Panzer Kunst

Panzer Kunst (literally Armored Art) is a fictional martial art for cyborgs from Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita and Battle Angel Alita: Last Order. It is the fighting style used by the titular heroine Alita and, later on by her replicas. Practitioners of Panzer Kunst are called Kunstlers.

Philosophy
Panzer Kunst was the first fighting style developed for use by cyborgs and it emphasizes combat against ranged weapons as well as combat in zero gravity (and as an extension, fighting in mid-air free fall). Panzer Kunst seems to emphasize speed as well as the use of vibration to cause damage to a foes limbs. The art is also quite effective against larger foes. The Panzer Kunst also provides a definite tactical advantage, since it gives its user the ability to analyze an opponent's fighting style and to retaliate accordingly. Therefore a Kunstler will rarely be defeated in a second combat with a given enemy. It is most probable that many smaller schools existed within Panzer Kunst, so far the only style that seems to have survived is the Mauser School which use the Elbogen-Blatt or twin elbow blades.

Hierarchy
Panzer Kunst Practitioners, called Kunstlers are divided up into nine ranks.
 * Anfanger (Beginner)
 * Tzereter (Enthusiast)
 * Lerhling (Apprentice)
 * Gezere (War Artisan)
 * Kreiger (Warrior)
 * Hoher Krieger (High Warrior)
 * Meister (Master)
 * Adept (Licensed Master)
 * Altermeist (Elder)

Other than these ranks, it is known that the Kunstlers were also divided into gruppes. One such group was the Kammer Gruppe, one of whose number was directly involved in the Cam Ranh Tragedy that led to the fall of Panzer Kunst. The Kammer Gruppe was ostensibly a branch of the Mauser School of Panzer Kunst that functioned as a training unit for armory guards. In reality however, it was a secret covert ops unit that engaged in sabotage, terrorism, torture, and assassinations.

Training
Training to be a Kunstler seems to begin at a young age, most begin as Anfanglers when they are still young children. The actual recruitment process is unknown although it is known that some Anfanglers, such as Yoko and Erika, were war orphans rescued from the battlefield by Kunstlers (in Yoko and Erika's case, by Gerda).

The details of the actual training regimen are lost to time, although it is known that training in sessions in zero gravity were not uncommon. Kunstlers also seemingly received training from the leaders of the units in which they belonged to, for example the ex-Panzer Kunst Mauser Hoher Krieger Tzykrow der Rabe claims credit for honing Panzer Kunst Gezere Kammer Frau Razor Yoko's skills during her time in the Kammer Gruppe. The techniques were engraved within the kunstler's psyche.

Known Techniques
Most of the known techniques of Panzer Kunst are those that have been used by Alita at one point or another during her adventures.
 * Mauser School Elbogen-Blatt - the Panzer Kunst art of wielding Elbow Blades; Alita's preferred weapon.
 * Hertza Haeon - One of Alita's most commonly used Panzer Kunst moves, the Hertza Haeon is a strike that delivers high frequency vibrations to the victim, concentrating kinetic energy that when used corectly can be used to destroy or at least disable the brain or heart. Can also be used by Figure Four, impressive because of his flesh-and-blood body.
 * Einzug Rüstungen - a technique used to match an opponent's rhythm and parry, then strike when the opponent drops their guard.
 * Kurtz Bomb Bekuntz - a technique used by some members of the Kammer Gruppe such as Tzykrow der Rabe, but not Yoko, that involves the use of small bomb caps that are placed on vital spots on an opponent and then activated by snapping one's fingers. They can be used to cripple an opponent, as well as for assassination and torture.

Gehaiminis Einser
There is also a subset of moves called Gehaiminis Einser, these are master moves, the true secrets of Panzer Kusnt that supposedly disappeared from the books years ago. Examples of these master moves include:
 * Verschlag - The first part of a two-staged attack. An initial strike is first applied to set loose a shockwave which will bounce around inside the body, increasing in momentum and energy, before focusing in the limbs. The enemy might notice this as a slight ringing in their ears. This is followed up by:
 * Herzta Nadel - A second strike into the focal point of the shockwave from the initial Verschlag, which causes the pent up energy to explode, blowing off or shattering the opponents limbs in an instant.

