Martial Pacifist

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Prard'ras'kleoni: "If we hesitate too long before launching a counterattack, the subsequent battle will take place near the nursery and risk injury to the women and children. That is unacceptable."
Chak Fel: "I thought launching attacks in general was unacceptable to the Chiss."
Prard'ras'kleoni: "They fired first. They are now fair game."

—Survivors Quest

"Don't hit at all if it can be humanly avoided, but never hit softly!"

—Theodore Roosevelt

He doesn't like fighting; he doesn't want to fight. He will always seek a peaceful solution if he can, and only fight when he must. But if, indeed, he must, WATCH OUT.

The inverse of Arrogant Kung Fu Guy (and often a direct foil to such a character), and just as prevalent among martial artist characters.

The peaceful kind, that is. Disciplined. Kind. Personable. Good with children. You know the type. If there's an Old Master who isn't a total Jerkass, you can bet he follows the Path of Peace. A Martial Pacifist will often try to solve his problems with words first, and fists a distant second, typically resorting to violence only as a last resort. However, when that happens, he will mop the floor with anyone dumb enough to challenge him. But unlike his arrogant counterpart, he will not kill you unless he has no other choice, as killing usually goes against everything that he stands for.

Somewhat of an example of Truth in Television; many martial arts schools emphasize the importance of levelheadedness and use of fists only when no other option is available. (Want to know why you rarely hear about a karate black belt losing his temper and killing his wife? Discipline.) There is a sect of martial arts society that believes quite rigorously that any use of their skills in a non-life threatening situation (including tournaments and sometimes even sparring) is a perversion of the art.

Compare The So-Called Coward, Let's Get Dangerous, Minored in Asskicking, and Badass Pacifist. See also Technical Pacifist. Contrast Reluctant Warrior, who believes exactly the same things the Martial Pacifist does but is constantly forced to fight and lacks their fighting power and ability to use non-lethal force. Contrast Suicidal Pacifism, where no amount of danger can convince the guy to fight. If a Martial Pacifist tends to fight rough or otherwise take real risks with the lives of his enemies/allies, he might be a Reckless Pacifist.

Examples of Martial Pacifist include:

