Gun Kata: Difference between revisions

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The '''Gun Kata''' is a firearm-based martial art used by Kurt Wimmer and Jim Vickers in their 2002 film ''[[Equilibrium]]''. As opposed to the much more famous [[Bullet Time]] popularized by ''[[The Matrix]]'', it consists of [[The Gunslinger]] dodging bullets by assuming a set of [[Asskicking Pose|predefined body positions]], which are theoretically supposed to reduce their body area exposed to enemy fire to nigh zero, all while raining lead upon the said [[Faceless Goons|enemy]] with their [[Guns Akimbo]] [[Offhand Backhand|without even aiming at them]]. In his next film, ''[[Ultraviolet (film)|Ultraviolet]]'', Wimmer further expanded the technique by allowing an unarmed [[Action Girl]] to assume such positions among the multiple enemies so that they ''[[Deadly Dodging|shoot each other]]'' instead. May serve as a pseudoscientific [[Justified Trope|justification]] for the existence of graduates of the [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]].

Compare and contrast to [[Gun Fu]].

 

* In ''[[Madlax]]'' (2004), the titular [[Action Girl]] uses Gun Kata-like technique in the final episode during the [[Church Shootout]]. {{spoiler|Although she not so much ''dodges'' bullets, as is [[Immune to Bullets|unaffected by them]]...}}

** In most of her fights, it's not so much a kata as it is a dance - with the dance steps somehow taking her where the bullets aren't. She does this with ''her eyes closed''.

* Harima ([[Guns Akimbo]], no less) and Hanai engage in a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIYBQ2Ff7yA GunKata battle] in the second season of ''[[School Rumble]]'' (2006), with each of their pistols firing on full automatic. This is probably due to special effects added in later by Akira, since they were supposed to be armed only with BB guns.

* In the final episode of ''[[Trigun]]'', Vash and the [[Big Bad]] added an interesting element in their Revolver Kata. At several points they would attempt to stop the other from firing, by holding the revolver barrel so it could not spin. Similarly they both forced the other's gun to snap open, causing the bullets to fall out of the chambers. This was only after the [[Wave Motion Gun]] segment of the fight. The fight consists of gun kata stylizing. Pulling a trigger on a gun across the room using a string, throwing several rounds at your opponent and then shooting them to make them explode, and after they emptied each other's chambers of all but one quickly-reloaded bullet, the most HARDCORE game of Russian Roulette ever.

* In the second season of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'', Lockon uses a technique very similar to Gun Kata for his [[Guns Akimbo]]-slinging [[Humongous Mecha]]. In ''[[Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer|A Wakening Of The Trailblazer]]'', he does this in conjunction with dozens of [[Attack Drone]]s for all-out [[Beam Spam]]ming mayhem.

* Mana Tatsumiya of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' has been seen using Gun Kata from time to time.

* Spike from ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' uses Gun Kata when fighting {{spoiler|his nemesis Vicious, most evident in the finale where he parries Vicious's sword with his gun.}}

* In the ''[[Mazinkaiser SKL]]'' OAV series, the eponymous [[Super Robot Genre|Super Robot]] uses this technique. (Along with a healthy dose of [[Gun Fu]]) It [[Shout-Out|even acknowledges it]] by striking a pose directly from ''[[Trope Namer|Equilibrium]]'' before absolutely slaughtering Kiba's men. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bhhjFASuk Check it out yourself].

* The Butei in ''[[Hidan no Aria]]'' utilize Gun Kata as a martial art called "Arukata", in which they use the premise that both combatants are wearing bulletproof vests.

 

* White Wolf's [[Exalted]] ...

** ... has a style of [[Supernatural Martial Arts]] called the "Righteous Devil Style" which has been described as applying Gun Kata to [[Rule of Cool|hand-held flamethrowers]].

** ... mostly relies on short-range flamethrower-type firearms and long-range energy weapons for personal ranged weapons; but for those that believe [[Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better]], there's also an item called a "Prayer Piece," which is a lot closer to a [[Real Life]] revolver.

