Hokuto Shinken is an instrumental martial arts style practiced and portrayed in the Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage series.
History
Hokuto Shinken is a 1800 year old martial art that originated from the borderlands of eastern China and the violent fictional nation of Shura during the era of the Three Kingdoms, founded by the Hokuto Sōke Ken practitioner Shuken. Its progenitor martial art being that of Hokuto Sōke Ken, the martial art came into being when Shuken combined his knowledge of the keiraku hiko used in the Yuezhi people martial art Seito Gekken.
However, when Hokuto Shinken was introduced to the Three Kingdoms, they eventually split into the Hokuto Sanka Ken schools. Overtime, the school Hokuto Soka Ken, which served Cao Cao, rose at the end of the warring era as the defining martial art of Hokuto Shinken; Hokuto Sonken, which served Sun Wu, continued its existence in modest but vauge detail, where Hokuto Ryuken, which served Liu Bei, also continued to exist but disappeared into obscurity.
Powers and Other Traits
Hokuto Shinken is a school that focuses on the human body's internal features, most notably focusing on the aspects of qi and the use of acupuncture, targeting of specific vital areas of the body known as Keiraku Hiko, or Meridian Points, where qi is to gather the most at and have their own aspects related to one's body and their functions. Through the knowledge of these points, the marital art's offensive purpose is to deliver what is popularly known informally as the "touch of death", where purposely inappropriate activated meridians are struck to assure the body's breakdown and eventual death in an instantaneously short period of time.
Other than being a highly deadly martial art, the use of Hokuto Shinken's Keiraku Hiko can also be used in appropriate combinations to draw upon one's own latent ability and potential within in conjunction with proper training and care. Through this, practitioners of Hokuto Shinken are seen to be resilient to otherwise fatal injuries to any normal human being, such as being struck by metallic objects, caught in explosions, and in the line of bullets, bear superhuman strength, vastly increased bodily ability and sensory perception, and the ability to project one's abundant overflowing qi as the result of this training into a manifest form known as touki, that can be used in applicable functions. In addition, these points also are still synonymous with the medical application of meridians in acupuncture, allowing for a vast myriad of usage for supportive and benevolent purposes.
Traditions
Hokuto Shinken is a martial art that practices in the tradition of Isshi Sōden, where a select heir is appointed in succession by their master to carry on the legacy in their generation. While there may be many apprentices to train, Hokuto Shinken strictly abides that there may only be one successor to the art, in reverence and awe to the martial art's terrifying power and legendary usage for assassination; when a successor has been chosen, all prior trainees must voluntarily give up the style, or risk other forceful methods used to seal away rogue users. Much to the art's rigidness however, this can be overcome simply by modifying the art away from the original style and into one's own inspired by Hokuto Shinken, and certain techniques can be informally taught to those considered morally worthy by its heir.
Amongst its family of related martial arts, from Nanto Seiken, to Taizan Tenroken, are all subject to influences of fate from their corresponding constellations and stars, their practitioners to be destined to their very influence and inevitable outcome to manifest their corresponding traits in their lives. According to the legends of Hokuto Shinken, it is said "Wherever the Norther Dipper arises, violence shall soon follow." From this, the fate of those that become the heir of Hokuto Shinken's legacy bring not only wrath and destruction to their enemies, but also to their friends and loved ones, demanding that they must bear the weight of the troubles and tumult that fate will bring to them as a cost of bearing the might and power from the martial art. In addition to ties in Chinese astrology and astronomy, the role of heir of Hokuto Shinken are said to also be entrusted in fulfilling the roles of Hokuto Seikun, the northern judge of the stars in the Taoist pantheon, being the one of the guardians of the Celestial Emperor, and carrying on the responsibility of being the merciless punisher of evil and the protector of the innocent to all of those under the skies of the world.
In the Games
In game, Hokuto Shinken is a style whose priorities are centered on direct hits and focused blows. Compared to Nanto Seiken, Hokuto Shinken's range of physical attacks are narrow and somewhat stiff in maneuverability, but make up for that with an easy learning curve, incredible power and Signature Moves that help increase range by the qi that is exerted from every blow.