Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
215,041
edits
Good Old Fisticuffs: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (revise quote template spacing) |
No edit summary |
||
| (10 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:Pugilist.jpg|frame|Can't get more Old School than that.]]
Ah, the [[Fight Scene]]: Noble sport and elegant artform that elevates two combatants through ritualized combat, proving their worth as human beings by savagely beating each other upside the head with 2x4's or whatever else they can get their grubby little paws on. No matter what the [[Media Watchdog|censors]] say, nothing beats a savage beatdown. Or does it?
Cue the entrance of [[My Kung Fu Is Stronger Than Yours|Kung Fu]], ''Savate'', and other more choreograph-able fighting styles. What? So now, only monks and French dudes can kick ass? (don't even ''mention'' [[Gun Kata]]). What's a [[Bare-Fisted Monk]] who trained on the mean street of the [[City with No Name]] to do? Punch 'em with
Some films ''insist'' that their Average Joe, didn't-train-in-Tibet-or-live-in-a-French-ghetto hero can upstage and beat ''any'' fighting style because his rough and tumble streetwise fisticuffs is either more resourceful, more tenacious or less "frilly" than the competition. Never mind that their opponents weren't exactly studying ballet, and usually have years of training over the hero. For this same reason, the hero will usually beat them by outsmarting them into either being [[Hoist by His Own Petard]] or a [[Karmic Death]]. If any explanation is given for why this disparity always goes in the hero's favor, it's because the hero has [[Technician Versus Performer|"heart" while his opponent is more obsessed with good form,]] or is all flash and no substance.
While it may seem at first sight to be only about fighting with your fists (as in [[Real Life]] Boxing is considered a proper and deadly martial art), this trope go more in hand with learning to fight in the "hard way": by pure and constant brawling for your life and limb in dirty streets and harsh experience; no nonsense of training and mock battles, is either live or die (or be [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|brutally beaten]]) and do whatever it takes to keep breathing. It doesn't matter what you use for a fight as long is emphasized that the person [[Training
See [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty]] and [[Combat Pragmatist]]. If the hero (or the villain) is a threat not because of technique but innate [[The Gift|Gifts]] like [[Made of Iron|unnatural damage-soaking abilities]], he is probably [[Unskilled but Strong]].
{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* There's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFdBK4gdYcA a commercial for Heineken Light] where a gent with a handlebar mustache engages in an "old-timey boxing match."
== Anime and Manga ==
Line 22 ⟶ 20:
** Berserker is noted to have never taken any formal training: his raw talent is so good that he can routinely beat even highly skilled martial artists with his street fighting skills. He is eventually defeated by Tanimoto, who claims that [[Hard Work Hardly Works]] is a big, fat lie upon winning.
* Subverted in ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'', where Sanosuke, a brawler who gets by with [[Charles Atlas Superpower]] and [[Made of Iron]] challenges Saito to a fist fight. [[Weak but Skilled|Saito creams him with far better boxing technique.]]
** And played straight many, many times as well such as when he goes against opponent using strikes to the vital points. In so many words Sanosuke tells him to stop messing about and [[Just Hit Him|just give him a good hard slug already]]. When the opponent fails to comply, Sano obligingly demonstrates how it is done.
* Interesting Manga-example from ''[[Black God]]'' is Kuro. Kuro, a Mototsumitama, is often frowned upon for using boxing, a human fighting style, when she fights. Which is funny because she usually wins.
* Armstrong from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' uses fisticuffs with a side order of alchemy.
Line 37 ⟶ 35:
* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' and its sequels, Arf, Zafira and Reinforce uses unarmed combat in melee, unlike most characters who rely on weapons. This carries over to ''The Battle of Aces'', [[Demoted to Extra|though not for Arf]] [[Subverted Trope|until]] ''[[Subverted Trope|Gears of Destiny]]''. It should be noted, though, that the first two do use kicks as well. By ''ViVid'' the existence of Strike Arts and Kaiser Arts speaks of formalised martial arts coming into play.
