Fighting Style

Fighting Styles are systems of combat or approaches to battle; forms of taijutsu or the tactics favored in a fight. In taijutsu or ninjutsu, different fighting styles are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for physical education, exercise and combat.

For example, the taijutsu style known as Strong Fist is a both an 'External' style and a 'Hard' style martial art:
 * An 'external' martial arts style is a fighting style which is characterized by the focus on fast, explosive movements and developing the practitioner's physical strength and agility. Training regimes for external styles focus around the practitioner's muscular power, speed and application, developing their muscle memory, building up to the desired 'hard' physical level for real combat.  Flashback's of Rock Lee show him training rigourously for hours doing exercises such as punching and kicking a hard, wooden training post, hundreds of squats, as well as cardiovascular exercises such as skipping with a jump rope.
 * A 'Hard' martial arts style is a fighting style which is characterized by its approach by intercepting and countering an opponent's incoming force with equal and/or overwhelming force: In these styles, the practitioner either directly blocks the incoming attack with an attack of their own of head-on force or by cutting through the attack at an angle with one's own force.  These styles rely more on one's external power, the user's superior strength and physical conditioning, to be successful.

Another example of a fighting style is the taijutsu style known as Gentle Fist, which is a both an 'Internal' style and a 'Soft' style martial art:
 * An 'internal' martial arts style is a fighting style which is characterized by their emphasis on the use of the practitioner's mind to coordinate the leverage of the relaxed body, (as opposed to the use of brute strength,) and the internal development, circulation, and expression of their chakra. Training regimes for internal styles include meditation, (Neji Hyuga's hobby,) and exercising control over their internal chakra flow.  A practitoner of a internal style understands that an opponant is only as strong as their weakest joint.