

Hakuda (白打, "White Hits") is the martial arts practiced by the. Over the course of a million years in history, there have been martial arts that exist in the world as we know it today and have ever existed between those that have continued to exist in the realm of the living and those that had been lost to history by masters that had never passed on their secrets and knowledge prior to their deaths as humans. Ideally, it is considered to be the general term for close-combat techniques that make use of their own bodies as a weapon and it is comprised of every conceivable martial art condensed into a precise and deadly craft. As such, it is a constantly evolving art form that is often made unique by each practitioner who masters the craft. Physical strength and skill are generally determined by this class of combat. Of course, this is only for those that are satisfied with the system as it stands today, for the true masters of this art have been known to scour the land in search of the ancient art forms in their entirety that contributed to the modern form of Hakuda as it exists today.

Within the Soul Society, the greatest practitioner of Hakuda is aptly known as the "Hakuda Grandmaster", which is a position held by.

History
It's impossible to pinpoint a beginning for a fighting style that utilizes the most basic and immediate source of offense available to a living being. However, what can be said about the codified system of Hakuda is that it has a start that precedes even that of the. In the past, the use of powerful spiritual abilities and sorcery were those that could only be accessed by the nobles of the world, known as, who had such knowledge and tutelage available to them, while commoners were forced to survive with their own power and whatever they could learn from their own experiences in the wild. It is said that Hakuda was given its name based upon the White Tiger, who is commonly held in mythology as a deity that stands in opposition to the ruling class. As the emperors were often represented by the symbol of the, the greatest sorcerers, the tiger stood in opposition and was said to have granted commoners the means of being able to take back their land. It is said that the deep-seated rivalry between the martial arts and the way of magic began with Hakuda and Kidō.

Many families throughout the Soul Society, such as the, eventually became known for their martial art prowess and this had started the process of Hakuda becoming recognized as an equally important combat field that would become known as the four fighting styles of the. The title,, was given to the greatest masters of the four respective fields of combat, and the Yonkō of Hakuda was said to have been tied to the Shihōin Clan for many centuries. That was, however, until the defeat of at the hands of, who had not only become the succeeding titleholder but also became recognized as the foremost master of Hakuda in all of Soul Society.

Schools would begin to emerge throughout for centuries that would teach various forms of Hakuda, and among them, a group known as the  were acknowledged as the leading specialists in the martial arts.

Overview
Given its origins, Hakuda is not simply a style but rather refers to the very essence of "fighting with one's body" (体術, Taijutsu; literally "Body Skill"). It encompasses all martial arts, including both the modern styles and those that have been lost to history. Hakuda is best described as the trunk, with every martial art that has ever existed or ever will exist serving as a branch on an ever-growing tree. As such, Hakuda can be seen as both a martial art of its own, forged through the perfect merging of countless other unarmed fighting styles, and also the foundation for all existing and potential martial arts.

Though martial art styles can commonly be classified as wielding hard or soft technique, Hakuda is not inherently either of this. Rather, the nature of how Hakuda is demonstrated and applied depends entirely upon its practitioner. Many Shinigami within the, such as , display a predominately hard nature to their fighting style, consisting of straightforward hand and elbow strikes that focus entirely on brute force. This is most likely due to the fact that they are taught by the academy to attack at their masks in order to quell them, meaning that hard-type attacks would be best suited to the task. While the agents also show similar characteristics, their style is centered toward assassination and handling their opponents as covertly as possible. However, this is not always the case. During his time as an Onmitsukidō soldier, demonstrated having remarkable soft-type skills, being able to completely neutralize the attacks of various aggressive inmates in the. It should be noted that he trained most of the time with, a specialist that uses primarily hard-type technique, while he favors the use of soft-type technique. This is but a mere example that proves how Hakuda does not favor any particular format nor notion, but is molded to suit the needs of the practitioner as they become masters of themselves.