Anime and Manga

  • Gohan from Dragonball Z. He has the potential to become the strongest person in the universe, but he hates watching people get hurt. The only reason he fights is for self-defense, or for the defense of others.
  • Parodied with Amelia's father Prince Phil in Slayers. He is a passionate devotee to the concept of justice who greatly prefers to try and settle things with peaceful discussion, but is not only very savage-looking (he's been described as resembling a dwarf built to the scale of an ogre, and Lina Inverse mistook him for a bandit chief when she first saw him) but also prone to leaping headfirst into the fray with aggressive wrestling and kung fu moves that he gives goofy names. “PACIFIST CRUSH!” “GOODWILL TO ALL MANKIND KICK!” In fact, he's so strong a fighter he once managed to kill a demon with his bare hands. Amelia normally specializes in White Magic and Shamanist magic but she's quite willing to get physical when she feels inclined (one of her homebrew spells, the Visfanrank, actually equips her with magical boxing gloves for punching out demons.) She's usually too aggressive to count as a Martial Pacifist, though she does pull it off on occasion. The page image shows her applying her father's favorite move while wearing the enchanted armor Nama.[1]
  • In Fullmetal Alchemist, Scar's master is one of these.
  • Kenshin Himura from Rurouni Kenshin, who was once a ruthless assassin, uses a reverse-blade sword because of his oath not to kill people again. When villains go too far, Kenshin's Battousai mode takes control, and he drops all traces of pacifism—although he's always managed to avoid actually killing someone even then.
    • Though he did indirectly kill Shishio, by fighting him until his condition cause all the water to evaporate from his body, causing his spontaneous combustion.
      • Hey, when you're explicitly stated to only be able to stand fifteen minutes of fighting before something bad happens to your body, it's your own fault for not keeping an eye on the watch and asking to take a break.
        • Besides, the whole thing was ostensibly "the era" choosing who would be victorious--i.e. the world moving into an age where Kenshin's beliefs about protecting the weak have more bearing than Shishio's "the victor is right by default" stance (although the series makes the point that the fact that Kenshin and co. won doesn't prove that they're right since that would be Shishio's stance... but you're kind of in a paradox there). So it makes thematic sense that time is literally what kills Shishio.
  • Balsa from Seirei no Moribito. In fact, she's sworn an oath never to take a life and has a near-Heroic BSOD on one occasion where she thought she'd violated it.
  • While she might not exactly be a martial artist, the title character of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha counts to a certain degree. While Nanoha has become infamous for her method of making friends, it's worth noting that Nanoha always tries to solve conflicts through dialogue. Unfortunately, her enemies always insist on more violent means and when the chips are down, Nanoha doesn't pull any punches.
  • Vash of Trigun is this trope with bullets.
  • Toki of Fist of the North Star. When he does fight, he's strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Big Bad Raoh, and even when he does kill, he does so in a way that makes the victim feel great pleasure instead of horrible, head-explody pain.
  • Haru Glory, in the manga Rave Master believes that Rousseau Was Right and that people shouldn't fight each other, and only goes into battle reluctantly. However, given that he's The Hero of an action-heavy manga spanning upwards of thirty volumes, he's reluctantly forced to go into battle quite often. He still somehow manages not to kill any of his opponents, although some of them die soon after defeat anyway ...
  • Hiroki Sugimura of Battle Royale manga. He may look intimidating as he is the tallest boy in the class and is a kung-fu master, but he is actually a shy and gentle boy who dislikes to use violence unless it is his last resort.
  • After getting some Character Development (and a crazy-powerful Super Prototype), Kira Yamato of Gundam Seed becomes one of these.
    • Quatre Raberba Winner from Gundam Wing is similar. His first appearance has him telling his enemies to surrender, only attacking when they refuse to listen. That's how he wins Trowa's trust in their first encounter. He also praises Zechs and Noin in Endless Waltz for defeating so many of Mariemaia's soldiers without killing them.
  • Doctor Tofu Ono of Ranma ½ was heavily implied to be one of these, and his mastery of martial arts impressed Ranma in his very first appearance. He never got to show off his fighting ability, however.
    • He did against the toad hermit in the anime. He seems like an efficient pressure-point fighter.
  • Sir Bismark Waldstein aka the Knight of One might be the most powerful of the Knights of Rounds, but he openly says that he's not thrilled to use his impressive fighting skills unless it's really needed and that he views mere unrestrained violence as ignoble and unworthy.
  • Lynn Kylie/Kaifun from Macross is a very skilled and handsome martial artist, but in his conversations with Rick/Hikaru and Lisa/Misa he states his disdain for the military. However, despite him not going around and picking fights, he's shown as quite the Jerkass too, specially to his cousin and protegée Minmay...
  • Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo has freaking ASIMO who knows kung fu but wants to be friends with everyone due to prolonged contact with Sakura.
  • Bleach has several. Kyoraku Shunsui and Hisagi Shuuhei are the most obvious examples, and Kira Izuru may qualify as well, though with overtones of Reluctant Warrior. Kaname Tousen tries to portray himself as this, but considering he cut off Grimmjow's arm to stop him from causing any more trouble he's not fooling anyone.
    • His suggestion that "Killing without purpose is only murder. But killing with purpose... is justice!" also seems to suggest that he's less averse to violence than he initially seems.
      • And really, crippling someone as violent as Grimmjow seems like a pretty good way to decrease bloodshed.
    • Chad is also something of an example.
    • Starrk is an example as well.
      • Starrk is debatable. He doesn't have a moral objection to fighting, he's just too lazy to want to do it.
        • Well he does say that he hates most of the stuff Aizen makes him do (IE: Kidnapping Orihime), but he sticks with him to avoid being alone again.
  • In Naruto the kind, gentle Hinata Hyuga dislikes fighting and tries to avoid it when she can, but fights surprisingly hard if she has no other choice, especially if Naruto, the boy she loves, is involved.
    • Also, Shikamaru tends to dislike fighting and tries to avoid anything "troublesome". He even dubbed himself the "number one coward" because of this. However, he is willing to put his life on the line when duty calls.
    • Uchiha Itachi, the resident Aloof Big Brother who ran a Zero-Approval Gambit (including, but not limited to slaughtering his entire clan, mind raping his own little brother on several occasions, joining an evil organization in order to keep his village safe, and just acting like an all-around dick and committed suicide by little brother in an attempt to keep the peace, never gets into a fight if he can avoid it, despite his disgusting amount of skill.
  • This is pretty much the defining character trait of Kenichi Shirahama. A peaceful young man who only took up martial arts to stop being bullied, he often tries to talk his way out of fights first, and will even walk away from those who challenge him, only resorting to violence if he has no other choice (or if a challenger calls him a coward).
    • Also, several of his masters. None of them will actually kill you (well, Apachai might do it accidentally) but Akisame and Ma Kensei are the most notable.
    • After the Ragnarok arc, the conflict between the Martial Pacifist principle (katsujinken - "life saving fist") and the opposing principle (satsujinken - "killing fist") becomes the main plot line. The organization of evil satsujinken mentors, Yami, believes that Martial Pacifists actually degrade martial arts by making them less "martial".
  • Astro Boy doesn't really like fighting, but you better not push him.
  • Yellow of Pokémon Special. Sweet-tempered and happy-go-lucky, she hates fighting so much that it pains her to fight her attackers, and sometimes even heals them afterward. Her first option when facing an enemy is to run away. She even tries to figure out ways to immobilize her opponents without actually hurting them. However, when push comes to shove, she will fight if she has no other choice and watch out, as she has the ability to make her normally low-leveled Pokemon to get abnormally stronger in a mere few seconds.
  • Parodied (like everything else) in Bobobo-Bo Bo-bobo with Mr. BoJiggler, a fusion of Bobobo and Jelly Jiggler. He claims that he is a pacifist, and the villains are often quite willing to work out a peaceful solution to the issue at hand, but he still assaults them with super-powerful attacks while screaming things along the lines of "Why can't we just all be friends?"
  • Gintoki from Gintama once used to be a mighty warrior with the nickname "White Demon" who led the war against aliens' invading Japan. Nowadays, he is working as a free-lancer, willing to take in any odd jobs to pay the rent. Like the Kenshin example above, while he avoids using force and acts like an idiot from time to time, he will not hesitate to commence asskicking should the need arises.
  • The title character from Kimba the White Lion is a diplomatic leader who prefers not to fight, but don't make him angry.
  • Princess Nausicaa. She's QUEEN of this trope.
  • Don Fua in Gunnm: Last Order, as he's a Foil to his Rival Zekka, who is an Arrogant Kung Fu Guy.
  • Rebecca from One Piece; while she would likely show no mercy to s Donquixote Doflamingo - who murdered her grandfather and sentenced her to a life sentence as a "convict gladiator" - she rarely kills otherwise, despite being undefeated as a gladiator. Of course, it's very likely she just has more respect for her fellow doomed fighters, as they were the only ones who did not see her as a remorseless monster, something believed by most citizens of Dressrosa due to Doflamingo's lies.