** Something should be emphasized here. Reinforce punches through {{spoiler|Nanoha's}} magical shield ''with her bare hands'', only using the [[Elemental Punch]] afterwards.
* Joey/Jonouchi used to be quite the street punk near the beginning of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', and he got into fistfights a lot. Sometimes these fight happened for no reason, other times it was to defend Yugi... but he proves himself to be a badass who can break jaws and noses with a swift punch to the face. Some of the earlier "games" even involved him beating the crap out of people for the sake of friendship/revenge. As Duel Monsters became more important to the plot, [[Badass Decay|he stopped getting into fights altogether]], which he even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! R]]''.
* Played with in ''[[Holyland]]''. Most fighters have some martial arts training as a base, even if they adapt it to the needs of the street, and effectiveness varies. The closest ones to styleless brawling uncramped by martial arts training are Yuu and Katou, although neither sticks to just hands; Yuu eventually uses kicks and elbows, while Katou uses knees ([[Groin Attack|to the groin]]), headbutts and takedowns.
* Minai from ''[[Corpse Princess]]''. In the DVD exlusive prequel episode, when Minai is asked if she has any fighting skills after becoming a Shikabane Hime, she says she knows some boxing, which becomes her fighting style against Shikabane.
Line 43 ⟶ 41:
* Sure, Monkey D. Luffy from ''[[One Piece]]'' trained all right, but so far his official training was only shown to be survival training and endurance- Garp was never shown teaching him any hand-to-hand combat. Luffy apparently got strong from brawls with his two older brothers and his [[Rubber Man]] powers he obtained in early childhood gave him durability. But, it's implied by [[Word of God|Oda]] that the only technique he worked on as a child was the [[Rocket Punch|Gum Gum Pistol]], (although a recent anime filler showed him practicing his Fuusen technique, too) and confirmed by [[Word of God]] that he doesn't train, but comes up with attacks on the spot; his most commonly used ones involving the ol' fists.
** He also plays the trope pretty straight, beating highly trained Martial artists who have been taught several different and deadly techniques since a young age ([[Crowning Moment of Awesome|the very first Gum Gum Jet Bazooka and Gum Gum Jet Gatling, anyone?]]). And in Rob Lucci's defeat with the Jet Gatling, it was even because Luffy had more heart and determination than him. Also, as a child, he lived with bandits and played in a Trash Mountain, and eating or getting money meant beating/killing animals and thugs or being beaten/killed.
* ''[[
* From the prologue of ''[[All Rounder Meguru]]'': "The truth is, experienced fighting will beat out half assed karate any time, especially when the other guys are older." Even after the timeskip, Takashi gets his ass kicked by an ex-boxer bodyguard.
* This trope shows up in, of all places, ''[[Fist of the North Star]]''. In an anime all about glorifying ages-old (fictional) martial arts schools with legendary histories, Juza uses a completely made-up-himself style that allows him to fight [[Big Bad|Raoh]] on a nearly equal basis. Sure, he also has [[Charles Atlas Superpower
==
* ''[[Gotham Central]]'' features this as a frequent necessity since, though a comic book set in the world of [[Batman]], none of the characters are superheroes in any way, shape or form. As such, they are often forced to face off against "freaks" (supervillains) with only regular guns or, sometimes, just their bare hands. When Dr. Alchemy, a [[Flash]] villain, is brought to Gotham City and tries to escape, Renee Montoya is forced to beat him down with her bare hands after he turns all guns and metals in the room into poisonous and noxious elements (His name is Dr. ''Alchemy'', he can do stuff like that). Once she manages to drop him to the floor she ''keeps going'' (Some say [[Police Brutality]], others say...well, others also say [[Police Brutality]], but he ''[[Asshole Victim|really]]'' [[Asshole Victim|deserved it]]), and did it all despite the fact that he was armed with some bizarre alchemical superweapon.