Within all beings that have come to know the art of combat, lies a spirit that is geared toward striving for strength. No matter what their intentions are, when a person fights, their strength is fueled by their heart; their innermost spirit which follows desire. It is the purest form of a being, which can be used by and other material beings alike to enhance their performance when attempting to complete a certain task, as a stronger resolve paves the way toward a greater strength. However, as a, not bound by the limitations of material beings, these feelings can be expressed as a true substance. And depending upon the method, this resolve and spirit manifests differently. boasts the focus on the relationship between a master and their in order to channel their inner most powers, while  ignores the self and seeks power in the world around them instead. Therefore, for Hakuda — which places emphasis on mastering the self — its greatest strength is derived from the warrior's "martial spirit" (武気, Buki). In other words, it is accurate to say that the general principles of Hakuda promote a method similar to the performance to strengthen the bond between swordsman and Zanpakutō, but rather, a practitioner of Hakuda focuses on the mastery of self through personal means.

Those that practice and specialize within Hakuda are often referred to as Hakudaka (白打家, "Practitioner of Hakuda").

Martial Art Fundamentals
Though Hakuda is composed of skills and attributes that go beyond merely the physical, it is still necessary for martial artists to always continue their physical training. Therefore, the fundamentals of Hakuda focus initially upon the mastery of the postures and movements necessary for hand-to-hand combat. Shinō Academy is known to instruct on certain basics, as is the, though other Hakuda schools take it upon themselves to create a much more refined and perhaps even more effective foundation for a martial artist's physical fundamentals.

Mastering the Hakuda fundamentals eventually allows one to develop their Seikentsuki (正拳突き, "True Fist Strike"). Only a trained warrior can possibly understand the difference between a brawler's punch and a martial artist's punch, as they are as different as night and day. It is akin to the difference between a jab and a punch. When a Hakuda practitioner, who has learned the basics to a sufficient degree, attempts to perform a Seikentsuki, it is a strike which encompasses their entire being along with their. It can produce a strike of such tremendous power that it has the potential, even in the hands of a basic expert, to alter the entire landscape. When one achieves greater heights of mastery, the use of Seikentsuki becomes so natural that every strike, even without the need to consider the effort involved, becomes Seikentsuki without fail. In other words, it becomes as natural to them as breathing. Some take it upon themselves to introduce other aspects to their Seikentsuki, such as certain elemental power.

Those that have mastered the fundamentals are stated as having reached the level of Tatsuchi (達地, "Reaching Earth").

Conditioning of the Self
Beyond the fundamentals, Hakuda is a craft that is centered upon the individual, and as such, the mastery of the body and the mind is tantamount toward martial art mastery. Hakuda Taisabaki refers to the management of the body, and for spiritual beings, it becomes crucial to master the art of in order to induce a sense of self-control onto their body's movements. It is only because of this skill that phenomena such as the become possible, but the folly of this level comes with the shared belief among the Shinigami that this is the highest stage of Hakuda. On the other hand, Hakuda Bunkai is the conditioning of the mind and rearing one's instincts toward battle. It is a mental skill that is practiced by attempting to dissect the fighting style of one's opponent in order to know how best to counter them, but additionally helps a martial artist to develop the skill of recognizing what must be refined and corrected in their own fighting style by essentially treating an enemy as a teacher. Every opponent is a mentor, all martial artists abide by this philosophy, and no matter the outcome of a fight, what truly matters is having learned something to become stronger and more skilled. Combining the two — both the physical and mental aspects — allows a Hakuda practitioner to become complete and balanced as a warrior.

It becomes possible for another practitioner of Hakuda to actually sense one's intentions and emotional state of mind, effectively allowing them to read their opponent. This can prove quite disastrous for those that have yet to grasp the more advanced principles behind Hakuda, which would allow them to shield others from reading their state of mind, but as explained, it is very difficult for any warrior to hide their intentions during a battle, even a seasoned martial artist, because attempting to mask one's self requires a degree of concentration which distracts from their fighting and actually weakens their performance. Instead, one's intentions and emotions must be open and fleeting but under a prospect of control — like that of nature itself — which makes it impossible for them to be read but demands quite a high level of skill and experience before being able to be pulled off.

When the two principles are combined effectively, skills such as and  become possible. As the wise philosopher had once said, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." The aforementioned techniques are those that are only possible when there is a deep understanding of both yourself and your opponent(s). It is often at this stage that most Hakuda specialists begin to develop a "personal style" (我流, Ga-ryū; literally meaning "self-taught style") that is all their own. Hakuda specialists within the tend to develop their own special martial art techniques, usually which best reflect their own nature. , who has a strong lightning nature, has developed techniques such as the, while  has developed techniques such as  which reflects her wind nature.

