Yesterday was a very important day for me. Mr. Dan Hibiki took me on as his student (after I paid him a whole two weeks' worth of my allowance…) and I was feeling confident about my future. I finally found someone willing to teach me! It's so exciting! I was ready to dive right into our training, but Mr. Hibiki said that we'd have to wait until tomorrow because he ate some spoiled vegetables earlier in the day and he was 'out of commission.' Oh well…
Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of my new master. He's colorful and animated. He's fun to be around. But as a martial arts teacher? I… have my doubts, to put it simply. Ryu made a fool of him when they fought. Who would fare well against my hero, though? Baldy and the ninja are accomplished fighters and even they looked like amateurs when matched up against Ryu, so… maybe it's not fair to judge him so soon, but still… he gives off this pathetic vibe that I can't get over… Eh, maybe it was just the upset stomach that was throwing him off! I'll be heading back to the dojo today for our first real lesson, and I'm seriously getting fired up thinking about it!
"Mr. Hibiki? Before we begin, I have a request for you, if you don't mind."
"Huh? Oh, yeah… Sure, kid. What's up?"
"Can the two of us fight?"
"M-Me? Beating up on a teenage girl? Why would you request that? I'll wipe the floor with you!"
"Well, I'd like to see where I'm at compared to you. Y'know… See how far I've come, and what I need to improve on? I'd learn a lot from fighting a ki expert, I'm sure, and don't worry - I can take a beating! I want to be a martial artist, after all. If I wasn't prepared to take a hit, then I would have never come here."
"Uhhh… Y-Yeah, okay, makes sense… We're really doing this, huh? Fine! Prepare yourself, young Sakura! Be warned, however, for I won't be holding back!"
"I expect nothing less, Master! Good luck!"
Yeah, I'll admit it. I'm nervous as heck! Mr. Hibiki acts like a goofball, but right now? His appearance is that of a seasoned warrior. He glares at me from a distance away, his fighting stance both elegant and ever-changing. The way his hands move reminds me of water… flexible, adaptable, yet still. I… don't feel confident initiating, so I'll take a page from Ryu's book and let him come to me. I just hope my reactions are up to snuff!
"Heh! Scared to make the first move, are you? Then I'll just have to show you what a blunder you've committed! Remember this well, my student… Never give Dan Hibiki the opportunity to unleash his forbidden art! Here it comes!..."
"HISSHO BURAIKEEEN!"
Oh gosh… His 'forbidden art'? He's full-on sprinting straight at me! I have to dodge this attack or else!
"I'll finish you- WAH!... Oww! My toe! W-What the hell?"
"Oh no! Master, are you okay?! What happened?!"
I jumped to the side in a desperate attempt to avoid my approaching doom, but Mr. Hibiki just… kept on going, I guess. I heard a loud crash, and now he's keeled over clutching his foot like his life depends on it.
*whimper* "My poor toe! I think I bent it wrong when I tripped and fell! Oh, the agony!"
"Ah, geez… What should I do, Master? Do you have an ice pack around here? I'm not sure if that would help, but-"
"N-Nah! Don't worry about it, my student. Let's just call off the match, and move onto other things, yeah? It's probably for the best that it worked out this way. If I hadn't fallen over, you'd be in a world of hurt right now, heh! I can guarantee you that!"
"Should I just go home for the day? You won't be able to teach me if you're injured, Master."
"No need! My toe already feels a lot better, actually. It's probably my advanced healing capabilities kicking in. Really handy ability, eh? Now then, come on! You wanted to learn about ki, right? Well, you've come to the right place!"
I… don't know what to make of this guy… Was he faking it? Did he use his toe injury as an excuse to stop fighting? Maybe he was afraid of overdoing it and hurting me? There's no way he was worried about losing to me… right?
Even after his supposed toe injury, Mr. Hibiki stayed true to his word. He spent two hours teaching me about ki, its origins, and what it is. After our failed sparring session, I was more skeptical of my master than ever before (What did he even trip on? His own foot?!), but I gotta hand it to the guy… when it comes to ki, he knows what he's talking about. Get him discussing this subject and his whole demeanor changes! He turns into a teacher that I'm genuinely proud to learn from!