* A storyline in the ''Robin'' comic book had him fighting Cassandra Cain, formerly the second Batgirl, who had just revealed that she'd made a [[Face Heel Turn]]. Robin manages to defeat Cassandra, who had received [[Training
** He learned from the best, apparently, as in a JLA comic just a few months later, Batman does this same thing to Karate Kid, [[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|a super martial artist from the 31st century]] whose [[Charles Atlas Superpower|fighting skills are so advanced he can fight Kryptonians despite being "only human."]] To the writer's credit, Batman doesn't win (merely stalemates his opponent until a superpowered ally can take him down), but he still lasts a lot longer than he had any business lasting.
* The comic ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]'' inverts this trope. While protagonist Jesse Custer does not know fancy martial arts, he knows how to fistfight, and also how to fight dirty. Over the course of the series he brawls with, and [[Curb Stomp Battle|curbstomps]], both armed opponents and people who are much larger and stronger than he is because he knows how to fight and they don't.
Line 55 ⟶ 53:
** Although Marv didn't just rely on his fists. He handcuffed Kevin to himself, which cramped Kevin's medium-range fighting style.
* In a 1970's issue of [[The Flash]], a robot [[Abraham Lincoln]] from the future beats an [[Evil Overlord]] (also from the future) via the use of good old fashioned 19th Century wrestling.
** Which is similar to this quote from ''Tales From the Bully Pulpit'':
{{quote|[[Abraham Lincoln]]: "Bring it, boy. [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|I'm gonna emancipate your teeth.]]"}}
* The comic ''[[Hard Graft]]'' features a main character whose main purpose in life appears to be using
* At least twice in [[Green Lantern]], once during the Sinestro corps war with Hal and Kyle taking on Sinestro all depowered
** and again between Kyle and Sinestro alone. The rings even say that fisticuffs are engaged.
Line 63 ⟶ 61:
{{quote|'''Puschov''':''*sweeps Tintin onto the ground*'' Yeah, pal, that's jiu-jitsu!
'''Tintin''': And this is a kick in the chest! }}
== Film ==
Line 94 ⟶ 91:
* A pugilism match (read: street brawl) is the climax of ''[[The Quiet Man]]''. The townspeople continually remind the combatants that "the Marquis of Queensbury Rules will be observed at all times."
* In the recent movie ''[[Sherlock Holmes (film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'', Holmes engages in a pugilism match. Watson is also shown to be a decent bare-knuckle boxer.
== Literature ==
* In ''[[Discworld]]'':
** The contrast between the Silver Horde and the various stereotypical "ninja" bodyguards/assassins they dispatch in the book ''[[
** In ''[[
** This entire trope is lampshaded in Discworld: Marquis of Fantailler (A thinly
** Otto von Chriek then subverts it in ''[[
* In [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon'', Mason is [[Your Worst Nightmare|menaced in his nightmares]] by a [[Knife Nut]]. After being councelled in the matter by a Malay medicine man, he defeats his dream-foe through the Gloucestershire tradition of kicking him in the shins.
* Played straight in the ''Dunk & Egg'' tales (prequels to the main story of ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''). Dunk is only a fair swordsman, but he is also quite tall, strong, and an experienced streetfighter. When a more skilled swordsman gets the better of him, he tends to grab hold of him and start tossing him around like a ragdoll.
* Subverted by [[Sherlock Holmes]], who is a trained boxer and martial artist, and in one story uses gentlemanly fisticuffs to beat the everloving crap out of a thug who thought he could discourage [[Badass Bookworm|that skinny little twit]] with a swift (and unsporting) backhand. Holmes is a bit scuffed up but jovial after that brawl, while the other guy gets carried away in a cart.
* Harry Potter, of all places. Wizards seem to consider hexing someone superior to just punching or [[Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him|shooting]] someone. However, that doesn't stop the Power Trio from slugging people (or getting slugged themselves).
