Strength Training. (closed, training topic)

Rain still poured down all through out the land of fire, but it didn't keep Coal in her home.. There was a howling wind kicking up dirt and tearing down branches, but she didn't seem to mind any of that where she was standing. The training grounds were no more protected from the whipping wind and sheets of rain than the streets of the city was, and as such the saner inhabitants of Konoha had all remained safely indoors. In the small clearing she'd claimed as hers there was little more than the old stump of a large tree. Leather strips had been wrapped around it to keep the splintered stump in peices, as the thing served as a combat dummy for years. Punches and kicks from all manner of students had riddled the pockmarked surface with so many different injuries; it was amazing that it even stood at all. Coal herself had laid into it on more than one occasion, and contributed her share of damage to the wooden monolith. It was still a good eight feet tall, and four feet across.

Though most attacked it with a constant barrage of powerful punches and crushing kicks, Coal herself was standing mostly still. The particular martial art she was used to practicing made little use of crushing force, nor great momentum. While most focused on their speed and power, Coal fought an inner battle, and wielded her own spirit. In the midst of the raging storm she waited in front of the tree turned practice dummy. Her eyes are closed, and though everything around her rages with the wind, she remains motionless, and as sturdy as a rock. Her stance is one of focus, though her hand rests in a loosely held fist which rested gently against the broad surface of the dummy. On the outside she remains serene and passive, but on the inside the story is different.

Her body pulses with chakra, her modest amount still enough to fully fill any human. Her own was hot and thick, easy for her to feel when she focused inwards. In her minds eye she can see her own chakra network, and feel it pulsing through her body. Though chakra still filled every part of her body, most of it was concentrated into her left hand. It had only just arrived there, following the flow of her own mind's focus as she wills it through her network. The level of spiritual enlightenment required to so perfectly control one's soul was something that only came with time and dedicated practice, as well as learning, understanding, and meditation. The practice of Tai Chi involved controlling one's own chakra, and moving it throughout their bodies. By focusing their energy through out their bodies they were able to accomplish amazing feats such as walking on fire, sleeping on nails, and balancing their full weight on the tips of swords. Among these legends was a feat Coal herself was attempting now.

The one inch punch was something of a legend, but Coal understood the principals well enough. By harvesting most of the ir inner essence, and focusing it strongly into the point of impact, one should be able to simulate the effects of a full punch, and move their arm only one inch in the process. Most thought the feat impossible, and few could really manage the legendary damage said to be done by some masters of the art. Coal fancied herself something of a skilled student, so it was a feat she tried often. Her progress had been varied, but she had picked up a new skill she hoped would make it much easier. She'd been standing still for some ten minutes now, just gathering up her energy and letting it flow through her body.

The technique was simple enough, and relied on focusing energy into regions of the body, and flooding the limbs with raw power. By doing this the muscles could easily accomplish the impossible, and swelled with possibilities. Because Coal had such fine chakra control, this feat came quite naturally too her. All her life she honed the art of moving chakra through her body, and even now it was sloshing around in an endless swirling circle. It was flowing in a counter clockwise motion through her shoulders, chest, and arms. Though her fist was was the focal point, it flowed with none of the powerful and growing charge.

Coal was building up her chakra slowly, adding small amounts of her heated and thick chakra bit by bit into the swirling torrent of energy inside her. She could easily feel its power, and in her mind the storm did not even exist. The chakra concentrated at her feet kept her glued to the ground in spite of the wind, and her mind's focus felt nothing but her chakra. The howling sound and pelting sting of rain didn't register as she thought only of her chakra, and the fast torrent of motion she'd built up inside of her. All at once, and with little warning coal unleashes the gathered power into a horrible display of strength.

Her hand moves only an inch, perhaps a fraction less, and closes full into a tighter fist. At the same time the swirling mass of energy is unleashed and forced into the very end of her hand. She pushes the energy forward and out with as much force as she can muster, and charges her arm with more power than it had ever known previously. Even though her hand hits it with seemingly little force, the force of her inner chakra slams against the wood with such force the entire dummy splinters and groans. The loud crack of the wood could be heard even over the wind, and in an instant the driving storm is awash with fractured pieces of wood, and flying strips of leather. It takes a few moments for Coal to end her focus and open her eyes, and finally see what damage she'd done. She was certainly pleased, but the dummy was still standing. It was a shell of its own former "glory", but it still stood. She could tell this technique still had a way to go, but its power was still ample, and quite sufficient for what she needed.