Tebillant

Tebillant (Tamashek: ⵜⴻⴱⵉⵍⵍⴰⵏⵜ, lit. "Fighting") is a full contact martial art and combat sport originating in the Ninva among the Kel Tenere. It is best known as a form of unarmed stand-up kickboxing but may also include clinch fighting or even armed techniques, especially dagger fighting, depending on the style. Foot kicks and bare knuckle strikes are allowed, as well as elbow, knee, shin, and even forehead strikes are allowed in the unarmed form of the sport. Tebillant originated as numerous forms of folk wrestling practiced by nomadic tribes of the Ninva for centuries, but was not codified as a coherent discipline and combat art until the 1730s when proto-Tebillant styles were adopted by early Tamddaist monks as tools for teaching and meditation. Numerous styles would blossom across the desert within individual temples, spreading from the monks to the general population throughpout the 18th and 19th centuries. Tebillant became an important symbol of national unity after the foundation of the State of the Ninva due to its widespread acceptance by many Ninvites, resulting in state promotion of the arts and a rise in mass popularity of many Tebillant styles. Today, Tebillant is taught in martial arts academies, monasteries and even Ninvite public schools where Tebillant training is offered as a form of sports education and to teach children self defense techniques. Tebillant is considered the national sport of the Ninva, eclipsing both Pitz and camel racing as the most viewed category of sporting event on Ninvite television stations, forming the basis for a vibrant sporting community and lucrative spectator industry around the art.

Principles

The various styles of Tebillant are unified by a set of basic principles laid out by the Tamddaist monks that first standardized the art. This was done to help codify the often very unrelated elements of technique drawn from ritual wrestling, boxing dicipline, and knife fighting techniques adopted by the monks, which had little commonality with one another but could be related through shared principles and philosophy governing movement and action. The three principles of Tebillant are as follows.

Ideal Motion

The principle of Ideal Motion is defined as the exact amount of motion or exertion required in a particular moment, and should be pursued at all times. The typical example of Ideal Motion is the "minimum evasion", when one moves just enough to dodge or deflect an oncoming strike without undercomitting such that the defense would be ineffective, but also without overcomitting and exerting unecessary effort into an exagerated motion. The general purpose of Ideal Motion is to avoid excess exertion and the onset of fatigue by preserving energy and minimizing movements. Using enough force or movement to pull off an evasion or effective strike while still exerting as little as possible is considered an important demonstration of skill and technique, and is emphasized in long term Tebillant training. A combatant should use exactly as much force and as much violence as is necessary to bring an oppinent to defeat and no more, and always seek to reduce this expenditure as much as possible. Some schools of Tebillant teach students to retreat where possible and to otherwise avoid unecessary conflict as an extension of Ideal Motion and reduction of exertion.

Reciprocal Reaction

According to the principle of Reciprocal Reaction, the actions of an oponent should be used to shape the reply. This begins with the start of a battle, which Tebillant teaches should always be guided by the opposition's actions. A fight should begin when one is attacked, or when anothers' actions call for such an escalation, but not where another is seeking to provoke violence or exploit one's choleric temperment to their own advantage. Once a struggle begins, one should use defensive techniques when the opponent presents strengths, and turn to offense only when the opponent presents weaknesses. Actions of those in a struggle are of paramount importance, and should always be considered, accounted for and met with the corresponding reaction. All styles of Tebillant teach that it is better to react and punish an opponent's attack (in other words, to strike second) than to strike first and risk the same being done in return.

Control of Course

Course Control is the principle of maximum control over all aspects of a match. Outside of controlled matches, where the environment is controlled, students are taught to manipulate their surroundings to their advantage and to never allow the opponent to dictate the terms of battle, for example not allowing the opponent to lure one into an unfavorable position in the environment, or into an engagement in which the opponent will have an inherent advantage. Control of Course is also applied to the self, as a form of self control, and requires students to excercise self awareness and restrict the influence of emotions like fear or anger that become vulnerabilities that an opponent can exploit.

Styles

More than a hundred documented distinct styles of Tebillant are known to exist, while several dozen are popular and can be found in Tebillant schools or practiced on TV in the Ninva. Techniwque and move sets can vary significantly between styles, especially between armed and unarmed styles. Broadly, Tebillant is not divided into armed and unarmed but rather into practical styles, which focus on applicability in the real world or effectiveness in sporting matches, and so called decorative styles, which are usually more elaborate and artistic styles developed to developed by monks as a form of cultivating prowess, to aid meditiation or to function as a form of war dance. Such differences can be deeped when some styles draw from foreign martial arts to enhance common Tebillant pillars, such as the Beating Heart Style which incorporates Mutulese Blood Control techniques and philosophy.