** Second book: Millicent Bulstrode chucks her wand and gets Hermione into a headlock.
** Third book: Hermione slaps Malfoy.
*** Third Movie: Hermione punches Malfoy.
*** Third book and movie: Harry tackles Sirius before he even thinks of taking his wand out.
** Fifth book: Malfoy insults Mrs. Weasley and Lily Potter after a less-than-stellar Quidditch performance from Gryffindor. Harry and George proceed to pound the shit out of him, and Fred has to be held back by the rest of the team. Professor McGonagall tells Harry and George off for fighting like Muggles.
** Sixth book: Ron punches Harry for insulting Romilda Vane, who spiked the candy Ron ate with love potion (the candy was intended for Harry).
** Seventh book: Huge magical battle. Curses flying everywhere, everything's bewitched, magical creatures are proceeding to demolish Hogwarts. Ron punches Malfoy.
*** Can't really forget when Hermione [[Belligerent Sexual Tension|beats the crap]] out of [[Achilles in His Tent|Ron]] for a minute before she remembers that she's a witch and tries to hex him instead.
** Rubeus Hagrid is also rather fond of this (him not being a fully qualified wizard likely has a lot to do with it). Though he does use magic on occasion, he's more apt to use the insane strength granted by his giant blood. Examples:
Line 123 ⟶ 119:
* Near the beginning of ''[[Flashman|Royal Flash]]'' , Flashman witnesses an impromptu match between Otto von Bismarck and retired bareknuckle boxer John Gully. Gully dodges all of von Bismarck's punches until he is finally provoked into knocking the German down, demonstrating that there's more to boxing than wild swinging.
* In ''The California Voodoo Game'', the [[Awesome By Analysis]] villain winds up in a one-on-one fight with Dream Park's head of security. Although the villain's sophisticated martial arts training has always served him well in the game, Griffin is so furious at the man for murdering one of his trusted employees that he throws caution to the wind and ''tackles'' his opponent, pounding him so viciously without regard for his own injuries that his foe has no chance to utilize his fancy moves. "Two cats in a sack" is how the narrative describes it, and the villain proves the weaker cat.
== Live-Action TV ==
Line 135 ⟶ 130:
* The final battle of ''[[Kamen Rider Kuuga]]'' starts with two superpowered beings with the potential to destroy the planet; as they wear each other down, they lose the energy to maintain their transformations, at which point it turns into a bare-knuckle slugfest between their normal human forms.
* In ''Outlaws'', a private detective is menaced by a martial artist. The detective knocks him out with one punch. {{spoiler|It's understandable that the detective doesn't try martial arts himself, given that he's a former cowboy brought forward in time.}}
* Subverted in the [[Cold Open]] of an episode of ''[[Magnum, P.I.]]''. A triad member is meeting with a local to buy information. He makes a move that the local takes as a threat, and said local starts listing off all the martial arts styles he's beaten with
== Music ==
Line 142 ⟶ 136:
* [[Professor Elemental]] steps into the ring in boxing gloves and his "fighting trousers" in the video for his song, "Fighting Trousers." Still wearing his trademark pith helmet and [[Sherlock Holmes]] pipe.
== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Exalted]]'' First Edition uses the Brawl Ability to cover untrained hand-to-hand combat, while the Martial Arts Ability covers refined unarmed combat [[Martial Arts and Crafts|along with just about everything else]]. Second Edition merged them into one Ability to make room for War, leading to an odd situation where [[Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting|anything that could punch or kick knew Martial Arts]]. This includes ''horses''.