Comic Books

  • Dove in The DCU. A pacifist martial artist, and probably the only serious pacifist superhero. He makes a point of actually never hurting anyone with his moves. Of course, since he associates with his brother, Hawk, who resorts to violence in most situations...
  • Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, of Marvel Comics, who faces opposition from his brother Moving Shadow.
  • Broot from The Omega Men is an odd subversion; while he prefers to use violence only as a last resort, he was exiled from his planet for his staunch belief that, yes, sometimes violence is the answer.
  • Although the Teen Titans' Raven has accepted that violence is necessary, she doesn't like it one bit.
  • Spider-Man is not a martial artist but once he grew up, he would normally try to talk his opponents down and then restrain them with webbing. Of course, talking rarely works and the webbing only works part of the time, resulting in a prolonged battle.
    • As of Spider Island, Pete has had some serious martial arts training enough to fight at the level he could before his spider sense was shut down previously, thus playing this trope straight.
  • Surprisingly, Sin City has one: Wallace. He is very polite and often asks to be left alone before having to pull out his Navy SEALS martial arts training. At one point, he is even seen meditating.
  • Superman of the DCU. Considering how greatly he out-levels most of his opponents, yet adheres to a strict no kill code, most of his battles involve him lightly batting around opponents until they surrender. Even then, he goes out of his way to talk to his opponents before violence breaks out. He also ensures that no severe harm is endured by all but the very most evil of his foes.
    • His famous World of Cardboard Speech in Justice League is pretty much an outline of this Trope.
    • In fact, most of the action in a Superman comic involve Superman simply getting in the way of the attempted kill strikes of villains who want to cause death and destruction for their own purposes. Only villains who really are as strong as Superman (or have a plan to attack him that doesn't involve physical force) typically exchange blows in a standard duke 'em out fashion. In fact, when one alien traveled to earth to battle Superman in order to prove his badassery, Supes allowed him to soundly kick his ass so that the alien would leave Earth alone after he finished gloating.
  • Ultimate Thor. He consistently attempts to reason with opponents, but can at the drop of a hat prove why he is known far and wide as the most powerful being in his universe (and several neighboring universes, as well).
  • Storm. Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, she will often be the first to offer a reasonable, peaceful solution. She tries her best to adhere to a strict "no-kill" code, and despite being one of the most powerful X-Men on the roster, actively works to ensure that she does as little harm to her adversaries as possible. Of course, her tolerance does have its limits.

