Bare-Fisted Monk: Difference between revisions

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[[File:477px-~~YangDS_4309~~.jpg|link=Final Fantasy IV|thumb|400px|Don't let the polka-dots fool you. He's ''more'' than capable of beating you from here to Tibet and back.]]

[[File:477px-YangDS 4309.jpg|link=Final Fantasy IV|thumb|400px|Don't let the polka-dots fool you. He's ''more'' than capable of beating you from here to Tibet and back.]]

{{quote|''"He can't use [[Functional Magic|Ninjutsu]] or [[Master of Illusion|Genjutsu]]. That's why...he spent all his time on [[Good Old Fisticuffs|Taijutsu]]. He worked hard and [[When All You Have Is a Hammer|concentrated everything on Taijutsu.]] Even if he can't do any other Jutsu, he won't lose to anyone. He's a Taijutsu specialist."''|'''Might Guy''' talking about Rock Lee, ''[[Naruto]]''}}

The [[Bare-Fisted Monk]] excels in melee attacks without wielding weapons.

The '''Bare-Fisted Monk''' excels in melee attacks without wielding weapons.

Rather than finding flashy new equipment or learning new spells, a [[Bare-Fisted Monk]] draws on their own strength. Their main advantage is that they can passively keep improving their skills without shelling out cash. Their main disadvantage is that they can't rapidly leapfrog ahead in power by shelling out cash.

Rather than finding flashy new equipment or learning new spells, a '''Bare-Fisted Monk''' draws on their own strength. Their main advantage is that they can passively keep improving their skills without shelling out cash. Their main disadvantage is that they can't rapidly leapfrog ahead in power by shelling out cash.

[[Bare-Fisted Monk]]s have an unfortunate tendency to [[Can't Catch Up|fall behind in the endgame]], when everyone else is wielding [[Infinity+1 Sword|mighty artifacts of yore]] and they're still throwing punches.

'''Bare-Fisted Monk'''s have an unfortunate tendency to [[Can't Catch Up|fall behind in the endgame]], when everyone else is wielding [[Infinity+1 Sword|mighty artifacts of yore]] and they're still throwing punches.

Occasionally, they will have weapons they equip, but they either don't do much, or actually lower their attack, which if these weapons can only be used by them, makes one wonder why they exist in the first place. Armor restrictions are also typical.

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Compare with the [[Power Fist]], which is a piece of equipment that augments unarmed attacks. Not to be confused with [[Good Old Fisticuffs]], which is when the ''lack'' of a fighting style and weapons defeats people who have both.

Subtrope of [[Weapon of Choice]], and pretty much exclusively the province of [[Warrior Monk]]s (sometimes, even those [[All Monks Know Kung Fu|from Western religions]]). Not applicable when ''everyone'' fights unarmed, of ~~course -- there~~'s nothing surprising about [[Rocky (film)|Rocky]] fighting with bare fists, since... well.. that's the ''point''. Ironically, the order of Monks that popular culture usually equates with bare-fisted fighting (those of the Shaolin Temple) also learns to master multiple weapons for holistic development.

Subtrope of [[Weapon of Choice]], and pretty much exclusively the province of [[Warrior Monk]]s (sometimes, even those [[All Monks Know Kung Fu|from Western religions]]). Not applicable when ''everyone'' fights unarmed, of course—there's nothing surprising about [[Rocky (film)|Rocky]] fighting with bare fists, since... well.. that's the ''point''. Ironically, the order of Monks that popular culture usually equates with bare-fisted fighting (those of the Shaolin Temple) also learns to master multiple weapons for holistic development.

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* There are several unarmed melee users in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', but the best example here is probably [[Catgirl|Lieze Lotte]], Chrono's close combat teacher. As shown during {{spoiler|her stint as one of the [[Mask of Power|masked men]] in ''A's''}}, she fights using unarmed combat exclusively, never using offensive spells even once.

** Also, all of the fighting until now in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid]]'' has been carried out in melee (at most, with magic-augmented melee attacks).

** The main contributors to the [[Bare-Fisted Monk]] department in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|StrikerS]]'' are the Nakajima sisters, Subaru and Ginga, who turn out to be {{spoiler|[[Hollywood Cyborg|Type Zero Combat Cyborgs]]}}.

** The main contributors to the Bare-Fisted Monk department in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|StrikerS]]'' are the Nakajima sisters, Subaru and Ginga, who turn out to be {{spoiler|[[Hollywood Cyborg|Type Zero Combat Cyborgs]]}}.