"To master ki, you must learn to control it. It's found all throughout the body, scattered and aimless. To harness it properly, you need to give it direction, got it?"
"Direction… Got it!"
"There are many steps one must take in order to correctly direct one's ki, however! To ensure that your ki can freely travel throughout the body, you'll learn when and where to tense or relax your many different muscles, and that's only one of the requirements. Breathing training, mental exercises, a disciplined focus… To properly use your ki as an extension of yourself, it takes a practiced mind that understands your own inner workings like the back of your hand. Pretty intense, isn't it?"
"Y-Yeah… This must take years of dedicated training to master."
"Too true, young Sakura! Rest assured, though, that under my tutelage, you'll prosper into a true ki wielder! It will take many, many years, of course. The intricacies of all this probably went right over your head, but that's fine. I don't expect you to make any significant progress for a looong time."
"Aw, that sucks… I was hoping to learn how to throw a Hadoken sooner rather than later… Hey, Mr. Hibiki, you know how to use the Hadoken, don't you?"
"Of course I do! Thing is, that's a technique from a vastly inferior style. Saikyo sports its very own energy projection attack, one that's better than any other!"
"Oh, no kidding? Could you show it to me?"
"Heh! Intrigued, are you? Sure thing, my star pupil. I will show you the crowning achievement of the Saikyo-Style martial arts! Feast your eyes on this and allow the imagery to burn into your retinas!...
"GADOOOKEEEN!"
"…"
After taking a wide stance and entering a deep state of concentration, my master brought his right hand behind him, and it started to glow… green? Wow, neat! I expected it to be blue like Ryu's. Perhaps the color of an individual's ki is, like… a reflection of themselves or something like that? After letting the glow intensify, Mr. Hibiki extended his arm forward as if throwing a shot put. And the result was… a pitiful, slow moving, green excuse for a Hadoken? And what's up with that? It barely lasted any time at all before fading away into nothing…
*pant* "Left you speechless, have I? Can't say I'm surprised… It took me almost ten years to learn this truly unbeatable-"
"That's it? That fire ball was smaller than my head…"
"Wh-Why you!... First rule of the Saikyo-Style Dojo; 'Never diss Master Hibiki'!"
"Sorry, Master, I didn't mean to be rude. I was just anticipating something stronger than that. Your fireball was so tiny, and it fizzled out right away… What's the point of a projectile attack if it barely extends beyond your hand?"
"Distance isn't everything, I'll have you know! Sure, the Hadoken flies further and is larger than my Gadoken, but mine hits wayyy harder! It's not that my attack is worse, they just… have different attributes!"
"Hmm… Well, if you say so, Mr. Hibiki. Getting back to the lesson, thanks for showing me that. After seeing how you did it, I feel like I have a much better understanding of how to gather ki."
"Psh! Don't get ahead of yourself, kid. You have potential, sure, but you're far from understanding any of this. We haven't even touched on the following steps!"
"Can you keep explaining, then? I'd like to hear the rest."
"I mean, if you insist… Once you're able to adequately locate and direct your ki, you must learn where to direct it to. The hands and arms are the most common choices. Though it can be difficult to properly divide your ki into both hands, once you strike that balance, you'll find that releasing your ki with the fists is much easier than using other parts of the body."
"Why is that, Master?"
"For one, the arm can be swung, and that allows the user to apply more force. For that reason, it's difficult to make use of any ki directed to the center of your body, for example. How you project your ki can be more crucial than where you gather it!"
"…"
"Uh… kid? You still with me over there?"
"Just a sec… I wanna try to find my inner ki…"
"Sakura, that's impossible! A rookie fighter like you? A feat like that is so far above your current capabilities that it's not even funny! I'll still laugh at you anyway just to show you how absurd you're acting! Hahaha! Oh, kid… you poor, naïve, innocent youth. You've got a lot of growing up to do, unlike me."
