Hokuto Shinken

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Hokuto Shinken is a martial art that features in Fist of the North Star.

Contents

History

Hukuto Shinken (北斗神拳?, commonly translated as the Divine Fist of the North Star) was described as an 1,800-year-old Chinese assassination art formed during the Three Kingdoms era. The art's power lies in channeling one's energy into a single blow and striking one of the 708 Keiraku Hikō (経絡秘孔?, "Hidden Channeling Points") in the human body (also known as acupressure points, power points, vital points, tsubo, etc.). This causes the victim to explode, be controlled involuntarily or otherwise incapacitated. It can also be used to heal certain physical and psychological wounds, such as restoring a person's voice, eyesight or memories, though the main purpose of Hokuto Shinken was assassination. The average person uses only 30% of their body's potential strength, but those who had mastered Hokuto Shinken can tap into the remaining 70% as well. Hokuto Shinken also derives power by using Tôki (闘気?, battle aura) or fighting aura to use the human body's full potential as well as to project energy attacks. These energy attacks can be also used to strike pressure points, as was the case when Kenshiro fought Souther. As with many Chinese Martial Arts, there is a soft style, which depends on accuracy and agility, which Kenshiro and Toki use, and a hard style, which Raoh uses often, which relies on brute power to annihilate targets.

Due to its deadliness, Hokuto Shinken can only have one successor per generation according to the art's law. Students who are not chosen to inherit the succession must renounce the style voluntarily or risk having their memories erased or their fists crushed. This is due to the extreme consequences of the style being held by one who is evil at heart; in this case, Raoh and Jagi were corrupted. Toki renounced his successorship due to his illness, hence nominated Kenshiro as the successor. In New Fist of the North Star, the role of successor is also to have said to hold the responsibilities of the guardian of the Emperor of Heaven in Chinese astronomy and legend, being the merciless punisher of evil and protector of the innocent.

Late in the myth, it is revealed that the founder of Hokuto Shinken is a man named Shuken of the Hokuto Sōke (北斗宗家) bloodline and the ancestor of Kenshiro and Hyoh. Fist of the Blue Sky further develops the origins of Hokuto Shinken, where it is revealed that Hokuto Shinken is a blending of Shuken's original Hokuto style and the Keiraku Hikō techniques of Seito Gekken. Hokuto Shinken was introduced to Japan through a pilgrimage of Kūkai in the 9th century.

Overview

While Hokuto Shinken can only be passed down from one master to another, the style is usually taught to more than one student before a successor is named. In the prequel series Fist of the Blue Sky, Tesshin Kasumi was the 61st successor of Hokuto Shinken; followed by his son Kenshiro Kasumi, the 62nd successor; and then his younger half-brother Ramon Kasumi, who eventually becomes Ryuken, the 63rd successor, who named his adopted son Kenshiro as his heir (the 64th successor). Students who've been formally trained in the art but were not chosen for the succession include Ryuken's rival Koryu, and Kenshiro's three adoptive brothers: Jagi, Toki, and Raoh. Ryuken also trained a fifth student named Kim, whom he later expelled from his dojo after failing to meet his qualifications for successor.

Additionally, there are characters who were not formally trained in the style, but managed to learn it by observing actual practitioners (e.g. Amiba, who developed his own style based on Hokuto Shinken by observing Toki; the Emperor of Light Baran, who was a follower of Raoh when he was a child; adult Bat, and Ryu son of Raoh who observed Kenshiro during their stay together).

A number of techniques from this fighting style included:

  • Five Finger Explosion : (五指烈弾 Goshi Retsudan?) Causes the opponent's fingers to explode. Used against Taishan Temple assassin Gouda in the Hokuto no Ken pilot and against Club in the series.
  • North Star Twin Dragon Wave : (北斗双龍波 Hokuto Sōryūha?) This technique used by Kenshiro in the Hokuto no Ken pilot, in which Kenshiro finishes his opponent with striking the opponent's chest with both fists. It appears in episode 33 of the anime series.
  • Meteorite Face Breaking Kick : (流星破顔脚 Ryūsei Hagan Kyaku?) A kick technique Kenshiro uses that against the Taishan Temple enforcer Denki Saito, which causes his head to split vertically in half. Appears in the second manga pilot.
  • North Star Strangling Neck Break : (北斗絞首逆折 Hokuto Kōshu Gyakusetsu?) A technique which causes the opponent to twist their head around. Used against a Taishan guard in the pilot version of the manga.
  • North Star Hundred Crack Snap : (北斗百裂弾 Hokuto Hyakuretsu Dan?) A prototype version of the Hyakuretsu Ken from the series. Kenshiro uses this technique as a finishing move against the Taishan Temple assassin Baiken Kinbu.
  • North Star Hundred Crack Fist : (北斗百裂拳 Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken?) Kenshiro's trademark technique, in which Ken strikes the opponent's body with a relentless flurry of punches, resulting the immediate breakdown of the internal organs, followed by an immediate death. It was used against numerous opponents thorough the series such as Zeed, the Colonel, and Uighur.

Practitioners

  • Kenshiro :

Notes

  • Hokuto Shinken was based loosely on Dim Mak kung fu.

Appearances

  • Fist of the North Star:

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