#( . hm. wait. grimm’s actually the same. likes fighting with his hands. doesn’t draw his blade unless he thinks you’re worth it.

[dethberri]

if there’s one thing that’s always irked me about ichigo’s fighting style as a shinigami, it’s that he never really utilizes mixed martial arts while in combat.  i get that he can’t exactly counter a blade with his bare legs / arms ( or maybe he can, considering shinigami with high enough levels of reiryoku have an innately activated, highly effective armoring technique akin to that of hierro ( don’t even get me started on all the passive hollow abilities i still want to give him after the blood war oml ); and ichigo’s never really been known to throttle his reiatsu, regardless of whatever he’s doing ( he legit sucks at maintaining active control lbr ))).  anyway, he’s trained in martial arts since he was a toddler, both professionally and through his father’s relentless ambushing, also can’t forget this dude’s literally fought his way through public schooling and he has legs for actual miles.  like, are you shitting me?   i say he uses martial arts in all combat.  fight me.

most know better than to fuck with the monstrous presence residing in karakura, especially after the war(s)—like who isn’t aware of the savior of all three worlds at that point—and the ones stupid enough to bet with their lives probably don’t warrant zangetsu’s edge.  brandishing his zanpakutō just to engage in combat with some small fry enemy… it’s excessive.  outrageously so.  it’s overkill to the point of cruelty.  there’s a good chance ichigo will even end up feeling bad.  because he’s an empathetic sap who cares way too much about everyone and everything, which unfortunately includes enemies armed to the teeth and at the ready to chop him up into little pieces.  this kid ages me.

anyway, ichigo fights just fine with his arms and legs.  in fact, he becomes so well acquainted with the courses of conflict that he eventually starts to forgo drawing zangetsu in favor of utilizing hand-to-hand combat.  it helps hone his reiatsu control ( defense ) and gives him the occasional decent workout.  maybe.  depends on the opponent, and if they last for longer than a minute.