What is the measure of a man? Is it strength? Integrity or perhaps his morality? Nope. It’s how convincingly and creatively he can kick-ass. Generic, cookie-cutter kung fu is fine but if a warrior really wants to distinguish himself, he needs a hook, something that separates him from all the other martial artists, although, if he fought with a hook that would probably work too.

We present to you a collection of ten of the most creative and amazing fighting styles that have ever been shown on film. A list of ten warriors who are not content to merely destroy their opponents, they want to decapitate them with a flying guillotine or kick them in the face with an aggressive pommel horse flair. Watch and learn why fighting creatively is king!

Drunken Boxing: Wong Fei-hung

If only all drunken fights were carried out this expertly. The legendary Wong Fei Hung (Jackie Chan) trains under the tutelage of So Chan, the so-called “Drunken Master”. From him, Hung learns a form of drunken boxing, technically based on kung fu, called “The Eight Drunken Immortals”. Yet, because he is an insolent student, to be honest who isn’t an insolent student in martial arts films, Hung only learns seven of the forms, deeming the last form “too feminine”. However, Hung takes the seven styles that he learned and creates his own form of drunken fighting. Powerful and unpredictable, drunken boxing derives its strength from the libations consumed by its wielder, to fight in the name of justice and drunkards!

Buddhist Palm: Sing

Sing is a hapless loser living in Pig Sty Alley with no future or fighting talent to speak of. He spent his whole childhood saving up money so that he could buy a fighting manual called the “Buddhist Palm” and protect those unable to protect themselves. After practicing all of the moves in the manual Sing tries to defend a helpless girl but his heroic efforts are thwarted, and he abandons his training. It is not until he gets beaten to a pulp by a “Toad Skill” user and wrapped in bandages that Sing reveals himself to be a true martial arts genius, emerging from his cocoon ready to kick-ass Buddhist-style.

Gunkata: John Preston

“Through analysis of thousands of recorded gun fights, the cleric has determined that the geometric distribution of antagonists in any gun battle is a statistically predictable element, the gunkata treats the gun as a total weapon, each fluid position representing a maximum kill zone, inflicting maximum damage on the maximum number of opponents while keeping the defender clear of the statistically traditional trajectories of return fire.”
Uber efficient. Uber dangerous. Uber non-existent.

Kali: Jason Bourne

According to inside sources (my boss is Doug Liman, the director of The Bourne Identity, so that’s about as inside as you can get) Bourne’s fighting style is modeled after moves from Kali, a style of Filipino martial arts. During pre-production, the stunt coordinators showed Doug (who is not a martial arts expert) five different fighting styles and he chose Kali as Bourne’s method of assassin annihilation because it is a smart and efficient fighting style that allows the user to dispatch of opponents who are much bigger in size. Kali teaches angles of attack and defense as opposed to attacking and defending with specific moves, which is really just another way of saying that Kali is hyper-economical in ass-kicking. Between the most insane close-quarter bedroom fight of all time and the taking out a spectacle-clad Clive Owen, Bourne demonstrates an efficient fighting style that could only exist as a result of a government program to create the ultimate killing machine. Efficient, dangerous, and real! The best part is that Bourne doesn’t even remember being trained to be such a lethal killer, his body’s muscle memory takes care of it for him.

Kiss of the Dragon: Liu Siu-jian

The most dangerous move in martial arts history: The Kiss of the Dragon. A move so forbidden, deadly, and completely outrageous that it could only exist in a Jet Li movie featuring Bridget Fonda (inspired casting by the way). An acupuncture needle in the neck that causes all of the body’s blood to flow the brain, causing death by painful aneurysm.

Apparently in the film Jet Li moves so quickly that he needed to be filmed in slow-mo to catch all of his movements, so it makes sense that they would need to give him a technique as flabbergasting as the kiss of the dragon. Picking up on my sarcasm? Still … pretty sweet move.

Gymkata: Jonathan Cabot

Tell me that I’m not the only one who has always imagined what it would be like if Paul Hamm could use his superior gymnastic skills not only to win gold but to defend his fellow countrymen. Jonathan Cabot, played with mastery by Kurt Thomas, is an olympic gymnast who is convinced by the Special Intelligence Agency (groan) to compete in “The Game”. “The Game” is an endurance race with elaborate obstacles, including constantly attacking ninjas. It is up to Cabot to combine his already formidable gymNASTYc skills with ninjutsu to create the ultimate fighting technique. The skill of gymnastics, the kill of karate. Genius!

Panda-Fu: Po

How does the portly panda Po become the most skilled kung fu artist in the dojo? A consistent regime of high intensity training and high volume dumpling consumption. By using his blubbery physique Po develops a style of kung-fu that uses his massive bulk as an effective counter-attacking tool. Panda-fu is superior to crane style, tiger style, mantis style, monkey style, and even viper style. Plus, he gets to enjoy all of those dumplings!

Flying Guillotine Style: Fu Sing Wu Chi

The Master of the Flying Guillotine is an imperial assassin who uses a bladed hat to decapitate his opponents. Here’s how it works, Fu Sing Wu Chi flings his hat with what can only be described as impeccable precision onto the head of his victim, and with a quick pull of the chain . . . BAM! . . . decapitation. What’s really amazing is that this is actually a legendary chinese weapon used in the Qing dynasty. The flying guillotine is also highly reminiscent of Raiden’s weapon in Mortal Kombat.

Double Blade Lightsaber: Darth Maul etc..

Darth Maul is a creature of pure evil. A creation of the Sith designed for one purpose: Vengeance upon the Jedi. Darth Maul is already evil incarnate but what really makes him the hidden gem in an otherwise banal entry in the Star Wars canon, is not his face paint, or his tribal tats but his DOUBLE BLADED LIGHTSABER!!!! Darth Maul’s fighting style takes the elegance of the lightsaber and combines it with the intelligent bo-wielding prowess of Donatello. Sure we were all sad to see Qui-Gon Jinn die, but at least it was at the hands of a sith lord using a DOUBLE BLADED LIGHTSABER!!!!

Scientific Boxing: Sherlock Holmes

Old-school boxing was funny. . . really funny. It involved two mustachioed bullies putting up their dukes and punching each other with no thought towards dodging or juking. When someone finally did start dodging punches, the technique was called “scientific boxing”. So how would you classify Sherlock Holmes style of fighting? Super scientific boxing? Director Guy Ritchie and Actor Robert Downey Junior are big proponents of martial arts, and combined their skills to create a new form for Sherlock, Downey Jr. explains. “Jujitsu is Guy’s chosen martial art. Mine is Wing Chun Kung Fu. So, we developed our own combination of martial arts styles for the movie.” Ol’ Sherlock analyzes every move that he will make with enough precision to predict the exact extent of injury his punches will inflict. And all in slo-mo! Once he sets his plan in motion it’s already too late for his helpless opponent as Sherlock inflicts a barrage of disorienting and bone-crunching chops.

Related posts on 30ninjas.com:

• Is Hollywood Fighting MMA Or Embracing It? Movie Heavyweights Weigh In on How MMA Is Changing Onscreen Brawls
• How Many Kung Fu Styles Can You Fit Into a School Auditorium?
• Ip Man 2 Trailer and Synopsis: Donnie Yen Goodness With a Sprinkle of Cheese
• Bare Knuckle Brawls — The Fighting Irish
• Exclusive: Ninja Assassin Stunt Guru on the Film’s Blend of HK and Japanese Fight Styles and How Its Fight-Prodigy Star Was Discovered (Part 1)
• Cung Le Returns to Fighting During Strikeforce: Evolution — Le Will Win By Knockout in 2nd or 3rd Round