Fan Works

  • The popular Deva Series has Laura Sims who, despite having the sworn Thou Shalt Not Kill, is a subversion of the trope, preferring to talk after the defeating her opponent.
  • DC Nation has a few. Raven, as mentioned above. Hugh Fulbright, one of Earth's Blue Lanterns. Granola Girl Fauna. The Nation-verse Green Arrow Connor Hawke also follows this path, as he never abandoned his faith in this universe.

Sue Dibny (checking in with JLA members on patrol): "So business as usual?"
 Connor: "The usual, though we should always work..." There's the sing of a bowstring over the com. "To put ourselves out of business."

  • Kyon from Kyon: Big Damn Hero. He explicitly states that violence is the last resort, but sometimes it is required. He also has the skills and training of a few black belts.


Film

  • The Jedi from Star Wars, especially Obi-Wan in A New Hope and Luke by the end of Return of the Jedi. In The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda points out that Martial Pacifism is an inherent part of being a Jedi.

Yoda: A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.

    • Qui-Gon in episode one was the epitome of this, especially when his mid-battle meditation contrasted against Darth Maul's animalistic, restless pacing while the two were separated by a forcefield. Luke would provide a similar contrast with Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi, with Luke constantly turning off his lightsaber unless he was being directly attacked.
  • Mr. Miyagi of The Karate Kid, who opposes the brutal Cobra Kai dojo.
  • Wong Fei-Hung, a Chinese folk hero who has been the subject of more movies than can be counted was one of these characters, particularly in Jet Li's Once Upon a Time in China series.
  • The Terminator, after John Connor makes him take a vow of mercy in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
  • The main character (Sing) at the end of Kung Fu Hustle becomes an example of this trope, as he opens a candy shop as opposed to, say, teaching kung fu. He, too, faces an arrogant villain, the Beast.
  • The Big Bad from The Transporter 3 seems to honestly consider himself a pacifist. This does nothing to stop him from trying destroy half the Ukraine for no apparent reason or temper him when he tries to stab Frank to death.
  • Ip Man from the eponymous film, who refused the call to start a martial arts school and prefers to talk his opponents down. Of course, if pushed, he will fuck you up. He starts his martial arts school in the sequel, but still prefers to talk rather than fight, and hasn't lost any of his ass-kicking ability.
  • Sergeant York.


Literature

  • Played with in the Discworld novel Thief of Time with Lu-Tze: after he spends most of the book going out of his way to find peaceful solutions or facing potential opponents down with the power of his reputation, his sidekick Lobsang begins to suspect that he's avoiding combat because he can't fight very well any more. Lobsang is completely wrong.
    • Carrot Ironfoundersson as well, he'd rather talk the situation down, but if he has to fight, then he can punch out trolls, and put a sword through a stone pillar.
  • Wedge Antilles is very willing to kill his enemies, typically Imperial. But he's much more reluctant about groups that aren't explicitly his enemies - he'll kill them if he has to, but he doesn't like it. In Starfighters of Adumar he infuriates the diplomatic liaison by refusing to kill the unskilled Proud Warrior Race Adumari in duels, thus making the Imperials, who do kill in duels, look stronger. Late in the book, when the liaison and much of Adumar has turned against him, he's death on wings, though.
    • As seen in Outbound Flight, Chiss as a people are isolationist, tending to ignore most things going on outside of their borders. They don't even trade much with outsiders. If someone does attack them, they wipe the enemy out, but they wait for that first attack. The Chiss language has no phrase for "preemptive strike", and they find the concept unlawful. This makes Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo very unusual. He tries to convince his brother that it's foolhardy to let their enemies choose the time and place to strike, and eventually launches several attacks that get him exiled from Chiss territory.
      • In Survivor's Quest, Luke is shown the Redoubt, a star cluster that is more or less the last refuge of the Chiss people, should their military fall to something. Luke idly comments that with a sanctuary like this, the Chiss can afford to let their enemies take the first shot. Chaf'orm'bintrano takes offense to this.

