Kayama School of Martial Arts

The Kayama School of Martial Arts revolves around the idea of relating to people. The Kayama can believe that’s the key to truly elevating humanity. Through their training martial artist are able to grow stronger, faster and even live longer, but fighting only creates more conflict. What we need is to make people better. Better at understanding and connecting to one another, smarter at bridging their differences. Not just enhanced intelligence, but enhanced social intelligence. That is what the school is designed for. Reading people, empathizing with them, sensing what they need, what they value, and thereby knowing how best to open their minds.

Think about how hard it is to get people to listen to reason even when you have it on your side. Humans are creatures of instinct, of passion. Those drives have been built into us far longer than our capacity for reason has. So even the most sensible, beneficial points of view have always needed something more visceral to back them up. Sometimes it’s the personal charisma of an individual, like Prince Shotoku who used his power to rule the imperial court right under his thumb long ago, and is said to be the Kayama clan’s ancestor.

Sometimes it’s an appeal to faith or nationalism or some collective drive. Sometimes it’s the fear of the alternative. And sometimes it’s seduction, even outright sex. Whatever it is, when it’s on the side of reason it helps promote it, and when it’s turned against reason it swamps it. So even those of us who want to promote reason and understanding still need an edge to help us sell it. That’s what the Kayama School of Martial Arts is about. Connecting to people on every level. Understanding what drives them and knowing how to win their understanding in return.

Practitioner’s ability to read the delegates and tailor their persuasion is uncanny, practically psychic. It is not just intellect, but empathy as well. Practitioners are smart enough, perceptive enough, to understand others keenly and resolve their differences deftly, peacefully. Remember this is a martial arts so body language is part of it too. Practitioners train to control their own nonverbal cues, everything, the way they move, the tone of their voice … subliminal cues, subsonics … it’s all mastered. They can also read instantly how well it’s working, adjust it moment by moment. Their opponents hormones, body heat, their every microexpression, practitioners can read them like a book.