* Scar from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' was a monk before he became a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|counter-genocider]]. He still fights with his bare hands after forsaking God in favour of revenge, but [[Touch of Death|adds in destructive alchemy to the mix]].

* Minai from ''[[Shikabane Hime]]'' fights Shikabane using hand-to-hand combat and [[Power Fist|spiked gauntlets]], unlike her fellow Shikabane Hime who all use guns, swords or other weapons.

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*** Which sounds completely awesome, [[Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards|until you realize...]]

*** The Monk from the third-party 3rd edition supplement ''Dungeonomicon'' manages to break out of the [[Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards|Linear Warrior]] mold by augmenting their Bare Fisted attacks with [[Supernatural Martial Arts]].

*** The 4e monk is a bit odd in by and large treating any weapons he is proficient with as ''implements''. Thus, when using any of his special monk attack powers, the attack roll, base damage, and other effects are set by the discipline used ''regardless'' of whether it's executed barehanded or with, say, a dagger or spear. A magical weapon still grants its specifically magical bonuses when used this ~~way -- but~~ since monks also get access to ki focus implements, which for game purposes leave the hands free and provide the same enhancement bonuses and their own special effects, such a weapon is never strictly needed just to remain competitive.

*** The 4e monk is a bit odd in by and large treating any weapons he is proficient with as ''implements''. Thus, when using any of his special monk attack powers, the attack roll, base damage, and other effects are set by the discipline used ''regardless'' of whether it's executed barehanded or with, say, a dagger or spear. A magical weapon still grants its specifically magical bonuses when used this way—but since monks also get access to ki focus implements, which for game purposes leave the hands free and provide the same enhancement bonuses and their own special effects, such a weapon is never strictly needed just to remain competitive.

* Any player character from an Eastern-style [[Tabletop Game]] will probably know how to kick ass with his bare hands.

** Any character except the Killer, Techie or Sorcerer from ''[[Feng Shui]]''.

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** Monks in ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' ditch the weak endgame trend of barefist fighters; they start off with naturally high vitality and hp, getting to the point where they have several hundred more hitpoints than "tank" jobs of their level, and with multiple passive traits and abilities are among the best damage dealing and pvp jobs in the game.

** This also pops up in ''[[Chrono Trigger]]''; the party gets tossed into a prison without weapons or armour, or even a way to swap party members, and until you find where the jailers have hidden your equipment, any enemies the party encounters will automatically defeat them and throw them back in jail. ''Unless'' you have the bare-handed fighter Ayla in the party, in which case she can start tearing through bad guys as soon as you get out of your cell.

*** Ayla is notable also because she is an exception to the "weakens by endgame" tendency. At higher levels she can still do more damage with her bare fists than ''Crono with his [[Infinity+1 Sword]].'' And at level 96+ <ref>Way higher level than you'll ever need to be in order to win the game, but whatever</ref>, critical hits with her fists do a ''guaranteed'' [[Cap|9999 damage]].

*** Ayla is notable also because she is an exception to the "weakens by endgame" tendency. At higher levels she can still do more damage with her bare fists than ''Crono with his [[Infinity+1 Sword]].'' And at level 96+,<ref>Way higher level than you'll ever need to be in order to win the game, but whatever</ref> critical hits with her fists do a ''guaranteed'' [[Cap|9999 damage]].

** [[Final Fantasy Tactics]] goes here as well. [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|I like the idea of punching out dragons]], though. As with the ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'' Monks, the Monks in ''Tactics'' fight barehanded but can do just as much, if not more, damage as the armed characters. They also have the "Brawler" support ability which allows non-Monk characters to also fight barehanded and deal comparable damage. And this is a particularly good idea too, as barehanded attacks are potentially some of the most powerful attacks you can put out, with only some of the rare weapons being able to out-pace the damage done by a properly equipped (with mere store-bought items) Monk.

** ''[[Final Fantasy II]]'' is a strange case. ''All'' characters can learn to tear enemies apart with their bare hands by attacking without weapons often enough and fists are one of the faster 'weapons' to [[Cap]] if the player focuses on them.

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* In all [[SaGa]] games, all characters have the ability to Punch (or Kick.) In ''[[SaGa]] Frontier'', using nothing but punch techniques leads to one of the most [[Game Breaker|game breaking]] skills in the series.

* ''[[Eternal Sonata]]'' has Falsetto, who despite using no weapons, is still capable of dealing massive damage.