When a being that possesses spiritual power considers making a move, their reiatsu moves before the body does, acting in coordination with the individual's thoughts and state of mind. When one's conviction is resolute, reiatsu becomes stronger and fiercer, but when one's conviction begins to falter, their reiatsu becomes weak and fragile. In the same sense, when a martial artist decides to make a move of some sort, their reiatsu — not restricted by the need for the mind to tell the body how and where to move — makes the same move first before they physically manage to do so. Even for those that have learned to suppress their spiritual pressure, the indication of reiatsu moving in the direction of thought is still present, albeit much smaller. As long as thought precedes action, reiatsu will move before one's body does, no matter what the circumstances. Highly trained martial artists focus on conditioning their, their spiritual senses, to a point that they can pick up on these premature reiatsu movements and subsequently predict their opponent's move before they manage to actually make it.

However, a Hakuda specialist's spiritual training is not solely meant to hone their senses, but also to refine the use of their spiritual pressure when fighting. Among the four Zankensoki, Hakuda is unrivaled in the manipulation and control of reiatsu. Reiatsu Kimeru is a skill that is developed alongside Hakuda Taisabaki and Hakuda Bunkai, which create a perfect circle of tempering a martial artist's mind, body, and spirit, thus making them complete as a warrior. As its name suggests, it is the practice of developing a martial artist's ability to make decisions as to how their reiatsu is applied in their fighting style. While it allows them to create unique ways of offensively striking the opponent, the use of Reiatsu Kimeru serves almost any battle purpose; from standard forms of defense to leaving behind afterimages that can fool even the Reikaku senses. Perhaps one of the most beneficial aspects of the skill is that a highly trained martial artist can even go as far as to keep their reiatsu from telegraphing their moves to opponents with a high degree of Reikaku, meaning that it becomes incredibly difficult to nearly impossible to predict their movements using the same aforementioned approach.

Those that have come to master the art of Hakuda Taisabaki, Hakuda Bunkai, and Reiatsu Kimeru, are said to be nearing the level of Hakuda Master. They are known as Tatsujin (達人, "Reaching Human"), a term which refers to those that have become complete beings by mastering the three aspects — physical, mental, and spiritual — that composes their being.

Sphere of Influence
Perhaps one of the most crucial aspects of a martial artist is the command of their personal space. No matter how strong they are or how well trained they are, losing control of their personal space means that they can be taken down. It is key for a Hakuda Master to maintain control of their "personal space" (個空, Kokū), which essentially encompasses all that their can reach to and all that they are able to directly perceive. Once an opponent enters the range of a Hakuda Master's spiritual pressure, for instance, they will find it harder to do as they please the closer they get to the martial artist. However, so long as the opponent maintains their own strength of will in the presence of the martial arts master, simply entering their reiatsu space isn't enough to influence them. Hakuda Masters are able to draw their opponents out of their own proverbial "personal space" by a multitude of approaches, namely by seizing control of the flow of battle and essentially pulling the enemy into their own rhythm. Among these methods, the is said to be the most effective.

Whether it means to conquer an opponent's space through force or to maneuver their way into an opponent's flow and subsequently draw them into their own, a Hakuda Master is capable of pulling an opponent away from their own sphere of strength and into the martial artist's own. When this is successful, a certain phenomena seems to occur; something that cannot be called reality nor illusion. Opponents drawn into the sphere of influence by a Hakuda Master find that their entire surroundings begin to change, turning into environments which are said to be reflections of the Hakuda Master's inner world. If the surroundings are set ablaze and become like that of a volcano, so long as an opponent remains drawn into the Hakuda Master's sphere of influence, they will experience burns and damage that they would receive if their surroundings were actuality. Only by managing to regain control of the battle and escaping a Hakuda Master's sphere of influence will the surroundings melt away and return to reality. It is in this sense that the world created by this phenomena cannot be called reality nor an illusion, as it does not truly exist — being something that only those drawn into the Hakuda Master's sphere of influence can perceive and interact with — but can still impose realistic and lasting effects on those within the sphere of influence.