** ''[[Exalted]]'' Second Edition has Solar Hero Style, essentially Good Old Fisticuffs the Supernatural Martial Art, eschewing the subtle metaphorical effects of other Supernatural Martial Arts in favor of just hitting things ''really hard''.▼
* In ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]],'' while being an extreme [[Nice Guy]] is usually Bob's greatest strength, allowing him to attract allies and [[Talking the Monster to Death|talk monsters to death,]] the downside seems to be that he's [http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20101026.html really pretty worthless in a fistfight.]▼
*** And this being ''Exalted'', it takes Good Old Fisticuffs [[Serial Escalation]]. There's one Charm that allows you to punch people ''through walls'', and one to punch them '''into Hell'''. This, unsurprisingly, hurts a great deal.▼
* Jake English of ''[[Homestuck]]'' enjoys his fill of fisticuffs and old-fashioned wrestling.▼
* Mildly subverted in the original DC Heroes RPG by Maifair Games and the system's ''reincarnation'' as Blood Of Heroes by Pulsar Games. The martial Arts skill could be taken as-is, or could simply be used to represent ''Him Fight Good'' - whether it's Iron Fist's intense training, or the otherwise physically slow Juggernaut's ability to hit all but the most agile of opponents with his hamfists, to use Marvel Comics examples (is that a [[Take That]] ?).▼
** Equius doesn't enjoy it as much, but relies on FISTKIND as his [[Super Strength|ludicrous STRONGNESS]] makes him break every other weapon he'd rather use.▼
* The Brawling skill in ''[[GURPS]]'' is for "unscientific unarmed combat". It is costs less to reach a high level than skills like Karate or Boxing but gives a smaller damage bonus.▼
* ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'' applies this ''to a [[Wizard Duel]]''. After stealing Dr. Fate's helmet, a villain claims "Ha! Without your helmet, you are defenseless"--only for Fate to end their mystical duel with a few well-placed punches to the face.▼
** Also, Wildcat's ''entire'' raison d'etre.▼
* In ''[[Transformers Armada]]'' Scavenger utilizes his bare fists against a sword-wielding opponent and ''wins''. It probably helps that this opponent was a [[Kid Appeal Character|bumblebee]] and Scavenger himself is a [[Cool Old Guy]], and a [[The Big Guy|big one]] to boot.▼
* In one episode of [[My Gym Partner's a Monkey]], Jake gaining a "Mustache" inexplicably gives him 1337 skills with nunchucks, but Adam counters this by challenging to a round of fisticuffs. Subverted in that neither of them actually knows what comes next.▼
* [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|It's called Sokka style!]] [[Let's Get Dangerous|Learn it!]]▼
* Hilariously happens in [[American Dragon Jake Long]] when [[It Makes Sense in Context|Fu fights a magical hairless cat for an ancient jewel]]. The cat starts an acrobatic martial art move she declares to have learned in the Shaolin temple. Fu slugs her with a simple punch he learned at a bar in Bronx.▼
* Subverted in ''[[Re Boot]]''. Megabyte convinces Matrix to "fight like a real sprite" and toss his gun away for a fistfight. After the first punch sends Megabyte [[Punched Across the Room|flying across the room]] he immediately resorts to his [[Wolverine Claws]]. Then Matrix receives Andraia's trident. ▼
* Terry McGinnis in [[Batman Beyond]] uses these over a formal karate fighting style his predecessor used having first learned to fight on the street. It later proves very useful against {{spoiler|the Joker}}.▼
== Video Games ==
* This is Joker's fighting style in ''[[Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe]]'', complete with the traditional pose.
* Most of the combat in ''[[Zeno Clash]]''. While some enemies use elaborate spin kicks and martial arts, [[Player Character|Gant]]'s unarmed fighting style essentially boils down to bashing his foes with his fists until they get dizzy, then smashing their skulls against his kneecaps.
