Ripple

"My heart is resonating! With the heat of a raging fire! Feel the pounding beat of my pulse! Sunlight Yellow Overdrive! (震えるぞハート！燃え尽きるほどヒート！！刻むぞ血液のビート！！！)"

- Jonathan Joestar

The Ripple (波紋), is an energy used in an ancient form of martial arts known as Sendo (仙道).

Through self-controlled respiration, a person trained in the Ripple technique can produce an energy identical to the energy of the sun, which manifests as ripples throughout their body. This energy can be used in a wide range of techniques, and is fatal to Vampires, Zombies and the Pillar Men.

Ripple is the main source of power for the heroes of Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. It is also briefly featured in Stardust Crusaders.

Summary
The Ripple is an energy identical to the Sun's rays. The human body can create this energy through controlled breathing, producing ripples of energy propagating from the bloodstream to the rest of the body and to other objects in contact with it. The Ripple manifests itself as electricity-like sparks, and it can be seen by ordinary humans.

An object charged with Ripple energy will have one or several attributes enhanced by the energy, making it a more effective tool or weapon. Liquids such as water or oil conduct the Ripple especially well, with the ripples becoming visible in the liquid. However, while all materials can conduct the Ripple to some degree, only living organisms such as roses can retain Ripple energy. Joseph Joestar is shown to be able to channel the Ripple through his Stand, Hermit Purple; it is unknown if other types of Stands can do the same.

Though anyone can technically produce small amounts of Ripple energy, Will Anthonio Zeppeli explains that only one in ten thousand has the ability to be a Ripple user in practice. Only a few people have the willpower and therefore the discipline to control their breathing, notably those who have lived through great tragedies and kept their fortitude. However, the ability to use the Ripple is also a talent granted to people whose ancestors were Ripple users, and thus Joseph Joestar had a natural affinity for the Ripple without being proficient in using it.

Using the Ripple
Due to its identical nature to the positive energy of the Sun, the Ripple's primary uses are to heal ailments and combat undead creatures such as vampires or zombies.

Living organisms can be affected by Ripple attacks, but are not necessarily hurt by it. Will Anthonio Zeppeli used the Ripple to heal Jonathan Joestar's broken arm, and his grandson Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli later utilized it to control a woman during his fight with Joseph Joestar. Kars's Ripple energy, boasting several hundred times the power of Joseph's, caused the latter's flesh to melt almost instantly. Ripple is transferable between people, as both Will A. Zeppeli and his grandson Caesar transfer their Ripple to a Joestar shortly before their deaths. Ripple users can reject harmful substances in their bloodstream by ejecting it with the use of Ripple energy.

Producing the Ripple regularly also preserves the user's vitality, making them look younger and have more energy even in their old age, though this ability has limits.

To produce an optimized Ripple, users must precisely control the energy produced by their breathing. It typically requires focusing the energy before unleashing it all at once to create a powerful burst of Ripple. To extend the effects of the Ripple outside of the user's body, normally the user needs to touch the target. During that moment, the smaller the area of contact, the stronger the Ripple that is transmitted. For instance, touching with the tip of the fingers is more effective than touching with the whole palm of the hand. The Ripple can be transmitted through living beings, but substances like water, oil, and metal also have a relatively high conductivity. It's possible to use such substances as a medium to flow as well as to store the Ripple.

Tools
By imbuing an object with the Ripple, a Ripple user can perform several techniques in combination with their own tactics, allowing for a wide variety of fighting styles. Because of its versatile nature, many warriors use different weapons, ranging from a scarf to soap bubbles to clackers and even wine.

Techniques that flow the Ripple through a target are classified as "Overdrive" techniques, and are often named and colored after the medium they're used with. For instance, an Overdrive that produces fire is named Scarlet Overdrive, while an Overdrive transmitted through metal is named Metal Silver Overdrive. An object hit with the force of the Overdrive will carry Ripple energy through it, becoming lethal to the undead. Overdrive techniques can either heal and augment the physical abilities of an organism or damage them by vibrating the water inside their bodies.