* Ares Firefight in ''[[Shadowrun]]'' was developped specifically to mimic those types of movies. To quote the book: "In 2068, Ares Macrotechnology unveiled a completely new martial arts form based on the popular image of a gunfighter whirling through a melee with a pistol in each hand, shooting as much as punching and kicking. The product found its market in eager young gunslingers raised on a steady diet of trideo action flicks."

== Video Games ==

 

* Lady and Dante in the [[Cutscene Power to the Max|cutscenes]] for ''[[Devil May Cry]] 3''. Also, Dante's fighting style "[[The Gunslinger|Gunslinger]]" has several moves resembling Gun Kata. A early cutscene in ''[[Devil May Cry]] 4'' also involves Dante and Nero putting Gun Kata maneuvers through their paces against each other. New trailers for the Devil May Cry reboot, by Ninja Theory, shows a young Dante once again performing moves resembling Gun Kata.

* In [[Wild ARMs 5]], before the second to final boss fight in the game Dean pulls off this while warming up with the final bad guy. The bad guy uses a "sword" but it still counts.

* Reiji and Xiaomu, main characters of ''[[Capcom vs. Whatever|Namco x Capcom]]'' have a combo attack called "Juu no Kata" (Which translates to "Gun Kata"). In their second appearance in ''[[Super Robot Wars]] OG Saga: [[Endless Frontier]]'' their finishing poses parody ''Equilibrium'' and ''Ultraviolet'' respectively.

* ''[[City of Heroes]]'' players were begging for this for years. Dual Pistols are in the game now, and many of the power's animations resemble Gun Kata. You can also switch between types of ammo strategically, depending on whether you'd rather slow, debuff or heap extra damage on your foes.

* Shania's bodyguard Natan from ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: From the New World'' uses this, although game-wise he functions like a [[Mighty Glacier]].

* [[Fetish Fuel Station Attendant]] Luna from ''[[Vanguard Princess]]'' uses this and kicking as her primary form of attack.

* In [[Gungrave]], the main character Beyond The Grave uses the full range of gun-kata from ''Equilibrium'' (and some of ''[[Desperado]]'' thrown in for good measure). . Grave will stand in one spot, spinning, jumping and ducking while firing [[Guns Akimbo|two]] [[Hand Cannon|13mm handguns]]. This is called the bullet dance (or Burst Mode), which allows Grave to fire 360 degrees. One odd fact is that the use of the recoil of the guns to spin him from side to side in mid-air. He also uses the weapons in his coffin, a large variety of machine guns, rocket launchers, missile launchers and cannon in a gunkata combination. Also, the pose made in ''Equilibrium'' where one gun is pointed up, the other down to form a cross, is one of the signature pose for the game. In the sequel, one of Grave's final Special Attacks/Demolition Shots is "Executioner's Blood", which is the standard burst but at least [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|five times greater in power]], complete with [[Repeat Cut|multiple view angles]] and a [[Asskicking Pose|vanity pause]]. The game also borrows from guns in a coffin, as Grave is technically an undead hero. Unfortunately, the animation removed most of the gunkata, focusing on the 'Godfather' plot instead.

* ''[[Doom RL]]'' has a trait named Gun Kata. It lets you fire pistols for free after dodging and reloads them when you kill something.

* [[The Gunslinger]] class in ''[[Ragnarok Online]]'' has a rendition of [[Equilibrium]]'s dark room scene as one of the skills for handguns. Among lots of other stuff with other kinds of weapons.

* Learning how to play [[Bullet Hell]] games is almost akin to this art. Since the projectiles are slow enough and typically shoot in a defined pattern, in order to score hits you have to set yourself up not only to manipulate where the enemy shoots and thus, give you a favorable formation of said pattern to dodge, but at the same time you need to be in a position to shoot the enemy back. And in fact, by rote memorization (playing the game a bunch of times), this is really the only way of surviving long enough when a up against thousands of bullets at once.