* In ''[[The Godfather (video game)|The Godfather]]: The Game'', you as Aldo Trapani don't have any fancy evasive rolls in the style of ''[[Devil May Cry]]''-esque "Stylish Action Games", [[Vacuum Hurricane Kick
* Of all games, ''[[Tekken]]'' has a few examples. In the original games, he various Jacks typically have "Brute Force" listed as their only style, and since they're all [[Mighty Glacier|gigantic robots]], it only makes sense. This started getting taken into overdrive with the newest games in the series, however, as we've had Lili, Miguel, and Alisa Bosconovitch introduced into the series. Just to sum up, Lili is a [[Alpha Bitch|wealthy ballerina]] and Miguel is a Spaniard (both have no attributed styles), and Alisa . . . [[Robot Girl|fights by detaching her own head and has ''friggin chainsaws on each arm!'']]
* At a meta level, you can consider fighting game players who train in arcades, repeatedly pitting themselves against targets that fight back, thus favouring [[Boring but Practical]] jabs and bread-and-butter combos. This contrasts with fighting game players who can use the home releases' training modes to perfect their knowledge of the moves against compliant dummies. Of course, who comes up tops when they square off is not set in stone. A home player may, having explored the depths of [[Awesome but Impractical]], come to stand by the simple combos, while an arcade player can very well show his dominance by going flashy-like.
Line 169 ⟶ 152:
* ''[[City of Heroes]]'' recently gained the Street Justice powerset, which is all about this kind of fighting, as opposed to Martial Arts. Both sets have their strengths over the other.
* [[Asura's Wrath|Asura's]] main Ffighting style is all about this.
* Tifa in ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' doesn't truly fight with her ''bare'' hands - the weapons she can equip are all gloves and gauntlets - but most of her attacks are punches, which is pretty remarkable in a game where many of the enemies are robots and other machines.
* Juliet's father in ''[[Lollipop Chainsaw]]'' is, like his daughter, [[The Hunter|a zombie hunter]], but doesn't need any weapon other than his bare hands.
== Web Comics ==
▲* In ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]],'' while being an extreme [[Nice Guy]] is usually Bob's greatest strength, allowing him to attract allies and [[Talking the Monster to Death|talk monsters to death,]] the downside seems to be that he's [http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20101026.html really pretty worthless in a fistfight.]
▲* Jake English of ''[[Homestuck]]'' enjoys his fill of fisticuffs and old-fashioned wrestling.
▲** Equius doesn't enjoy it as much, but relies on FISTKIND as his [[Super Strength|ludicrous STRONGNESS]] makes him break every other weapon he'd rather use.
==
▲* ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'' applies this ''to a [[Wizard Duel]]''. After stealing Dr. Fate's helmet, a villain claims "Ha! Without your helmet, you are defenseless"
▲* ''[[Exalted]]'' First Edition uses the Brawl Ability to cover untrained hand-to-hand combat, while the Martial Arts Ability covers refined unarmed combat [[Martial Arts and Crafts|along with just about everything else]]. Second Edition merged them into one Ability to make room for War, leading to an odd situation where [[Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting|anything that could punch or kick knew Martial Arts]]. This includes ''horses''.
▲** Also, Wildcat's ''entire'' raison d'etre.
▲** ''[[Exalted]]'' Second Edition has Solar Hero Style, essentially Good Old Fisticuffs the Supernatural Martial Art, eschewing the subtle metaphorical effects of other Supernatural Martial Arts in favor of just hitting things ''really hard''.
▲* In ''[[Transformers Armada]]'' Scavenger utilizes his bare fists against a sword-wielding opponent and ''wins''. It probably helps that this opponent was a [[Kid Appeal Character|bumblebee]] and Scavenger himself is a [[Cool Old Guy]], and a [[The Big Guy|big one]] to boot.
▲*** And this being ''Exalted'', it takes Good Old Fisticuffs [[Serial Escalation]]. There's one Charm that allows you to punch people ''through walls'', and one to punch them '''into Hell'''. This, unsurprisingly, hurts a great deal.
▲* In one episode of [[My Gym Partner's a Monkey]], Jake gaining a "Mustache" inexplicably gives him 1337 skills with nunchucks, but Adam counters this by challenging to a round of fisticuffs. Subverted in that neither of them actually knows what comes next.
