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Martial arts movies are a eruption to watch , and the best ones never get honest-to-god . FromBloodsporttoThe Matrix , audiences ca n’t seem to get enough of rock ‘em wind cone ‘em natural action flicks where the gloves come off , boring - motion becomes a must , and one stands triumphant over their adversary .
Many of the martial artistry styles portrayed in movie over the decades have stand head and shoulder above the rest . Others , however , have n’t fared quite as well — especially the novelty ones that were made up for overly gimmicky films .
Best: Muay Thai
Muay Thai is widely regarded as one of the strongest and most good martial arts style in the world . It ’s also one of the most inherently brute . This fighting style puts heavy stress on toilsome flush and punches accompany by devastating human knee and elbows attacks . The flair is flesh out out with " teeping " — a kick designed to keep opponents at bay — and wrestle attacks used in connective with human knee and cubitus strikes .
Muay Thai is extremely pop in martial liberal arts films due to its brutality . One of the best and most popular actors to lend worldwide attention to Muay Thai is undoubtedly thedazzling Tony Jaa , made famous for his optic - watering performances inOng BakandThe Protector .
Worst: Karate
The Karate Kidbrought the titular martial into the mainstream public consciousness in a way thatpreceding plastic film simply were n’t able to execute . After all , it centered around a PG - rated family film with a warm - hearted premise and a brave , uplifting ending that is nearly out of the question to top .
As a soldierly art , karate is far less effective for self defense than other styles like Brazilian Ju - Jitsu or Muay Thai . The early 1990s MMA panorama cursorily draw the curtain back and present this fact , and karate has never been the same since . On film , karate look like a withering crack - soldierlike art , but that ’s a dramatic hyper - stylization of an otherwise middling stylus .
Best: Wing Chun
Wing Chun is an interesting martial art , and one steeped in controversy even to this day . MMA aficionado insist that it ’s wholly useless in a conflict , while experient practitioners place out what a brutal , direct , and effective style it really is . In realism , Wing Chun can be quite lethal in the hands of an experienced practitioner . It ’s a sordid form of combat that focuses on brutal strikes to the centerline including the nozzle , teeth , pharynx , and breastbone .
On cinema , Wing Chun has been represented best by the popularIp Manfilm seriesstarring Donnie Yen in the nominal role . It ’s one of the most precise depictions of a martial art ever committed to film ( sans some unrealistic wire work and over - the - top scenes ) , and it ’s daze to watch in a well - choreographed fight .
Worst: Gymkata
It ’s hard to watch the trailer for 1985’sGymkatawithout bursting into feverish laughter , not to refer the movie itself . Jonathan Cabot starred as Kurt Thomas , an American Olympic gymnast hired by a special intelligence service organisation to participate in a tourney in a foreign country for the betterment of his nation .
Thomas utilizes " gymkata , " a mixture of gymnastic exercise and karate that razes his foes to the ground . The premiss is silly , and the martial artwork is the exact polar opposite of cool . It ’s severe to imagine what director Robert Clouse was thinking , especially after having helm the legendaryEnter The Dragonstarring Bruce Lee .
Best: Gun Kata
Any time martial arts is blended with gunplay , the effect is going to look fantastic on silver screen . That ’s precisely whatEquilibriumdirector Kurt Wimmer was move for when he and his team gestate Gun Kata , a theme song fighting style of the picture ’s Grammaton Clerics who keep order within a totalistic state .
The on - sieve battles are daze to check as blows are both deal and blocked while each fighter seeks out an gap to pull the trigger and claim victory . It ’s surd to imagine Gun Kata as a full - fledged real humanity soldierlike artistry , but it certainly has a home in moving picture , also being featured in Wimmer’sUltravioletand making it perhaps the only completely assumed style of movie warlike arts to appear in multiple films .
Worst: Aikido
Steven Seagal popularized the employment of Aikido in his moving picture begin way back with 1988’sAbove The Law . Seagal managed to take a primarily passive and defense - based martial art and wrick it into a vehicle for some of the mostbrutal depictions of violenceever see in warlike art movies .
Trouble is , Aikido has long been criticize for being relatively useless in a fight . It has no real offensive techniques , and that ’s a major job when it comes to adequately protect one ’s self . It ’s a noble martial art , but it has neither the core nor the dash to go a long way in real spirit nor on film .
Best: Keysi
Keysi was made pop by Christopher Nolan ’s phenomenally successfulBatmanfilm trilogy , and it served as the chief style used by the Dark Knight to fight crime . It was founded by Justo Diéguez and Andy Norman who possess first - hand experience in the mankind of brutal street fighting .
The warlike art is recognizable for the Pensador , a justificative mellow guard head blanket proficiency that can quickly be used to throw puncher and elbow strikes , among others . It has since been featured in many films includingMission Impossible 3 , Jack Reacher , andQuantum of Solace .
Worst: Capoeira
There ’s no denying that Capoeira is absolutely incredible to check . It first gained mainstream bulge in 1993’sOnly The Strongstarring Mark Dacascos , and has since been feature inThe Quest , Kickboxer 4 , andThe Protector , asterisk Tony Jaa .
The problem with Capoeira is that it was never intended to be a warlike arts fighting style , but a terpsichore - oriented shape of demonstrative art . It also pore all of its proficiency one - hundred percent on the legs , which means no clout , elbow strikes or grapples . This is over - specialty of the bad kind , especially when it come to pull ahead a combat .
Best: Brazilian Ju-Jitsu
Brazilian Ju - Jitsu first advance mainstream prominence thanks to the rise of the MMA scrap scene in the 1990s . Fast forward 25 + years and nothing much has convert . BJJ is still one of the most effective martial art ever conceive , and its power to put a quick end to fights in either brutal or compassionate fashion is staggering .
BJJ has been pop up in about every military action moving picture with a warriorlike arts premiss . It features heavily in theJohn Wickfilm serial , but it first gained attention in the originalLethal Weaponwhen Mel Gibson uses the famed triangle choke to subdue Gary Busey ’s character Joshua .
Worst: Tai Chi
Tai Chi can be excellent for anyone who require to get active and train in an art focused around spiritualism and positivity . Unfortunately , it ’s rather useless in a fight . That ’s not a smash on Tai Chi , just a reality . Its under - representation in the MMA circle is a provable example .
On film , Tai Chi can be nice to ascertain . Audiences have seen it in many film to great and small degrees , includingKeanu Reeves’Man Of Tai Chi , release in 2013 . It certainly is a martial prowess , just not one designed around combat . As such , it needs to be amped up considerably on film to be lease gravely as a deadly fight style .
NEXT:10 Most Underrated Martial Arts Movies
