Keidō

Keidō (頃道, Way of Seasons) is an advanced Hakuda style of combat taught at the new Shinō Academy by Yori Hisagi and Naoko Izuru. Prior to this it existed in various districts of the and was used by s as a means of self-defence long before the Gotei 13 was formed. In addition Keidō was widely considered the precursor to modern Kidō.

Overview & history
Keidō existed in the Rukongai as a means of self-defence against since ancient times, and was used by s long before the Shinō Academy was formed by. Although he admitted that he had never studied the style personally, Kenji Hiroshi claims that Keidō pre-dated even the Yuengiri philosophy by at least a century; this also meant it existed long before The Philosophers came together to establish the Seireitei or the Noble Houses. Keidō was also used before the became a widespread addition to a 's arsenal, and could also be considered a precursor to modern Kidō. The art thus relied on the use of one's body instead of traditional weapons, and thus required the practitioner to be highly fit; it also taught one how to harness their for sorcerous effects. Yori Hisagi remarked that the training he had to go through to learn the style was far more arduous than anything he was put through during his six-year tenure within the Shinō Academy.

The art was taught within four shrines spread throughout the Rukongai. One shrine existed in each cardinal direction; north, south, east and west. In addition each shrine focused on a particular season. The shrine located in Northern Rukongai focused on winter, whilst the Southern Rukongai shrine focused on summer. West and east had their focus on autumn and spring respectively, and each shrine taught their practitioner's to conjure different elemental powers in addition to martial arts training. North conjured air, south conjured water, west manipulated the earth, whilst east could utilize sorcerous powers related to fire. The martial arts taught also varied between shrines; the eastern shrine was known for its direct and power-focused application, whilst the southern shrine taught a more graceful approach.

Basic

 * Tōkiho (冬期歩, Wintertime Step): a style recognized for its precision. Tōkiho is a precise martial-art utilizing predominately offensive techniques in conjunction with the force of the wind to attack either at range or up-close. Kentaro Hiroshi notably utilized a number of Tōkiho's traits when he created his personal Zanjutsu form, which was known for casually slicing apart its targets. It is not unheard of for a Tōkiho practitioner to be fit to cut through objects using little more than their finger.


 * Kajiho (夏時歩, Summertime Step):


 * Akimadō (秋間歩, Autumntime Step): a style recognized for its defensively-focused application. Akimadō is a hard martial-art utilizing one's physical strength augmented with the energies of the earth. The Shiba clan, particularly, where known to highly favour the Akimadō style during combat.


 * Seppa (石波, Stone Wave): a technique


 * Renkan Seppa Sen (連環石波扇, Stone Wave Fan of Linked Rings):


 * Shunyōho (春陽歩, Springtime Step): a style recognized for its directness and power-focused application. Shunyōho is a martial-art utilizing one's physical strength in conjunction with the element of fire. Rosuto Shiba was one of the few to truly master the Shunyōho form; to such a level that he was fit to offset and thus nullify the extremely potent flames of Ryūjin Jakka. Practitioners where known to launch potent waves of flame from their palms, sheath their fists in molten rock, and cause temperatures in a given area to soar to unbearable heights.

Advanced

 * Kisetsutekiho (季節的歩, Seasonal Step):


 * Senjigusuri (煎じ薬, Infusion): an advanced ability of the Keidō style which is not unlike the Battle Aura of the Yuengiri. Instead of projecting sorcerous effects from their body onto a distance object, this technique sends that energy inwards to be literally worn, not unlike a Clad-type Fullbring. The Shunyōho branch teaches one to harness the powers of fire; in this vein the practitioner clads themselves in molten lava, drastically augmenting their offensive and defensive powers.

Known practitioners

 * Yori Hisagi.
 * Naoko Izuru.
 * Kentaro Hiroshi.

Behind the scenes

 * This article draws inspiration from a number of concepts in paganism.
 * This article draws minor inspiration from Senjutsu from Naruto.
 * This article draws major inspiration from Psyenergy from the video game series Golden Sun.