Tch! I don't care about any of that! I'm still gonna try! Sorry, Mr. Hibiki, but I'm tuning you out now… Deep breaths… In… and out… I have this energy deep inside me… I just have to find it, right? I've seen the differences between Master's ki and Ryu's ki. Maybe it's not just the way ki looks that's different, but maybe the way you channel it can vary as well… My ki is my strength… and my biggest strength?... My stubbornness, my unfailing determination… That's always been my strength… I need to focus on that, find a way to tap into it…
"Fine, whatever, kid! Just keep on ignoring me. I'm not bothered by it… Seriously! I'm okay with people brushing off my expert advice as if I don't know what I'm talking about. It's because I have high self-esteem! And I'm very mature! I'm confident in my abilities and-"
"M-Mr. Hibiki! I think I've got it! I-I feel it! What do I do next?! I forgot already!"
"Huh?! What the hell do you mean you 'got' it?!"
"I feel my ki! I can feel it all over! That has to be what this is!... Now what do I do?! Hurry, help me! I might lose it any second!"
"You gotta be messing with me… Uh, alright, alright, listen up, kid! Try pushing your ki towards your hands! If you can't do both at once, then just focus on one!"
Try pushing it, huh? Alright… It's such an odd sensation, being aware of all this energy moving around in my body… Like holding onto a cliff or ledge, I'm afraid of letting go now that I've gotten here… But this ki won't be of any use until I direct it, so I have to try… Dig deep and push… Push it toward my arm like water through a pipe…
"Hey, kid! Make sure you don't over-exert yourself, okay? I don't want you passing out on me! I haven't been paying my phone bill recently, so they cut my access, and I'll have no way of reaching your emergency contact to-"
"Oh! Oh god! L-Look, Mr. Hibiki! My hand! Look at it!"
"…What the hell is going on here? Is this a prank?... Am I dreaming right now? I remember falling asleep after eating all those bananas. I really shouldn't have done that… Now I'm hallucinating-"
"Master, will you stop babbling and help me?! What do I do?! How do I release all this energy?! Ah, it's starting to hurt… I need to get rid of it!"
"R-Right! Look, uh… Remember this; ki isn't only about the physical, okay? There's a mental aspect to it. You need to envision what form you want your ki to take! Think about purpose and application!"
Think about purpose? That's easy… I want to get stronger. I want to prove Master wrong, that I can do this, and I don't want to take ten years to get there. I don't wanna let Kei down, and… I want to meet Ryu… I want him to teach me how to fight. I want to learn more about him. I want to hear why he fights… Releasing this ki from my hand is the next step toward seeing it all come true… My ki will manifest as a cluster of energy, but it represents far more… It represents my desire to move forward and my refusal to back down! I feel it so strongly! This power!... What I do with it? I already know that. I've been practicing this part of the attack non-stop, all for this moment.
"Hadoken!"
There's nothing but silence between us while we process what just happened…
"…Kid…"
"…Holy crap…"
"…Who are you, kid? This seriously isn't some sort of prank? You're not some fighting prodigy who came here to make me look like an idiot? Is there a hidden camera somewhere?"
"I-I… I can't believe this right now… I… Woah, I'm… I'm feeling kinda dizzy… M-Master, can you… give me a hand, please?"
"Hey, hey, easy, kid! Your arms are shaking! Just… Just lie down for now, and I'll grab you some water. No getting up or I'll have you banned from the Saikyo-Style Dojo!... Dammit, dammit… What the hell have I gotten myself into?... Kid's about to faint on me, and what do I say then?... 'Yeah, no cause for concern, officer. She just fell unconscious after I taught her how to throw an energy blast'… What if her parents get involved? Ughhh… Now I don't feel so good…"
A/N:
I would just like to reiterate that I know nothing about real-world theories on ki/chi, nor did I look much into Street Fighter's interpretation of how it applies to the games. My "explanations" here are just nonsense off the top of my head. I ask that you treat it as nothing more.