History
According to the martial arts scholar Hegeor Hopper, Panzer Kunst was started by Tiger Sauer around 300 years before the events of Last Order. It was the first fighting style to anticipate cyborg combat, with Sauer instructing his disciples to handle both armed opponents and zero gravity.

Grunthal
A training academy called Grunthal was established in the Noctis Labyrinthus in the western part of the Valles Marineris in Mars. It was here that Panzer Kunst was developed and taught by five of Sauer's best students in relative secrecy for over a hundred years before the Terraforming Wars.

Fall of Grunthal and the Revelation of Panzer Kunst to the World
Approximately 100 years after its founding, during the Terraforming Wars, a lone Kunstler from Kammer Gruppe was sent on a mission, orchestrated by Jupiter with Grunthal to destroy the relationship between Earth and Venus. The lone Kunstler, Yoko, infiltrated the Melchizedek core at Ketheres (Jeru) and inserted a program into Mechizedek that made it go out of control causing the destruction of four out of the five Leviathan ships. The incident, later called the Cam Ranh Tragedy, resulted in the deaths of 450,000 people. Kunstler Yoko was immediately caught by an agent working for Ketheres, later revealed to be Caerulia Sanguis, and sentenced to death by being dropped into the Earth's atmosphere to burn up in reentry. Her capture also caused the Jovians to deny any links to the incident, resulting in the blame falling solely on Grunthal and Panzer Kunst. Grunthal was immediately shut down by LADDER, completely destroyed by carpet bombings, and the secrets of Panzer Kunst made public.

Survivors of the Fall
As of this time, there are only two known surviving original Kunstlers. One is Tzykrow der Rabe, Alita's former Kammer Gruppe instructor, who is now serving as as a High Order agent directly under the command of LADDER assistant chairman Aga Mbadi. The other is Yoko, who survived reentry and was rebuilt in the Scrapyard by Daisuke Ido, who renamed her Alita, after his pet cat.

While these two are the only known surviving Kunstlers from Grunthal, there exists at least three other Kunstlers. The three surviving Alita Replicas, Sechs, Zwolf, and Elf, also practice Panzer Kunst, although in Sechs' case, it formed the basis for a new art called Sechster Angriff. Also, it may be possible that there were other survivors from Grunthal. Der Rabe's reaction to Alita being a survivor from Grunthal as well as their subsequent conversation before they fight seems to indicate that he is not surprised that there is another surviving Kunstler from Grunthal. Among the populace, there are those who believe that the revealed techniques were only a part of Panzer Kunst's secrets and that a true Panzer Kunst master still exists.

Influence
As a result of the secrets of Panzer Kunst being revealed, it helped the formation of later schools of cyborg martial arts including Space Karate as well as Ahat Mastade.

Sechster Angriff
Panzer Kunst is also the direct ancestor of Sechster Angriff, Sech's personal martial style. Sechster Angriff is a very aggressive style of fighting that emphasizes forward motion. However, this means that a practitioner of Sechster Angriff is at a considerable disadvantage when forced to fight at closed quarters.

Maschine Klatsch
Maschine Klatsch is Jashugan's martial art. It means "machine clash" in German. The Maschine Klatsch is similar to the Panzer Kunst, but is considered weaker because its inherent machine-like movements and its heavy basis around rhythm make it vulnerable to the Einzug Rustungen ("armoured penetration"), although a Maschine Klatsch master can defeat a practitioner of Panzer Kunst with effort.

Known Practitioners

 * Alita
 * Sechs
 * Elf
 * Zwolf
 * Tzykrow der Rabe
 * Gerda (status unknown, possibly deceased)
 * Erika (status unknown, possibly deceased)