Many clashes followed as Liushi was met with a strong swordsman who wielded a large and heavy single bladed sword.
The sword came downwards in a straight line while Liushi controlled one of his war glaives to meet it while knocking it off its course.
The next attack followed as the other war glaive hit the chest of the man but the man was only pushed back from the strong force.
The man panted as he was slightly left breathless from the force but he seemed to be still in a good condition.
They kept clashing together and Liushi kept getting the upper hand in terms of technique and strength but the other party seemed to have a very high durability due to their build and the armour they were wearing.
Liushi was getting frustrated but then there was suddenly a strange sense of enlightenment as he thought back to one of the lessons he received from Alyssia as she taught swordsmanship to Clifford, Medea and others.
Back then Alyssia held he two scythe blades which had been separated from each other and sliced at a strong and large boulder as she cut it cleanly.
She then cut towards many other things, sometimes she would cut a steel shield in half or a strong armour but then she would move onto a falling leaf.
She demonstrated that while they could each be cut, there is a way to also not cut them with a swing of a blade. "All things have a breath or some form of structure or rhythm. Those that use the sword should focus on this aspect the most as they will learn how to cut or not cut anything depending on their intent. Even the most impossible things to cut should be possible with this and there will be an obvious gap that you must overcome to be called a true swordsman rather than just someone that swings around a weapon."
Liushi lowered his head upon receiving those words since that had mostly described himself and his style of combat that often allowed him to win over his enemies due to his heavy weapons, strong body and mastery over his martial arts.
Alyssia then continued. "There is not just this though, once you understand the breath of all things.. you should be able to mimic that in some way and adjust that into your breathing pattern. Some styles of combat take on certain elements or inspiration from the things around you whether living or non living so if you can perfectly sync your breathing with your combat style, you can gain a better link between mind and body while increasing your overall concentration. Lets just call this total concentration breathing or elemental breathing styles depending on how you have derived your own. My own breathing patterns during combat are more based on thunder and wind so it is named Storm Breath while I think some of you may be better suited to one type. The two methods of breathing and sensing the breath of other things will prove to be very useful when combined together."
She then continued. "Medea, I will teach you the thunder breath along with the others like Tristan and Archie while Liushi will be best off learning a wind breath or a variation more suited towards matching the changes in his style. To be honest.. whirlwind or razor wind type types of breathe suit you best while Jester best suits the razor wind style. Clifford has already been taught the storm breath patterns along with Carrot. It took a little experimentation to perfect them but they should be useful when you are experiencing a time where your current strength is not enough."
She then continued. "In all types of martial arts, breathing is just as important as many of the movements and experience you gain. A small change can help you to conserve much more energy, relax your body and gain better control and concentration during battle. If you can master this then you will be one step closer to being a true martial artist or swordsman that can stand at the very pinnacle."
Alyssia had a high level of Observation Haki and her own type of observation was related to her navigation skill along with the elements so she was especially sensitive to worldly phenomenons and nature so she was able to come up with different types of breathing methods and perfect them for the crew members to suit their fighting styles but due to her favouring wind and thunder over the other elements, the storm breath was developed to suit her since they were quite compatible with each other.
She then added. "These are just the basic breathes that I can teach you, you are the ones that have to adjust them to your style of combat and movements, techniques and abilities. There are certain levels to the breathing patterns from beginner where you can use it a little during combat to having stronger lungs and mastery over it to use it for a longer time but you should aim to make it as natural as possible so it as if the breathing pattern has become natural. The highest state would be to use it so naturally that you even remain like that in your sleep or everyday life."