0- Shinobi 101 - Taijutsu (Unarmed/ Bludgeoning)
It was early on in my training when I found that I excelled at Taijutsu. While most of my studies were in unarmed combat, I utilized a staff to train as well. As the years pasted and I grew more and more adept at healing and other ninjutsu arts, I found the staff to be cumbersome, so I abandoned it. That however did not meant that took nothing away from my staff training. The fluidity of the movements had melded in with my overall style of fighting and without the staff in hand, my movements were quicker and crisper than before. As my staff once served as my weapon, my arms took its place and mocked the movements I had ingrained in me.
WC: 123
1- Barrier Mastery
Ever since I could remember my natural instinct was always to protect others. That was never more apparent than during the countless number of times I defended my brother Ryuu. He was smaller and quite sick as a child, but he had a mouth that always got him into trouble. After the ninth or tenth beating I took for him from the older boys he loved mouthing off to, father called for me. "Hit me," he said. I hesitated and began to speak, but father knocked me across the room before I could say a word. "Hit me," he commanded again. Stubborn, I stood to speak again. Once again, I went flying. "If you're not going to fight, you had better learn to defend yourself properly." That day, he taught me a simple barrier jutsu, and forced me to practice it every day. While my friends took pleasure in launching fireballs and lightning bolts, I took immense pride in being able to defend myself and the people I cared about. I got so good at it, that I could eventually use my protective jutsus without using any handseals.
WC: 188
2- Acrobatics Prerequisites: D Rank
My father was far more powerful and experienced than I was and while I had gotten quite good and utilizing barriers to protect myself, they could not always hold off his attacks. I got quite good at knowing when my barriers were about to fail, the problem was getting out of the way when it did. I took more than my share of lumps trying to get it right, but in time, I found my rhythm and found myself flying all over the training ground at the Senju Campgrounds. Father was a very stoic man, but I swear I saw a smile on the first day I left our training session without a scratch.
WC: 114
3- Healing Factor Prerequisites: D Rank
To those outside of my clan, my father's training techniques might have seemed rough. More than one of my academy instructors showed concern after seeing my resulting injuries. Father was tough, but I never believed that he would put me through more than he believed I could handle. In a way, I took pride in the fact that he felt confident that I could endure such punishment. Over time, as I gained greater control over my chakra, it became clear that I was quite adept at medical jutsus. My ability to heal others was clear, but what was a surprise was that my own body began to heal quicker, as well. Eventually, my instructors thought that my father had toned down our training time, but the truth was that my wounds were just going away before I got to their classes.
WC: 141
4- Weapon Mastery-Unarmed; Prerequisites: C-Rank, 5 Mastered Taijutsu of the chosen Weapon type
My focus on healing and protecting others was clear, but father insisted that I had to spend time on my offensive capabilities, as well. Elemental ninjutsu had never been my strongest attribute, so I decided to work on my Taijutsu instead. I tried out a variety of weapons, but they all felt clunky and none seemed natural to me. Eventually, I decided to try unarmed combat. I took to it quite well, and the best part was that my hands were still free to tend to the injured on the battle field. While training my taijutsu was not as interesting to me, I could tell that it made my father proud, so I worked day and night.
WC: 117
5- Defensive Technique Prerequisites: E Rank
I knew that my role in combat was a supportive one and that was why I worked so hard to learn to evade and block techniques with my barriers. Over time however, I found that sometimes that was not enough. There were times when I had to sacrifice myself to tend to the wounds of my comrades. To that end, I had to learn how to take a hit. More than that, I needed to learn how to roll with a hit to minimize the damage. My father was happy to help and saw my desire to train that way as a sign of strength. He had no problem unleashing the full force of his power on me to force me to adapt.
WC: 123
