Jester Kenpo/Sleight

Sleight
The fifth principle of Jester Kenpo, Sleight, is a less commonly practiced aspect of the art, due to being in sharp contrast to the others, and sometimes seen as running against the overlying theme of the entire martial art. Many a self-proffessed puritan has dismissed it as being a tacked on late addition rather than a true principle to the style. However, it is in fact one of the older cornerstones of the style, and is seen by true masters as a necessary counterballance to the others.

Sleight was originally described as "making small but crucial movements pass unoticed or ignored in the larger battle". This has evolved to include minor strikes as well as subtle shifts in position, masked by the much more dramatic gestures of Prestige. These seemingly inoccuous movements are nevertheless chosen with suprising precission and focus, and can guide the entire course of the battle if used properly. Some users favour striking nerve points unbeknownst, causing the opponent to unexpectedly fail to counter or avoid the next decisive strike. Others prefer the more primitive form of simply landing small blows on the opponent, using erratic movements to make them harder to predict or respond to, and thus wearing down the opponent by bluff. A much rarer approach is to assume a stance or position that allows for future advantage in the fight, such as easy access to an ungarded target, or a hard to attack location. However, this is much less common, due to use of Parade making most stances short lived.