* The Fighter class in ''[[Dragon Quest III]]'' is basically this. Naturally, they use claws to keep ~~up -- something~~ hinted at by a character revered for taking down a bear in hand-to-hand combat.

* The Fighter class in ''[[Dragon Quest III]]'' is basically this. Naturally, they use claws to keep up—something hinted at by a character revered for taking down a bear in hand-to-hand combat.

** ''[[Dragon Quest VI]]'' has a Martial Artist class (as the Fighter class has been retranslated as), though it's arguable whether it fits since weapon and armor selections are not based on class in that game.

** There's also one in ''[[Dragon Quest VII]]'', though it only has a partial effect on what the user can/cannot equip. (Mainly it's used to teach special moves.)

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* The Monk class in [[Diablo III]] is this, unless you have his using a bo staff or brass knuckles. Any other weapon you put on him, while you will get all the stats form it, will remain at his hip while he punches fools to death.

** For added points, he learns a technique that has him [[Ludicrous Gibs|channeling]] [[Fist of the North Star|Kenshiro]], [[You Are Already Dead|of all people]].

* In ''[[MadWorld]]'', {{spoiler|the Black Baron}} reveals himself to be one in the {{spoiler|very last}} boss fight. Weapons seem kind of redundant when you're jacked enough to perform non-comical [[Megaton Punch~~|Megaton Punches~~]] and create localized tornadoes.

* In ''[[MadWorld]]'', {{spoiler|the Black Baron}} reveals himself to be one in the {{spoiler|very last}} boss fight. Weapons seem kind of redundant when you're jacked enough to perform non-comical [[Megaton Punch]]es and create localized tornadoes.

* By cross-training your dwarves in ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' with various tasks like mining, crafting professions and bookkeeping (yes) they can become legendarily strong, agile and tough. Then train them as wrestlers and they will literally scatter limbs and body parts of their enemies across the landscape with their bare hands.

* In ''[[Rune Factory 3]]'', the main character can Brawl when {{spoiler|he learns to transform into a Golden Woolly}}. He cannot wield weapons when Brawling, but with practice can deal a huge amount of damage.

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*** In that sense, the trope differs slightly for real life examples. Examples like Masutatsu Oyama or practitioners of Iron Palm would probably either train in armed combat alongside unarmed methods or eschew combat altogether. The Shaolin monks might qualify for both options, though, being both well schooled in weapons and pacifistic.

* Monks in ''Zangband'' lose their special monk attacks when wielding weapons, and lose bonuses when wearing heavy armor. Their magic skills are fairly good, though.

* The Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game has two monsters that fit this ~~trope -- Monk~~ Fighter and Master Monk. Both are (inexplicably) Rock-Types, both are seen smashing rocks with their hands (Fighter) and feet (Master), and both come with useful ~~effects -- when~~ your Fighter battles, your life points don't feel it, and Master Monk can attack twice.

* The Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game has two monsters that fit this trope—Monk Fighter and Master Monk. Both are (inexplicably) Rock-Types, both are seen smashing rocks with their hands (Fighter) and feet (Master), and both come with useful effects—when your Fighter battles, your life points don't feel it, and Master Monk can attack twice.

** They also get two support ~~cards -- Lone~~ Wolf, and Kaminote Blow. Kaminote Blow in particular makes it so that, during the turn it's played, any monster attacked by your Monk Fighter or Master Monk will invariably DIE at the end of the battle. This is made sufficiently noteworthy due to the fact that its card picture shows Master Monk shattering the (3000-Defense-to-his-1900-Attack) Millenium Shield with his BARE FIST. Thus securing the Monks a spot on this page.

** They also get two support cards—Lone Wolf, and Kaminote Blow. Kaminote Blow in particular makes it so that, during the turn it's played, any monster attacked by your Monk Fighter or Master Monk will invariably DIE at the end of the battle. This is made sufficiently noteworthy due to the fact that its card picture shows Master Monk shattering the (3000-Defense-to-his-1900-Attack) Millenium Shield with his BARE FIST. Thus securing the Monks a spot on this page.

* Black Belt from 8 Bit Theater is based on the character class from the original ''[[Final Fantasy]]''. Not only is he capable of highly effective hand to hand combat but either his training or his Munchausen-esq foolishness allows him to utterly defy the laws of physics.

* Princess {{spoiler|Suzushiro Shikikagura}} from ''[[Princess Waltz]]'' is this, made from equal parts Hotblooded and [[Determinator]]. Funnily enough, she becomes rather cocky whenever the fighting starts, which is a stark contrast to [[Proper Lady|how she usually is]] outside of them.