However, what makes this phenomena so significant is that if a Hakuda Master is successful in seizing control and drawing their opponents into their sphere of influence, it becomes far more difficult for their opponents to fight effectively; especially if they depend upon using the environment. Kidō users find that drawing energy from the world around them becomes quite difficult, directly proportional to the level of their Hakuda opponent's skill and the degree to which they have lost control of the battle flow. Zanjutsu users find that the communication between themselves and their sword becomes strained and can be interfered with. Many individuals may find that their Hohō techniques and general ability to move effectively becomes hindered in certain ways as well. Fighting a Hakuda Master demands that the opponent not only maintain a resolute mindset but also keep the flow of battle from being seized by the Hakuda opponent, otherwise they run the risk of losing control and therefore becoming all the more vulnerable.

When taken to higher stages, some masters can even pull opponents so deeply into their sphere of influence, they can actually be dragged directly into a Hakuda Master's inner world.

Divine Nature
At the pinnacle of Hakuda, those that have reached this summit are stated to be Tatsuten (達天, "Reaching Heaven")

Rank and Status
Similar to the human world, Hakuda specialists are often granted a "dan" (段, "Step/Stage") rank which symbolize their skill and overall status within the Hakuda community of Soul Society. As such, the system and regulations of the dan classes are administrated by. The dan ranks go from one to ten, subsequently from lowest rank to highest rank, and carry an importance that is not unlike that of a Gotei 13 seated position.

First Dan (初段, Shodan) is the initial rank of dan. It is earned once they have attained sufficient competency with.

Second Dan (二段, Nidan) ---

Third Dan (三段, Sandan) ---

Fourth Dan (四段, Yondan) is given only to those that have been recognized by the and have successfully completed their challenges, allowing them to be recognized by the official title of "Master" (師, Shi) and may even be permitted to open their own school.

Fifth Dan (五段, Godan) ---

Sixth Dan (六段, Rokudan) ---

Seventh Dan (七段, Shichidan) ---

Eighth Dan (八段, Hachidan) ---

Ninth Dan (九段, Kudan) is a rank that can only be given by the unanimous approval of all eight of the Sage Fists.

Tenth Dan (十段, Jūdan) is regarded as the class of "" and only a handful of individuals throughout history have ever held skill of such prowess that they could be regarded as worthy of this rank. It can only be obtained by defeating an existing Tenth Dan titleholder. Seireitou Kawahiru is currently known as being a Tenth Dan.

Significance of Sparring
Within the martial arts world, sparring is not simply a means of practicing technique but also serves an important role as a courtesy shown between martial artists.

Known formally as Randori Aisatsu (乱取り挨拶, "Chaos-Taking Greeting"), which refers to the practice of Randori, it is customary for Hakuda specialists who are either strangers meeting for the first time or perhaps old friends about to engage in a fight to engage in a series of brief clashes of fists, demonstrating their technique and physical capabilities to one another. It is considered to be a show of respect, even between enemies, and serves as a demonstration of their pride as martial artists. Often times, these spars would also involve displaying the use of each martial artist's Seikentsuki. While it is often started by the action of a fist bump which signifies the start of the clash, it is not inherently required as an official courtesy. The spar is exclusively physical hand-to-hand combat and does not involve any special techniques nor abilities, as it is meant to be a pure expression of martial arts between two specialists.

Behind the Scenes
The author developed his own article on how he perceives primarily because he believes that, among the four Zankensoki, the art of hand-to-hand combat often goes unnoticed as a craft which can fight on even terms with each of the other combat fields. There are many finer points to the martial arts that should be recognized as a powerful system of combat if it is handled correctly. Furthermore, the author wished to further show how Hakuda is best seen as a system of conditioning and refinement of physical capabilities rather than simply a medley of special techniques piled on top of one another, which is why this system came to be. As the martial arts master, Morihei Ueshiba, has said: "Progress comes to those who train and train; reliance on secret techniques will get you nowhere." The author wishes to make note, however, that the content of this article is strictly in accordance with how he perceives the art of Hakuda and should not be taken as established fact.

"Tatsuchi", "Tatsujin", and "Tatsuten" are all classifications that symbolize degree of mastery in Hakuda and parallel the concept of Shuhari, in which the three stages of mastery are regarded as the level of earth, man, and then heaven. In particular, Tatsujin is an actual phrase used in Japanese martial arts to represent the height of human perfection and describes an individual no longer bound by the petty limitations of the human mind.