Hesskara (Hess-Ka-Ra) is a Separa'Shan martial art characterized by its emphasis on grappling techniques.
Heskara is an ancient martial art on Essia whose history is shrouded in myth and legend. According to legend, it was handed down by Naga'Shun to her sons, who each took their own perspective on the art. Almost every tribe on Essia has a variation, often tailored to that tribe's particular circumstance. The primary historical divide is between the Pythus and the Venis variations - the former is more focused on grappling while the latter is more focused on striking; modern Hesskara, however, is primarily divided between traditional styles that emphasize combat against Separa'Shan and styles that emphasize combat against other species and are more heavily influenced by them.
The Pythus variation is better known in the greater galactic community due to its use in a demonstration contest between Alenis Liasis, a Pythus Hesskara Master, and Katrin Davisdottir, a Nekovalkyrja master of Sora-Mai, in YE 31. The event drew attention from all across Yamatai due in part to the exotic nature of Separa'Shan at the time and the fight is widely considered the best example of differential body type fighting and has thus been widely studied and dissected. Hesskara is considered an essential study for elite fighting contenders due to the reputation that those who can escape from a master of Hesskara can escape from anything; despite this, however, the growth of Hesskara is limited due to it only being suitable for Separa'Shan physiology. Someone who has studied Hesskara is known as a Hesskara-Sho; while the term means 'Student of Hesskara,' the meaning of Hesskara-Sho has been shifting towards that of “non-Separa'Shan learners” - thus causing the term “Hesskara” to be used more and more when referring to Separa'Shan learners.
Although best known as a grappling form, Hesskara is actually fairly varied due to incorporating movement and striking as distinctive parts of the style. There are two main takedown modes; the first is constraining the opponent so that they can no longer move, similar to wrestling; the second part, however, is biting the opponent (due to the venom found in all Venis Separa'Shan and the fact that all Separa'Shan can swallow large items whole).
There are twelve ranks of Hesskara, they don't cleanly map on to traditional Yamataian 'dan' ranks. They are called Hisk. People begin as Nahisk, which means roughly 'untrained' or 'unranked'. This is roughly equivalent to the traditional Yamataian 'Kyu'. For an adult learner, it takes about two or three years to move to the first Hisk. The first four Hisk represent moving from understanding to mastery with each rank taking longer to reach. From first Hisk to second is typically two years. From second to third is typically four, from third to fourth is typically six years. Beyond the fourth Hisk, one must take on teaching responsibilities with the next four ranks representing various levels of teaching authority. The eighth Hisk is roughly equivalent to 6th Dan or Master and is in charge of a school. However, many practitioners will test for the eighth Hisk, but not open a school. At that point they return to the seventh Hisk after three years or practice in their own way. In most styles of Hesskara, the eighth rank is temporary unless one is teaching a school. The ninth Hisk is the “teacher of teachers”. Tenth and eleventh Hisk are increasingly rare with the twelfth Hisk being almost exclusively for those who found or lead styles of Hesskara.
Generally, the lower Hisk ranks represent greater knowledge and understanding of the art along with physical skill. The higher the Hisk rank, the more leadership ability, teaching experience, and service to the style play a role in promotion.