Teräs Käsi

The origins of Teräs Käsi lie within the distant Pacanth Reach star cluster, specifically on the planet Bunduki, which was inhabited by the Epicanthix, a near-human species. The secretive Followers of Palawa on Bunduki were the sole developers of Teräs Käsi, creating it specifically as a weapon against the Jedi. Their homeworld, Palawa, had been devastated in a conflict involving the Jedi Council, and the Followers sought to prevent such destruction from ever happening again by developing this deadly martial art.

Aspiring students of Teräs Käsi were often sent to learn directly from the Followers. There, they received instruction in subjects such as history, literature, metaphysics, and the philosophical traditions of the Pacanth Reach cultures. The Followers encouraged students to employ the art for the benefit and advancement of society. While many graduates carried the knowledge of Teräs Käsi to various parts of the galaxy, it remained a rare skill. To learn it outside of Bunduki, one generally had to seek out a master who had graduated from the Followers' tutelage.

Those who practiced Teräs Käsi were considered to be unparalleled experts in close-quarters combat, with their abilities rivaling even those of the Jedi themselves. Through the use of ancient meditation techniques, practitioners could push their physical limits to seemingly impossible levels, achieving extraordinary feats by mastering the connection between mind and body. Masters of this art employed incredibly swift and devastating strikes, often moving so rapidly that they appeared as a blur.

The name Teräs Käsi, which literally means "steel hands" in Basic, reflected the remarkable toughness of a practitioner's fists and the powerful, piston-like force of their blows. This reputation was well-earned, as Teräs Käsi masters were known to deliver strikes with power comparable to slugthrowers and blaster pistols, easily penetrating body armor. Even novices possessed the ability to inflict surprising amounts of damage, albeit to a lesser extent. Furthermore, rigorous training in Teräs Käsi could lead to blinding speed and heightened senses, allowing practitioners to anticipate attacks with uncanny accuracy and dodge with such swiftness that they appeared as a blur. This also granted them a high degree of acrobatic skill, enabling them to control their movements in mid-air and avoid potentially fatal obstacles during falls.

These remarkable feats of strength, speed, and acrobatics were made possible by the core principles of Teräs Käsi, which emphasized self-control and mastery of one's own body to the point of complete command. Teräs Käsi also incorporated meditative practices, directing the artist's mental control inward rather than outward. Practitioners could enter a motionless, trance-like state, stopping bleeding and slowing the effects of poisons and diseases. Master meditation artists could even heal their own wounds by channeling their mental energies inward. As a martial art, Teräs Käsi drew inspiration from the movements and hunting behaviors of various creatures throughout the galaxy, with many techniques named after these movements, such as Charging Wampa, Rancor Rising, and Dancing Dragonsnake, among others. Teräs Käsi focused on close-range combat, utilizing hands, feet, elbows, blades, and sticks, with six basic stances that covered four engagement ranges: kicking, punching, elbowing, and grappling.

Due to its original purpose as a weapon against the Jedi, Teräs Käsi was exceptionally lethal and granted dedicated practitioners an impressive level of combat proficiency. The Pike sisters, who were not Force-sensitive, demonstrated this by defeating over two dozen armed opponents using only Teräs Käsi, refusing to use weapons and easily defeating squads of enemies armed with blasters.

Phow Ji, a non-Force-sensitive Human mercenary and Teräs Käsi practitioner from Bunduki, displayed remarkable martial prowess by engaging a large group of Salissian mercenaries and battle droids single-handedly. He could draw his weapons with such speed that they seemed to materialize in his hands, accurately shooting blasters out of his opponents' hands, and evading blaster fire from dozens of infantry with acrobatic leaps, feints, and dodges that were described as "Jedi-like".

Some lightsaber duelists incorporated Teräs Käsi techniques into their combat styles, most notably Darth Maul, who trained extensively in the art and integrated it into his lightsaber and unarmed combat. Maul attributed his success and deadliness as an assassin to the martial art. Paradoxically, many Jedi also studied Teräs Käsi, including Jedi Master Anoon Bondara, Jedi Knight Joclad Danva, and Jedi Master Plo Koon.

• Aryx slash was given its name from the aryx that lived on Cerea .
• Charging Wampa was inspired by the Wampa native to Hoth . The move entailed charging at the adversary, aiming for a strike to the jaw, immediately followed by a simultaneous double-arm strike to the opponent's neck.
• Dancing Dragonsnake took its moniker from the Dragonsnake found on Dagobah .
• Death Weave
• Förräderi
• Gorax smash was named in honor of the colossal gorax species.
• Gronda stomp was inspired by the Corellian gronda .
• Gundark slap was named after the gundark species.
• Leaping veermok was named for the leaping style of the veermok .
• Nerve strike
• Nexu Grin was named after the nexu from Cholganna .
• Rancor Rising was inspired by the rancor of Dathomir .
• Riding Bantha was named after the beast of burden of the same name .
• Screaming squill was named after the shriek of the squill .
• Shenbit bonecrusher blow was named after the shenbit bonecrusher .
• Slashing Wampa was named after the wampa of Hoth .
• Sleeping krayt was named after the dangerous krayt dragon .
• Spitting Rawl was considered to be the ultimate offensive maneuver in a Teräs Käsi Master's repertoire of unarmed combat techniques. It involved a sideways flip, with the practitioner bringing their feet down on the opponent three times before delivering a simultaneous vertical strike with both fists.
• Steel hands was the technique that gave the martial art its name.
• Striking Sarlacc was named after the dreaded Sarlacc .

• Anoon Bondara [12]
• Usu Cley
• Clone assassin [17]
• Joclad Danva
• Chaq-Quaj Ee [18]
• A'Sharad Hett / Darth Krayt [19]
• KkH'Oar'Rrhr [19] [20]
• Phow Ji
• Arden Lyn
• Darth Maul [12]
• Celjo Mi
• Zan Pike
• Zu Pike
• Rodo
• Beru Slee [18]
• Nova Stihl [14]
• Bultar Swan
• Kar Vastor
• Vohu Ohi
• Eaden Vrill
• Neaed Fisto
• Xizor [21]
• Thok [20]
• Stormtrooper 17786 [20]

The inspiration for Teräs Käsi comes from pencak silat, a real-world fighting style. The term "Teräs Käsi" itself originates from the Finnish language. While a literal translation from Finnish would be "steel hand" (singular), rather than "steel hands" (plural), this has been somewhat retconned in canon, with sources using both singular and plural forms. The name "Teräs Käsi" is a nod to the Tekken video game series by Namco, which served as a direct inspiration for the video game Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi. In The Musashi Flex, a novel by Steve Perry that serves as a prequel to his Matador book series, Teräs Käsi is briefly mentioned as one of the fighting styles practiced by the main character.