Summary
- Lu Shaotang uses Tai Chi-based martial arts to overpower opponents with speed and agility, focusing on internal energy.
- Lu’s Drunken Fist technique makes her unpredictable in combat, using feints to confuse opponents and resisting pain when drunk.
- While effective in close-range combat, Lu’s Tai Chi fighting style has limitations against long-range fighters and opponents with raw power.
One of the supporting characters in the Sakamoto Days series, Lu Shaotang is the daughter of a Triad Family. After being rescused by Sakamoto and Shin from an attack by a rival gang, she becomes an employee at Sakamoto’s convenience store.
A cheerful and easygoing individual with playful energy, Lu is also the backbone of the Sakamoto crew, providing support and assistance when needed. However, if threatened, her demeanor changes and she becomes a totally different person. She forgets being playful and becomes a combat machine, using a combination of Tai Chi-based martial arts and the Drunken Fist technique, to overwhelm her opponents.
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Tai Chi-Based Martial Arts For The Win
One Of Lu’s Fighting Techniques Is The Well Known Tai Chi Fighting Style
Lu’s first fighting style revolves around Tai Chi-based martial arts, where she uses the force of an opponent against them. She is also able to fight off her opponents using quick and powerful kicks and acrobatic movements to dodge attacks. Instead of using brute force, Lu is able to use an opponent’s momentum against them, making them lose their balance. This technique is effective against larger and more powerful opponents. Because of her speed and agility, she makes it extremely difficult for her opponents to counter her attacks.
Because of her use of Tai Chi, she is able to fight in a fluid motion without breaking the rhythm of her fight. Since Tai Chi focuses on internal energy, otherwise known as Qi, as well as soft power, Lu is able to deliver powerful blows without the need for brute strength. Her foundation in Tai-Chi makes her an extremely strong fighter, making her a perfect addition to the Sakamoto crew. Her confidence as a proficient fighter is seen the first time she meets Sakamoto and Shin as she easily takes on multiple rival gang members until she is overpowered by them.
The use of Tai Chi also comes with its disadvantages, as it is more effective as a close-range combat method. Long-range fighters such as snipers or opponents who use projectiles as weapons would easily be able to corner her if she is not in fighting range. This would mean she would have to dodge and evade attacks until she is close enough to launch a counterattack. Raw power is also something that Lu lacks, and this is seen when a rival gang member grabs her from behind, immobilizing her. This was when Sakamoto was able to step in to save her. While Lu’s Tai Chi fighting style is powerful, her true strength is in her Drunken Fist fighting style that unleashes another side of her.
The Influence Of The Drunken Fist Technique
A Popular Martial Arts Fighting Style For The Ages
The Drunken Fist Technique, otherwise known as Zui Quan is a famous traditional martial arts fighting style that imitates a drunk person’s movements. A few famous references to this fighting style are Rock Lee’s fight with Kimimaro in Naruto and a 1978 Chinese film known as Drunken Master, featuring Jackie Chan. When Lu drinks alcohol, her combat style changes, and she uses the Drunken Fist Technique in her attacks, making her even more unpredictable. One of the core concepts of this technique is to successfully utilize feints to confuse an opponent.
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You slugs will never get your hands on me!
The purposeful stumbling and appearance of “letting your guard down” convinces an opponent that she is vulnerable and open for an attack, when in actuality she is able to execute a powerful counter-attack without an opponent being aware of what is happening. Another major advantage Lu has is that she is more resistant to pain when she is in a drunk state, making it difficult for her opponents to knock her down. This is seen during her fight with the assassin -Obiguro, even after taking a powerful kick, Lu was still able to stand up and fight back. With both of these fighting styles, Lu is able to adapt to situations easily, switching between the two if the occasion calls for it.
