- «Seek to end a fight as quickly and with as little damage as possible, for if you know your opponent, then you will know how to defeat your opponent. That is our way.»
- — Lin-Sho
Mokurai, a Lin word meaning "future sight", is more commonly known to the galaxy at large simply as Linshi Martial Arts, or LMA for short.
Developed by the Linshi Monks of Lin’La’Se, Mokurai combines traditional martial arts moves with telepathic techniques. The goal of Mokurai is to know what your opponent plans to do at least two steps before they ever reach that point and, in the best-case-scenario, prevent it from happening. As such, the Linshi are experts at reading body language and the mind.
Their ability to effectively read what their opponents are planning to do has often given outsiders the false assumption that the Linshi are clairvoyant. The monks do nothing to discourage this myth, finding it to be more effective to have an opponent believe a fight is already decided in the monk’s favor before it ever comes to violence.
More advanced forms of Mokurai deal with deception, both in falsely broadcasting one’s moves and in seeing through the same tactic when it is used by opponents. These forms also teach basic instruction in the Force, meaning that advanced users of Mokurai are generally able to use many of the core powers employed by the Jedi.
Due to Lin’La’Se’s largely insular nature, Mokurai is not widely seen outside of the Linshi Monks. Another reason for this is because Mokurai relies on telepathy and the Force, so those without either of these gifts can’t fully master the martial art.
Weapon Training[]
All users of Mokurai practice with melee weapons to compliment their hand-to-hand fighting skills. This starts off as a broad education in the various types of weaponry out there and is gradually narrowed down to expertise with one type of weapon.
This weapon becomes a personal extension of the user and is usually never seen far from their body. After becoming proficient with the weapon, the user then learns how to craft their desired weapon on their own. Most weapons made this way are given names by their owners.
Melee Weapons[]
All Mokurai practitioners have a basic knowledge of melee weapons. Although not all of them chose a melee weapon as their personal implement of choice, it still remains the most popular choice. All types of melee weapons are covered in Mokurai training, and the melee weapon itself can be specialized further for when one chooses their personal weapon.
Swords, in all their variant models, are the most frequently picked, but axes, polearms, knives, bo staffs, and many others are also selected quite often.
It isn’t unheard of for a user to be proficient in more than one type of melee weapon, however they will only ever specialize in the weapon they choose to craft themselves.
Mokurai-tsu[]
A common misconception about Mokurai, and the Linshi Monks who practice it, is that they don’t use guns. On the contrary, instruction in gunplay is covered right along with melee weapons. The monks will carry slugthrowers or blasters if they feel they need them, especially if they journey outside of Lin’La’Se space, but most prefer to use their melee weapons or unarmed combat when at all possible.
However, some monks find that training with guns can be as spiritually fulfilling as training with a melee weapon and have developed a variant of Mokurai training especially for firearms; known as Mokurai-tsu. Although they’re a minority within the Linshi, the so-called “gun monks” as they’ve been dubbed, are as respected as any other and their intimate knowledge of firearms is considered invaluable since blasters and the like are the preferred weapons of the modern galaxy.
Delra, a Mokurai-tsu user.
The essence of Mokurai-tsu is to use the Force to enhance the senses more than the body so as to ensure perfect shots. It is also a requirement of Mokurai-tsu practitioners to only use some form of slugthrower, or other solid projectile weapon, as their weapon of choice. This is done for a very practical reason, as the user also learns to use the Force to guide the shots they fire. A solid projectile, like a slug, is easier to manipulate than pure energy like a blaster bolt.
Another difference that separates those who specialize in Mokurai-tsu from normal Mokurai users is that those under Mokurai-tsu are not necessarily limited to just one personal weapon. Mokurai-tsu users are allowed to craft up to two projectile weapon types to be their weapons of choice. The reason behind this is that projectile weapons aren’t seen to be as versatile as melee weapons and so some allowance is made for it.
Mokurai-tsu users may not, however, use their two weapon allowance to create a projectile weapon and a melee weapon. They both must be projectile weapons.
Ranking[]
Ranking in Mokurai is a simple affair. There are five levels of achievement one can aspire to, each based on the level of skill displayed by the practitioner. The names of the levels also double as the user’s title and identifier, which helps to denote their skill to others at the same time.
For example, the current Grand Master of the Linshi, Lin-Sho, has achieved the level of Fu’shi. In Mokurai circles, he would be addressed as “Fu’shi Lin-Sho.”
In addition, the ranks of Ni’shi and Fu’shi carry an additional meaning and can be used in place of “master” or “teacher.”
- Fu’shi
Those who achieve Fu’shi have not only mastered all aspects of Mokurai, but can also display skill with it above and beyond the average Ni’shi.
- Ni’shi
A ranking of Ni’shi means that the practitioner has mastered all aspects of Mokurai. Only Ni’shi (with the notable exception of Fu’shi) are allowed to formally teach the martial art to others.
- Ma’shi
At Ma’shi, practitioners are taught the more advanced moves of Mokurai, such as how to deceive an opponent into misreading the user’s planned attacks. It is also at this level that practitioners learn how to increase their speed, their agility, and other abilities common to the core powers.
Those at Ma’shi tend to display varying degrees of skill since there is much to learn at this level. Practitioners can spend years, or even a decade or more, before they are ready to test for Ni’shi.
All Linshi Monks who reach Journeyer status are trained up to some level of Ma’shi, although some exceptional monks may achieve Ni’shi before they depart.
- Ky’shi
Considered by many to be the most important level of Mokurai training, Ky’shi is known informally as the weapon level, for it is at Ky’shi that practitioners chose the singular weapon that they will train with and use for the rest of their lives. A lot of time is spent on Ky’shi as it is rarely an easy decision to make. Practitioners must often do a lot of soul-searching and practice with a variety of weapons before they find the one that fits them best.
After the weapon has been chosen, they are taught with dummy-versions forged from common durasteel and how to best incorporate the weapon with unarmed combat moves. This often requires the Ky’shi to find a master proficient in such a weapon separate from their regular instructor.
When the practitioner is deemed ready to move from Ky’shi to Ma’shi, they undergo a ceremony where they forge a customized version of their preferred weapon with Lin Steel. This is known as the Bonding of the Weapon.
- Do’shi
Do’shi is the starting level for all practitioners of Mokurai. It is at this level that the basics of the martial art are taught, with a focus on being able to read body language and minds.