"That has nothing to do with the Redoubt. It is completely and purely a matter of honor and morality. The Chiss are never to be the aggressor people. We cannot and will not make war against any until and unless we have been attacked. That has been our law for a thousand years, Master Skywalker, and we will not bend from it."

  • Of course, once the Chiss have actually been attacked, they have no problem with abandoning the defensive strategy. In fact, they're really skilled and ruthless when it comes to war.
  • Chiss law could be seen as, "Never throw the first punch, always throw the last punch." They'll deal with you peacefully if they can, but if you attack them, they can end you.
  • As already stated above, Luke himself is a Martial Pacifist of the highest order; he really doesn't like fighting, and will avoid it whenever possible. If he's forced to fight...well, the only thing you can do is pray to the Force.
  • In the Anita Blake series, Richard is introduced as a Martial Pacifist even in the face of not only his foes mocking him for it, but also the Mary Sue protagonist. Like all the werewolves he possesses superhuman strength and regenerative healing; unlike the others he lifts weights and trains in martial arts so he won't have to kill. The result is a stalemate in the first few books between himself and Bad Boss Marcus, with Anita criticizing him for refusing to kill him in their next confrontation. Of course, when Richard finally listens to Anita, she promptly flees in terror and jumps into Jean Claude's arms. Apparently vampires are better than werewolves, because they're more fastidious about their people eating.
  • Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird. His children's hot tempers and constant scrapping are an aggravation to him, and he has no interest in having his honour defended. He believes in the law, and his courtroom manner is polite and gracious even to opposing witnesses who are clearly hostile towards him. Also, he can kill a charging rabid dog with one shot right between the eyes (maybe a little to the right) because the sheriff doesn't think he can make the shot at that distance. Note that this means that with a mad dog charging towards him and his children, his hands don't shake in the slightest.
  • Sisterhood series by Fern Michaels: Yoko Akia is very much this. She is usually calm and peaceful. However, she beat Harry Wong, the second greatest martial artist in the world and Arrogant Kung Fu Guy, in a sparring match before going out on a date with him. Indeed, no one in the series has been able to beat her in a fight! In other words, do not get on her bad side if you know what's good for you!

Live Action TV

  • The Doctor from Doctor Who. Although if the circumstances call for it, he is willing to kill. A lot.
  • Kwai Chang Caine and his Shaolin masters in the original Kung Fu TV show.
  • Although he doesn't know martial arts, David Banner is also a martial pacifist in The Incredible Hulk. "Mister McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
  • Playfully parodied in The Middleman. Dub-Dub describes herself as a pacifist but cheerfully beats others up with whatever weapon comes to hand should the need arise. Lacey is similar.
  • Juken Sentai Gekiranger has the seven Kensei, martial arts masters who have taken a vow not to fight. They now serve as mentors for the Rangers.
  • Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess is a Martial Pacifist for a majority of the series. Violence is a second choice to talking, and killing someone is a huge deal for her, which she only does to protect others.
  • Babylon 5 has John Sheridan, war hero, the man who defied the first Ones and led the effort to throw them out, but who, when recording a message to his unborn child, started with the words his own father told him, "Never start a fight; always finish it."
  • Marshall from How I Met Your Mother. Shown to be a competent fighter, but only when he has to back-up one of his friends.
  • Starfleet itself in every incarnation of Star Trek. While most crews have a hard time following the Prime Directive at times, they all attempt to always seek a peaceful solution with enemies, always help mediate relations between other enemies, and never start a conflict. But for those who won't listen, so be it.
    • Vulcans especially. Most of them are the coldly logical intellectual type who you'd never expect to be dangerous. In fact, the whole purpose of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch was because Gene Roddenberry didn't see Spock as the type who'd resort to violence to subdue a foe. Of course, as the episode "Amok Time" shows, Spock - and any other Vulcan - can fight like a trained gladiator is the need arises.

Mythology

  • Believe it or not, Thor. In spite of his violent reputation, he was one of the few Gods who didn't take pleasure in war, and reserved his violent tendencies for defending the gods from Jotnar.


