NEW MACROSS DEFENCE INSTITUTE - Zentraedi Martial Art - Part II
Tyrolian culture was anything but stagnant in terms of science; indeed, most Robotechnology can trace its roots to the Stellar Age tech-inventors nearly 2000 thousands of years (Earth Standard) ago. By the second millennium of the Aeon Lanack Calendar, the basic concept of the Tyrolian nation-state culture in particular Tiresia - in having ownership over life (a concept reinforced by their caste-based civilization - in particular, slave warrior mentality prevalent during pre-Industrial Age), made biotechnology in general, and genetic manipulation in particular, quite appealing. Germ Warfare was looked upon with revulsion due to its potential for collateral damage, but creating super-slaves allowed the more scientifically minded military regimes to eschew artillery and armored vehicles - disliked for their creation of collateral damage - in favor of armies of living weapons.
By the time the first Tyrolian spacecraft ventured beyond the home world in 816 AD (1200 AL) , most proxy battles were clashes between conventional military hardwares & with the integration of energy based & even nuclear weaponry. Some anachronistic patricians maintained armies of "genetically-enhanced" soldiers, but these nobles were the exception to the rule. Generally speaking, other than specially trained overseers and commanders, the average Tyrolian proxy weaponry still did not affect the use of Diwgadras'U in unarmed combat.
As common Tyrolians united under Stellar Republic, whose civilization later expanded into thousands of off-world colonies, the art of dueling motion was taken to the stars, used extensively within Stellar Republican vast colonial military. It was during this time, the later period of the Golden Age of Stellar Republic, that Zor Derelda had returned to Tyrol with greatest reward - the Holy Robo-Grail, Protoculture in 1343 AD (1293 AL). After undergoing a period of integration of Robotechnology within every strata of Tyrolian civilisation known as the Great Transition, the giant-slave Zentraedi was created from cloning chambers to serve as off- world miners in robust monopole-ore industry.
While the increase in body size in giant macronised slaves achieved its intended goal of providing cheap, living construction and mining equipment for the colonies in late Stellar Republic Era to the early Imperium Era of Zentraedi all male goliaths warrior slaves, it created a conundrum- Robotech Masters lacked military hardware to equip their new giant warriors with.
The rise of Robotech Imperium in 1361 AD (1296 AL) that toppled Stellar Republic & the usage of giant Zentreadi as warrior slave infantry troopers, Diwgadras'U art was made exclusive only to the warlike culture of the giant warriors. The basic training began as template program within all Zentraedi implanted memories, however, the medium & advance training only available & exclusive for Zentraedi officers clones. Unbeknownst to Robotech Masters, some of these officers actually trained the art in it full form to the lower-echelon troops under their command, so much so began the iniation rites that later pervaded Zentraedi culture. Archaic weapon training with Zentreadi halberd was also introduced, a carry-over of Diwgadras'U ancient weapon training.
Because the Zentraedi had the same body morphology as natural Tyrolian, and because they were intelligent enough to learn complex skills, Diwgadras'U enjoyed a strong revival in proxy warfare circles. Very early on, rifles and other weaponry were created for the Zentraedi, but these weapons proved to be of dubious reliability, and Diwgadras'U remained the favored self-defence art of the early Zentraedi period.
Several problems began to develop with the warrior slaves of the Robotech Masters, however. The first and most extreme was that of escaped Zentreadi (who were perhaps culturally contaminated); before the widespread introduction of Zentreadi, an insubordinate previous Stellar Republic troop could rarely cause any havoc on his or her own, despite their combat training. The Zentraedi on the other hand were specifically bred to be merciless, feral killing machines. More than one colony was laid to waste after mass escapes of culturally contaminated Zentreadi (attributed to influences of Disciple of Zor) that eventually lead to hand-to hand slaughter of Zentraedi on both side (the Zentraedi loyalists vs Zentraedi rebels) using Diwgadras'U.
The second problem was over-specialization; Zentraedi by their nature were optimized creatures, best suited to fighting in any specific environment under harsh conditions. The Zentraedi were far more effective on the offensive, than the defensive, since on the offense they could maximize damages & ferocity on tactics and how they fought. As the Early Robotech Imperium Era progressed and the Robotech Masters began to expand further the fringes of the Empire & establish far-flung colonies on new & strange nearby worlds, so did the need of Zentreadi clone production with tenacity to combat menace must be increased tenfold. It became clear to the Robotech Masters that perhaps making basic Diwgadras'U as standard training within all Zentreadi ranks were a necessity