Gun Kata: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

 

The focus of the style is simply to shoot where the foe ought to be, and to not be where the foe ought to shoot.

Compare and contrast to [[Gun Fu]].

 

** 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''.

* The Extendeds (Stellar, Sting, and Auel) gun down dozens of Coordinators guarding the Armory One in the first episode of ''[[Gundam Seed]] Destiny'' (2005), while assuming one [[Asskicking Pose]] after another.

** At least one episode in 2nd Barrage has Revy doing a perfect imitation of a [[Equilibrium|Grammaton Cleric]] while standing in the open surrounded by mooks with guns, down to body, arm and hand movements. Severe Badassery ensued.

* 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.

* 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.}}

* 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.

 

* Violet Song jat Shariff in ''Ultraviolet'' (2006) uses a similar style, though it is never given a name. The movements in this film are more fluid and dance-like than those used in ''[[Equilibrium]]'', which is how Wimmer would have originally preferred.

* ''[[Art Of War]]'' had a similar style fight in an empty hallway. A certain amount of respect and honor was loaded into the scene, as when they ran out of bullets, they went back to back and talked while casually reloading. Shaw and Bly spend most of the fight throwing snapshots... panic firing. It's more like [[Gun Fu]] since [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDL6rmxll84 they still use acrobatic dodging].

* ''[[The Matrix]]'' shows this in the Government Lobby shootout in which Neo and Trinity are able to flip between pillars and run along walls to avoid being shot all while easily dispatching the goons. At least [[Justified Trope|it took place in a simulated reality where the laws of physics didn't have to apply]]; few other movies using this trope can claim that.

** Actually it's more like the opposite. Considering that gun-kata is supposed to be all about surgical precision... landing every shot at the exact right spot at the exact right moment of a fight. The Matrix lobby-scene is suppressive fire, with the hackers continuously pushing the SWAT back by gratuitous use of [[More Dakka]].

* El Mariachi in ''[[Desperado]]'' seems to demonstrate a sort of primitive form of Gun Kata during the fight scene in the bar. Flamenco dancing with pistols included.

 

== Live Action TV ==

== Tabletop Games ==

 

* [[Hero System]] adds Zen Riflery (aka "Gun Fu" or "Woojutsu") as a fictional martial art in, ''The Ultimate Martial Artist.''

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

** ... 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 ==

 

* 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 [[Spin Attack]] [[Limit Break|Tequila Bomb]] from ''[[Stranglehold]]'' fits the definition to a T: it makes Tequila absolutely invulnerable for a short period of time, while he guns down every mook currently in the room with fluid, ballet-like movements. Bonus points for the game playing beautiful music when he does it. Double bonus points if you activate it with [[More Dakka|dual submachineguns]].

* ''[[Bayonetta]]'' mixes this with [[Bullet Time]] but even without it she's still dancing around attacks.

* [[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.

 

 

[[Category:Guns and Gunplay Tropes]]

[[Category:Rule of Cool]]

[[Category:Gun Kata]]