Sketch Comedy

Teacher: The only use of Ti Kwan Leep is self-defense. Do you know who said that? Ki Lo Ni, the great teacher.
Ed Gruberman: Yeah? Well, the best defense is a good offense. You know who said that? Mel, the cook on Alice.


Tabletop Games

  • The Children of Gaia from Werewolf: The Apocalypse have a reputation in-game as hippies, and it's not entirely unearned; of all the tribes of the Garou Nation, they're the ones most likely to try and convince other Garou to look deeper into the issue, examine all the sides, and maybe find a non-violent resolution if possible. They're still warriors for Gaia, and also the ones who know that if no peaceful means of resolution is possible, then it's time to go absolutely rip-shit.
  • The various "Sacred Vow" Feats from the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 supplement, The Book of Exalted Deeds tend to end up this way. They forsake an earthly vice (such as sex, drugs, or violence) in order to gain massive bonuses both to resist it and to seek an alternate path. For example, a Monk who has taken Vow of Poverty, Vow of Peace, and Vow of Nonviolence is strictly worse than someone who used the money he swore off to get the abilities the vow gave him and utterly powerless against anything that can fly (which is most things).

Video Games

  • Lee Rekka of the Last Blade series, who is a Shout-Out to both Jet Li and Kung Fu.
  • Josef from Final Fantasy II.
  • Fei Fong Wong from Xenogears.
  • In Jade Empire most followers of the way of the Open Palm, including, potentially, the player character. Emphasis on "most"; the Way of the Open Palm is not necessarily good, just as the Way of the Closed Fist is not necessarily evil, or so the developers would have us believe. In fact, one of the more popular Epileptic Trees among fans is that the Big Bad is a follower of the Open Palm.
    • Epileptic? He uses two Open Palm exclusive attack styles and is obsessed with things being in their appropriate place.
      • He also uses Tempest style, magic that only works well in the hands of Closed Fist users. And he's very good with it.
        • It's possible he's realized that he has two hands (which is to say, he might've figured out how to harmonize the two seemingly-opposed philosophies).
  • The Shaolin monk Chinnen from the Power Instinct series of fighting games is an intentional subversion, being a selfish know it all who's likely to pound you for looking at him the wrong way. His idea of meditating is passing out after binge drinking.
    • Lynn Baker from Rage of the Dragons. She's one of the types who practices martial arts as a means of spiritual fulfillment and all that.
    • Elias, a Catholic priest from Rage of the Dragons and Power Instinct Matrimelee, as well. While he abhors violence in general, he recognizes that there are times when there is no other alternative, and that the Father will understand and forgive.
  • Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat can be an example. Despite the copious gore in the games' fatalities, Liu Kang is the only character with a fatality that isn't actually fatal, because of his time with the Shaolin having taught him peace.
    • Only in the first game, however. Starting from the second game on, he doesn't seem to have an issue with turning into a giant dragon and biting peoples' torsos off.
      • He still gets a non-fatal Fatality in the second game. It's business as usual from the third one on though.
  • Kim Kaphwan of the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series is an extremely amicable Tae Kwan Do master who is working to rehabilitate recidivist criminals Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge with burning justice. His son Jae Hoon hopes to follow in his footsteps, and it doing a fair job.
    • Hotaru Futaba, also from the Fatal Fury series, is a prime example. A calm, joyful girl, and overall a very sweet person. Fighting is, for her, the only way she knows how to reach her beloved brother Gato.
  • Boman Delgado of the Rival Schools series firmly believes that violence is not the answer as a devout Christian, but he's prepared to do whatever it takes to bring peace to his school.
  • Dhalsim from Street Fighter. He only enters the tournament for the purpose of raising money for his village and is deeply troubled by the fact that he has to resort to violence in the process. Even when fighting, he goes out of his way to avoid causing serious harm to his opponents. For example, his Yoga Fire does not actually burn his opponents, but works as a technique because his opponents think they're being burned.
    • Also, Elena. A Capoeira face-kicking beauty who travels the world and enters fighting Tournaments to meet new friends. Seriously.
    • Ryu, perhaps? He's probably more fight-happy than average but the rest fits.
      • Arguably, these are all explained by the Street Fighter tournament being, at its very base, a sporting event. It is, after all, a tournament, and the people in it are doing so on a voluntary basis. (Or mostly voluntary.) Fighting for sport against an opponent who is also doing so can probably still fill a pacifist ideal.
  • Kindly priest Tiger from Martial Masters, who prays before and after matches and asks his opponent for forgiveness after defeating them.
  • Mega Man X fits the trope to the letter.. except for the no killing bit, although it might just be that reploids tend to invariably explode when beaten. By the time of the Zero series, however, he's grown so callous and tired of all the fighting that he "didn't care about the enemies he fought" anymore.
    • Which, in the Zero series, is either interpreted as the reason he essentially cyber-elfed himself, or it's just Copy X who's pretty insane to begin with.
  • In the Mass Effect series, Shepard is this if you take the Paragon options (its moral compass aligns more to reconciliation versus aggression than 'good' vs 'evil'). S/he leaves a swath of devastation through anyone who won't talk, but once s/he get's you in dialog, a peaceful resolution is almost always possible. If you really focus on pacifism, you can actually talk down Saren at the end though it only gets of the first stage of the end boss, because Reaper proceeds to possess him.
  • Assassin Ansaksie from Iji has elements of this. She will avoid killing people if she doesn't feel it's necessary (such as Iosa knowing too much), but when it's time to kill, she has her Massacre handy.