▲* Mildly subverted in the original DC Heroes RPG by Maifair Games and the system's ''reincarnation'' as Blood Of Heroes by Pulsar Games. The martial Arts skill could be taken as-is, or could simply be used to represent ''Him Fight Good'' - whether it's Iron Fist's intense training, or the otherwise physically slow Juggernaut's ability to hit all but the most agile of opponents with his hamfists, to use Marvel Comics examples (is that a [[Take That]] ?).
▲* [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|It's called Sokka style!]] [[Let's Get Dangerous|Learn it!]]
▲* The Brawling skill in ''[[GURPS]]'' is for "unscientific unarmed combat". It is costs less to reach a high level than skills like Karate or Boxing but gives a smaller damage bonus.
▲* Hilariously happens in [[American Dragon: Jake Long]] when [[It Makes Sense in Context|Fu fights a magical hairless cat for an ancient jewel]]. The cat starts an acrobatic martial art move she declares to have learned in the Shaolin temple. Fu slugs her with a simple punch he learned at a bar in Bronx.
▲* Subverted in ''[[
▲* Terry McGinnis in ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' uses these over a formal karate fighting style his predecessor used having first learned to fight on the street. It later proves very useful against {{spoiler|the Joker}}.
== Real Life ==
* Most "self defense" styles are basically Good Old Fisticuffs, avoiding flashier moves in favor of simple, "dirty" techniques designed to finish a fight quickly in realistic circumstances. Combatives taught to soldiers and police officers are also of this variety, though police officers tend to have a focus on restraining techniques. A notable example is ''[[wikipedia:Krav Maga|Krav Maga]]'', which was developed by the [[Israelis With Infrared Missiles|Israel Defense Forces]]. Its aim is to incapacitate whoever you're fighting as quickly as possible. That may or may not extend to killing them.
** Also [[wikipedia:MCMAP|MCMAP]] (aka, wonderfully, "Semper Fu"), the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, which brings together the basics of many different, simple, overall very effective martial arts to form a style that allows for non-lethal subduing of a target as well as lethal techniques. It was created so that Marines wouldn't always have to shoot somebody to resolve a situation.
* A mixed bag in the sport of [[Mixed Martial Arts]], which demystified most traditional martial arts and revealed them to be less effective than simple boxing and wrestling in a one-on-one fight. Being able to keep yourself at arms length from your opponent and knowing what to do when fighting on the ground did wonders in those early fights (about 75% of matches end up on the ground in some way). In early MMA bouts, many traditional martial artists quickly abandoned their styles' polished moves for wild haymakers and bull rushes. On the other hand, some traditional martial arts have proven effective in the sport, such as Muay Thai and wrestling, which are considered cornerstones of the sport.
** See [http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q83/Mattiasblogger/UFC49/yveskojosh.gif this rare example] where ''both'' fighters, Yves Edwards and Josh Thomson, attempt unorthodox techniques.
** Many modern fighters have karate or taekwondo training in their backgrounds, though the styles and extent used in competition vary, with UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida being ''the'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120321220849/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/josh_gross/05/28/rankings/index.html most] [https://web.archive.org/web/20110514174154/http://www.mma-core.com/gifs/_Lyoto_Machida_Drops_Rashad_Evans_UFC_98?gid=10000744&tid=100 overt] [http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/5/29/892467/bloody-elbow-judo-chop-the-karate example] in MMA.
** Machida vs. Shogun I on the other hand was an odd subversion of this trope, where at one point both fighters adopted traditional stances from their respective striking backgrounds. While many see Shogun as having won that fight, it should be noted that he had ''greatly'' adapted his style compared to his earlier days.
** In addition, "flashier" moves such as flying knees, spinning back kicks or spinning back fists, and exotic BJJ holds sometimes prove effective in competition, but also can backfire if not properly used. For this reason, fighters usually stick to basic, less risky moves.
