Shadow of the Dancing Leaf


 * Debut (Anime): Episode 22
 * Debut (Manga): Chapter 37

The Shadow of the Dancing Leaf is a Taijutsu technique that is used to position a ninja's opponent into a vulnerable aerial position. The ninja will first quickly appear below their opponent, then with a switch upper kick they will launch their target into the air. The ninja will then jump into the air to "shadow" the target with the target's back to their chest. Since this is the opponents blind spot, the user can have various ways of executing the dance with a variety of combos in almost any fashion. Rock Lee uses the Shadow of the Dancing Leaf to place his opponent into a position to do his Front Lotus technique. Sasuke would go on to copy this move to set up his opponent for his Lion Combo. Sasuke could however use the Shadow of the Dancing Leaf after he copied it with his Sharingan, but because he hadn't had the same training as Lee, he couldn't avoid the body strain the technique carries.