I think violence should be used scarcely, but with utmost force.

    • Iji herself can also qualify if you play that way. One of the enemy logs wonders at the fact that the "human anomaly" appears to be unstoppable, to the point where she can simply walk past hundreds of troops and through a hail of gunfire without even bothering to fight back.
  • One of the warrior trainers in Planescape: Torment is a monk whose order trains in preparation for the battle of the apocalypse. Except in cases of calm, controlled sparring, they are strictly pacifistic. Thus he gets his sacred beads stolen by a band of common thugs and enlists you to get them back. Whether 'you' go about it peacefully is your choice.
    • In fact, the monk will be happier if you tell him that you did use violence to get the beads back (regardless of whether you're telling the truth or not). The Nameless one can fit into this trope as well, as the game often gives the option of not fighting, and frequently rewards you better if you manage to avoid combat.
  • General Hawthorne of the Alliance in World of Warcraft strongly believed in winning the war with minimal casualties, focusing more on breaking the fighting spirit of the Horde than wiping them out. Unfortunately, the Alliance ambassador wanted to wipe them out, and the Horde rather conveniently learned when to ambush Hawthorne.


Web Comics


Web Original

  • The heroic Dove from the Global Guardians PBEM Universe is a Martial Pacifist who specializes in evasion, blocking, and misdirection in combat. He's an expert at somehow finding convenient trees, walls, cars, and so on to duck behind just as the bad guys attack. He only goes "offensive" when he absolutely has to.
  • Corrie, Cambria, Phylis, and Spark from The Gungan Council would all wish not to harm another being, yet they're all ready to kick ass when needed.
  • Ashpaw, the Genius Bruiser in Tasakeru.


Western Animation

  • Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender, who was largely this way even before the loss of his son. For one thing, (he only pretended to kill the last dragon, so they could live in peace).
    • This is part of the philosophy of the Air Nomads. Aang lives up to this, except when in the Avatar State; in fact, a minor plotline in the last season revolves around the question of whether he could set aside his pacifism and kill Ozai. He took a third option.
  • Samurai Jack himself was taught this from an early age by many cultures, including the Shaolin monks.
    • In fact, Jack is quick to draw the blade against opponents, who are invariably robots. The few that are not robots, however, he hesitates. In one episode, his readiness to fight gets him in trouble when Aku uses his anger to create Mad Jack, a clone of Jack that knows only anger. As they fight, Jack begins to look more like Mad Jack, until it's almost impossible to tell them apart (and they set the whole forest on fire). Jack is only able to defeat Mad Jack by meditating to restore his inner calm, which results in Mad Jack vanishing. Jack is noticeably slower to anger in subsequent episodes as a result.
  • Jackie Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures is something of a variation of this trope, though less on the disciplined side. While constantly saying he doesn't want to resort to violence... he tries to run away. Naturally, being Jackie Chan, it's used for a comedic edge and he will end up fighting. And he has every reason to!
  • Parodied in Futurama episode "Godfellas". The Monks of Teshuva try to bluff Leela and Fry with their martial arts skills; but when Leela calls their bluff, they immediately back down and admit to being Actual Pacifists.
  • Legend of the Dragon has Ang as this. He thinks about responsibility instead of power, prefers to think before acting, and he felt his sister Ling deserved to be the Golden Dragon. Well, guest what? He was chosen to be the Golden Dragon instead of her! He does prove to be quite the fighter when he has to be.
  • Hey Arnold! had an episode about Arnold learning to become one after overusing his martial arts skills and crossing the Moral Event Horizon.