** In one example, at UFC 107 Dutch heavyweight Stefan Struve attempted a flying knee, but misjudged the
** Part of the reason that leg locks are rare in MMA are both the greater potential for sudden injury compared to other holds, but as Eddie Bravo (teaching a no-gi jiu-jitsu style called "10th Planet") pointed out, they're the ''only'' submission holds in grappling or MMA where both fighters can simultaneously attempt them.
* In popular culture, ancient Eastern martial arts are often perceived as superior or more advanced than Western martial arts since they are preserved and practiced by far more people. In fact, historical Western martial arts were just as advanced and taken just as seriously as Eastern martial arts in their time. However, as technology changed, archaic Western styles were largely abandoned in favor of new styles, while archaic Eastern styles were preserved and transformed into cultural cornerstones. Even still, many traditional Western styles survive as sports, such as fencing, boxing, wrestling, and archery, just as Eastern styles survive as kendo, kickboxing, judo, sumo, etc.
** As UFC heavyweight Frank Mir (with a ''kenpo'' background) noted however about traditional martial arts for competition, the key is whether or not one trains realistically.
*** Of course, when you train traditional martial arts realistically, they tend to look like
* Second World War combatives (the Fairbairn-Sykes method) are the [[Combat Pragmatist]] and [[Glass Cannon]] of martial arts, focusing on attack (and on exploiting weaknesses in judo, which a lot of Nazis knew) and eschewing blocks and grappling. This approach sounds like hillbilly kung fu, but it works extremely well; the
** To quote Richard Dunlop: "All of us who were taught by Major Fairbairn soon realized that he had an honest dislike for anything that smacked of decency in fighting."
*** Bear in mind that, according to [[Wikipedia|the Other Wiki]] Fairbairn's training consisted of [[Badass Army|the Royal Marines]], jujitsu, Chinese martial arts and ''[[Taught By Experience|600 non-training fights]]''. He also developed techniques for knife-fighting, bayonet fighting, and "Shooting to live with the one-handed gun". Fairbairn was [[badass]].
* After Yom Kippur War, UN Peace Keepers of UNEF II were ordered to establish a Check Point on Kilometerpost 119 in Sinai. The area was controlled by Israel Defence Forces, who resisted the idea, but since the IDF soldiers were not authorized to open fire on UN and Peacekeepers were not allowed to fire unless fired to, the ownership of the post was decided with Good Old Fistcuffs.
* The [[National Hockey League|Philadelphia Flyers]] of the 1970's were known around the NHL as the "Broad Street Bullies" for their preferred method of playing hockey by way of fists and not sticks. Although many were critical of their behavior (especially those who preferred the style and elegance of hockey and hated seeing goonish play ruin it), it did get them back-to-back [[Stanley Cup]] championships in '74 and '75.
* [[Uwe Boll]] once challenged his critics to back up their disparaging words by taking him on in the boxing ring. This did little to make people take him seriously; he was only too happy to actually follow up on this challenge against critics who barely knew which end of their fist was supposed to go against Boll's face, but [[Miles Gloriosus|he was unaccountably busy when those who had some kind of pugilistic experience took him up on his challenge.]]
* Although the cane fighting gets more attention, boxing/pugilism was a key element of Bartitsu, the mixed martial art developed by Edward William Barton-Wright in 1898.
* At one time [[Quintessential British Gentleman|high class Englishmen]] would go slumming it, either out of fashion, or just to Get Away From It All. If they got into a quarrel with a poor man in the process they could not fight a duel (because duels were for gentlemen). But they could not allow a commoner to [[Honor Before Reason|beat them in manliness.]] So they would themselves fight fisticuffs on such occasions. Hence, "the manly art of fisticuffs."
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Fight Scene]]
[[Category:This Index Is Ready to Rumble]]
▲[[Category:Good Old Fisticuffs]]
| |||