Chantai

Chantai is like a dance.

A deadly dance where the chance of getting hurt or killed is an ever-present threat, but as a spectator, you almost forget it. As an art, it's beautiful. In a fight, it's deadly.

— Feromar Joven, Chantai Master

Chantai is a fighting style combining fluid dance-like movements with an impressive focus into a deadly art. It has few practitioners and takes years to master, but those willing to put in the required training are considered among the most dangerous foes one can meet in hand-to-hand combat.

The Chantai Headspace

by geralt

The most important part of the art of Chantai is the Chantai Headspace. To be able to properly learn the intricate moves of the art, a student of Chantai needs to clear their mind, rid themselves of distractions and hold an intense focus. It usually takes years to learn how to reliably get into the Chantai Headspace, which is the main reason why the art itself takes so long to learn.

Practitioners say that the Chantai Headspace seems to make time move slower, making it easier to react to things happening around them. Irrelevant sounds and sights become blurry and muffled, making it easier to focus on more important issues like the enemy's movements and the unevenness of the ground. It gets easier to move and to ignore mild pain and itches, even small cuts and bruises gained from the fight. It's even possible to ignore more critical damage if necessary, but this requires an exceptionally high control of the Headspace and can't be done for long. Yet, it is known that a Chantai Master seems to be able to keep on their feet much longer than everyone else just by sheer willpower.

The Fighting Style

Chantai is known for its fluid dance-like movements. These are only taught to a student after being able to get into the Chantai Headspace reliably and to hold it for several minutes at a time. The way to move is taught without using the Headspace but practiced when being in it. This is to prevent the students to be too focused on what they're doing to pay attention to the demonstration of their teacher. It's hard for a new Chantai practitioner to listen to instructions while being in the Headspace.

Different Styles

There are two different styles of Chantai - One-sword style and Two-sword style. The styles are chosen from the preferred fighting style of the practitioner.

One-sword style

This style is fought with one blade, and changes between being wielded in one hand and both by what's practical for the specific move. With one sword the practitioner can use both hands to get more power behind their strikes, but lose the flexibility of striking in more than one spot at a time.

Two-sword style

This style is fought with two blades, one in each hand. It has the advantage of being able to attack more than one spot at the same time and the practitioner will still be armed if one of the swords get disarmed, though it lacks the power gained from wielding a blade in both hands.

Weapons of Choice

Chantai is fought with lightweight yet durable swords. They're made of the highest quality steel available and is considered among the most expensive swords made for actual fighting.

The blade used for the One-sword style is generally longer than the blades used for the Two-sword style, with a blade length of between 60 and 75 cm. The blades used in the Two-sword style can be as short as 40 cm, but never longer than 60 cm. Both types are designed to be best at cutting while still decent at stabbing. Where the sword used in One-sword style is straight and double-edged, the blades used for Two-sword style are generally single-edged and slightly curved.

In a pitch, a Chantai practitioner of some skill can utilize most blades in a fight, although if the blade is too different from what they're used to their balance might be off and the fluidity of their movements might suffer.

Type

Martial arts

First seen

AE 1784 in Sakastro

Number of practitioners

About 75 in total

Known Chantai practitioners

Until his death, Feromar Joven was known as the best Chantai Teacher in all Kupria, though he seemed especially picky of his students.

Lord Tagas of House Irevos knows the One-Blade style of Chantai. He was taught by Feromar Joven.

Oci has been seen doing the Two-Blade style of Chantai. It's unknown who he learned the skill from.

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A Young Art

Chantai isn't an ancient art with long traditions. It has been around for maybe three centuries, originating from the southern parts of Kupria. Most practitioners are still found in Kupria, but the art has practitioners scattered all over Shireon. Notably, there was a Chantai Master in Asharia about a century ago, teaching practitioners in a small training camp about a day northeast of Verraja. This resulted in a small community of Chantai practitioners in the area, still present today.

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Not Only for Fighting

A practiced Chantai practitioner won't use the Chantai Headspace just when fighting. It's entirely possible to enter the Headspace when extra focus is needed. Practitioners are known to use it for study sessions and when doing activities that require fine motor skills and eye-to-hand coordination.

"It makes you wonder - if the Ochdarki weren't against anything related to violence, how skillful would a Clockwork tinkerer using the Chantai Headspace be?"