Real Life

  • The Shaolin Monks studied and developed their fighting style out of self-defense and swore an oath to only use these arts to protect. They took no pride in killing, and even less in needing to fight in the first place.
  • The entire martial art of Aikido is based on this principle. It has no purely aggressive moves.
  • Many people believe eastern martial arts started in India by Buddhist monks as a way to discipline body and mind, not for fighting.
    • The main alternative theory is that it was because weapons were more expensive than most could afford and banned by many governments.
  • The art of Taiji Chuan (more commonly known as Tai Chi) is both a healing art and a martial art. There is some debate as to whether this art originated as a healing art, or as a martial art. The positions and motion of the art help one to improve strength, flexibility, balance, circulation, knowledge of one's self (both the body and the mind), patience, and ability to stay rooted in the present time and place. The motions of the form also all have martial applications, including the opening and closing of the forms. The training includes learning how to reduce conflict within one's own body, and remove that which is unnecessary from one's motions, and apply the force of other's exertions, and the resulting imbalance to your advantage. This often carries over into reduced conflict and superfluous exertion in the rest of one's life.
  • There's a joke that goes like this. Also told about Israelis, and probably others.
    • An Englishman, a Frenchmen, and an Russian are traveling through the jungle when they're captured by cannibals. The cannibal chief is a civilized person, and will grant them one last request. The Frenchman asks that he have sex with the chief's daughter before he dies. The chief grants this, the Frenchman does the horizontal mambo, and is killed and cut up for stew. The Russian asks that the chief kick him in the ass. The chief is confused, but willing, and does so. The Russian tumbles, comes to his feet, and pulls out a pistol. He shoots the chief and a half a dozen men, then runs for his bag, pulls out a rifle and massacres the rest of the cannibals. The Englishman is shocked. "Why", he asks the Russian, "did he not do that earlier?" The Russian sneers and says "Russians are not aggressors."
      • The Israeli version changes the punchline to, "And get blamed by the UN for being the aggressor?"
  • There's an old joke about a Quaker in Philadelphia who confronts a burglar on his front steps with a double-barreled shotgun, and tells him "Friend, I mean thee no harm, but thou art standing where I am about to fire!"
  • Guillaume Henri Dufour. He was General of the Swiss army during the brief civil war, which he won with less than 100 dead on both sides combined. Later, he was instrumental in founding the Red Cross and presided over the first Geneva Convention. He was also an important topographer, leading to Switzerland's highest peak being named after him.
  • Perhaps unbelievably considering his reputation, Sun-Tzu considered that the greatest victory of all was one where the fight never happened.
    • He explains it himself. An enemy will only fight if he believes he either has a chance to win, or you've backed him into a corner and he's fighting for his life. A completely crushing victory provides an enemy with neither.
  • The allies in WW 2, albeit with varying levels of badass.
  • Chuck Norris, as a rule, prefers to back down from petty conflicts - possibly because he's a Christian who takes turning the other cheek seriously.
    • He tells a story in his autobiography(?) in which he's at a bar, and a biker-type comes up behind him and insists on taking his seat. Chuck complies without saying a word. Shortly thereafter, the biker realizes that he just took Chuck Norris' seat. He walks over to Chuck, now sitting in a booth and asks why Chuck didn't simply beat him up. Chuck's reply: "What would it prove?"
  • Gichin Funakoshi was the founder of modern karate. He recounts in his autobiography how, in the chaos of post-war Japan (when he was in his seventies), someone tried to mug him. In Funakoshi's memorable phrase 'his stance was full of holes', so Funakoshi stepped in and held the guy by the balls until the police arrived. He follows this story by a description of how ashamed he felt later, considering that he had abused his art.
  • Jet Li has gone on record saying he's never been in a real life fight and hopes never to be in one and is strongly against the use of martial arts for violent ends. [1]
  1. ↑ Containing the amnesiac soul of her older sister Gracia.
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