Chakra Control (チャクラコントロール,
chakura kontorōru) is a term that refers to the control of one's chakra and aptitude at controlling it. In Naruto, chakra takes time and a great deal of training to gradually build up. Thus, the key is not actually having chakra, but being able to sufficiently control and conserve it. Everyone has chakra, but only skilled ninja can correctly
"mould" and "manipulate" it to its fullest extent.
Moulding chakra involves the extraction of energies from both the body's cells and the mind's consciousness, then mixing them together within the individual. The amount of each energy will differ based on the type of technique the ninja wishes to execute. In other words, a ninja could create too much or too little chakra for a given technique, resulting in the chakra being used inefficiently. In addition, even if a ninja is able to mould the correct amount of chakra, if they cannot manipulate the chakra properly, the desired technique will not be as effective or will not execute at all. Wasting energy will also create weaknesses like early exhaustion, which would hinder the ninja's capacity to fight long-term battles. General training methods for improving one's moulding and manipulation of chakra are the Leaf Concentration, Tree Climbing, and Water Walking exercises.
As an in-between stage, some ninja can partially manipulate their chakra. This means they can use their chakra, but not effectively control it, which results in a poorly executed technique, a prime example is Naruto trying to use the Academy Clone Technique. To manipulate their chakra more easily, hand seals can be used. With these hand seals, users can control their chakra with higher efficiency, allowing them to execute their techniques more effectively. Different techniques also require the use of different hand seals.
When creating a ninjutsu, the two methods of manipulating chakra are referred to as Shape Transformation and Nature Transformation:
- Shape Transformation deals with controlling the form, movement, and potency of chakra.
- Nature Transformation usually deals with changing the physical properties of chakra into an element. There is also the Nature Transformation of Yin and Yang, which deals with changing the ratio of spiritual and physical energies within chakra.
These two methods can be implemented separately or together in order to create a technique.
The general term for the exact moulding and proper manipulation of chakra is called
"chakra control". People with skilled chakra control are usually Medical-nin or Sensor-types, both of which requires extreme control over chakra to be effective. Genjutsu apparently also requires good chakra control.
A good way to build up chakra in the body is to spin it into a tight spiral. Whether to spin the chakra left or right is dependent on the way the user's hair grows, either to the right or left.[4][5] An opponent can negate a technique by absorbing it and reversing the spin of the chakra within their own body.[6]