Training The Ripple
Producing more than a small amount of Ripple energy requires the user to breathe a precise way. Thus, to enhance their ability to produce the Ripple and efficiently wield it in battle, a Ripple user must undergo harsh physical training to increase their breathing ability. Although the training is focused on the rhythm of one's breathing, Ripple masters often use physical exercises as well; these exercises can include prolonged swimming and balancing atop one's finger. Harsh masters have also designed lethal training regimens like the Hell Climb Pillar, which puts students in a life-or-death situation to push them to overcome their limits.

Tools to help train in producing the Ripple exist, such as a Ripple Breathing Mask which forces its wearer to constantly breathe and produce a Ripple or doesn't let the air through at all.

Those who want to fight with the Ripple also typically undergo martial arts training in order to acquire battle experience and fighting skills. Though Will A. Zeppeli and Jonathan Joestar train to use Sendō techniques alongside Ripple energy, some Ripple users like Joseph Joestar prefer to use tools with the Ripple, and others like Caesar Zeppeli utilize unpolished fighting styles rather than traditional martial arts techniques.

After completing Tonpetty's training, Zeppeli was able to run dozens of without catching his breath in Tibet's cold environment. An advanced high-level stage of training exists after that point known as the "Celestial Gate" (周天の法門), but details on what the training entails is unknown.

Weaknesses
Though Ripple users can utilize Ripple energy freely, destroy undead beings in a single strike, and turn even the most mundane of objects into lethal weapons, they are not without significant weaknesses.

A Ripple user must be able to consistently breathe; if this breathing is weakened or made arrhythmic due to injuries or other conditions, they slowly grow weaker and lose the ability to create Ripple energy, to the point where they can be easily defeated by a mere zombie. This weakness is notably exploited by Dio Brando when he mortally injures Jonathan, piercing his trachea and in the process preventing him from using the Ripple. Similarly, Ripple energy requires a strong flow of the user's blood to be used with any great strength. Dio develops a technique that can flash-freeze a Ripple user in seconds, halting their blood's flow and rendering them unable to attack. Additionally, Wamuu remarks during his fight with Caesar Zeppeli that Caesar's heavy blood loss prevents him from using the Ripple.

While Ripple energy is strong enough to smash through rock and brick, it is unable to smash through stronger substances like iron or steel, according to Will Zeppeli.

The Ripple is ineffective at removing an object from the user's body if said object is made of the user's own flesh, as seen by Joseph Joestar when he attempts to remove the Stand Empress from his body.

Techniques
Note: Due to the versatility of the Ripple and the near-universal ways of deploying it, there are very few shared techniques between Ripple users. Many of the techniques listed here are exclusive to individuals and do not represent the full spectrum available.

History
The origin of the Ripple technique is unknown, but it was created at some point 4,000 years before the events of Battle Tendency. Though its uses vary, it seems to have been primarily used to fight off the Pillar Men. After gaining the power of the Stone Mask, however, Kars and Esidisi easily slaughtered most of the world's Ripple users in 39 AD before returning into hibernation.

However, the technique lived on; as the Stone Masks spread across the world, the Ripple also became an offensive technique against the vampires and zombies created by the masks. Ripple users have built many devices and temples across the world to help them train and learn from one another. Two Ripple masters, Tonpetty and Lisa Lisa, aid Jonathan and Joseph Joestar respectively.

Gallery
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Trivia

 * According to Araki, the concept of "Rules" and psychic powers in the manga  by Mitsuteru Yokoyama helped him form the basis around the idea of Ripple.
 * The Ripple-based moves, such as the Overdrive, form the basis of some of Joseph's techniques in JoJo's Venture, as well as the entirety of Young Joseph's moves. When performing these Ripple moves using the strong attack button, both Josephs can be seen visibly breathing.