Batman has been one of the people’s favorite superheroes. Also, Batman is the only DC hero with no natural superpowers.
Batman’s primary medium of defeating super villains are his kicks, punches, weapons, clever tech, and quick thinking. Now, the question is, what martial arts does Batman know?
Batman knows martial arts like Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Judo, Karate, Krav Maga, and more. In total, he knows 127 different martial arts. He blends them all into one unique fighting style that he uses to destroy evil and protect Gotham City.
Keep reading this article to learn more about Batman’s top martial arts and where he learned them.
Table of Contents
The martial arts used by Batman
Batman relies mainly on his combat skills to battle evil forces. With 127 mastered martial arts, below are some of his main styles.
Boxing
Bruce Wayne (Batman) used his fist the most to fight. Ted Grant, a.k.a. Wildcat, introduced and taught Bruce how to Box.
Boxing is combat that involves throwing punch combinations to damage the opponent. These combos are matched with head movements and footwork for better angle and defense.
Boxing is present in all Batman comics, movies, and animated series. Some examples are Son of Batman, Justice League War, and Batman Forever.
Kickboxing
There’s no solid proof of how and who taught Batman Kickboxing. However, it’s evident that Bruce knows how to Kickbox because of how good his punch and kick combinations are.
Kickboxing is a martial art that can be described as the better version of Boxing because of the presence of kicks.
It’s basically the same as Boxing’s head movement and footwork but with the addition of kicks.
Kickboxing is one of Batman’s main staple combat styles. Bruce has used this in his movies like Batman Soul of the Dragon, Lego Batman Movie, and Justice League.
Krav Maga
Krav Maga is used by Batman with his superb weapon handling skills, including firearms and bladed weapons. He’s also known to shove down people like in Krav Maga style.
Krav Maga is considered the most dangerous martial arts in the world. It teaches weapon handling and striking. It’s used by different military groups worldwide for its practicality in combat.
Krav Maga can be seen in all Batman films because Bruce always uses weapons alongside his fists. Some notable examples are Justice League, Teen Titans, and Batman & Harley Quinn.
Muay Thai
It’s easy to say Batman knows Muay Thai because he uses elbows and knees, which defines Muay Thai. Batman doesn’t have a background in Muay Thai in his storyline.
Muay Thai, also called Thai Boxing, is a martial art style that involves elbow and knee strikes. Muay Thai also has clinching, kick catches, and heel sweeps.
You can see Muay Thai being used in many Batman movies, either animated or not. Some examples are Batman Hush, Batman Vs. Robin, and Batman Under the Red Hood.
Judo
Judo is used by Batman in almost all of his movies. Batman loves throwing his opponents to the ground with traditional Judo moves.
He might’ve learned this during his time in Japan during the Batman Ninja movie.
Judo is a close-quarter combat martial art focusing mainly on body grabbing to perform a successful throw.
Aside from the throw, Judo also teaches good body balance to prevent yourself from being thrown as well.
You can see a good showcase of Judo in Batman movies like Batman Vs. Robin, The Darknight Rises, and Batman Forever.
Karate
Bruce Wayne has shown his excellent ability to perform lightning-fast kicks. This style is mainly derived from his Karate expertise despite having no Karate belts.
He might have learned Karate during his time in Japan in Batman Ninja. After leaving Japan, there’s a chance that he taught himself to improve his craft in Karate.
Karate is a martial art focusing on kicks with immense speed and power. Karate kicks are usually thrown at a distance to maintain elusiveness.
Bruce Wayne loves to add some kicks in his attack combination. Karate is used in all Batman movies, such as Batman Returns, Batman & Robin, and Batman Begins.
Ninjutsu
Bruce Wayne was introduced to Ninjutsu by Kirigi, a master of Ninjutsu in the mountains of North Korea. Kirigi has taught Bruce everything he needs to know about this style.
Ninjutsu is a traditional martial art from ancient Japan. This style includes stealthy moves and Katana usage combined with kicks and punches.
Ninjutsu has been showcased in a particular Batman movie entitled Batman Ninja. In this, Batman is a high-level ninja and uses Katana blades like a real ninja.
Best Batman martial arts movies
Batman has dozens of movies when all his live-action and animated films combined. All are electrifying but below are the most action-packed.
Batman Begins
Batman Begins shows how Bruce Wayne’s journey to becoming the famous Batman. In this movie, people have seen Batman’s Boxing and Kickboxing skills for the first time.
In Batman Begins, Bruce fought his mentor turned villain Ra’s al Ghul with his hand-to-hand combat skills combined with his slick weapon handling.
The Dark Knight
Batman fought the Joker in The Dark Knight as he sowed terror in Gotham City. Batman uses Judo, Krav Maga, Boxing, and Kickboxing in this film.
Actually, the Dark Knight series showcase how versatile Batman’s fighting style is. It showcases all of Batman’s mastered martial arts in each fight scene.
The Dark Knight Rises
In the Dark Knight Rises movie, Batman fights Bane, a superhuman with immense strength and a goal to take over Gotham. In this movie, Batman used Krav Maga and Kickboxing.
Fight scenes in this movie are more on weapon-based combat as well as mano y mano style. Though some types are also present but used that much.
Justice League
Justice League is a movie where Batman fought along with the whole Justice League to destroy Steppenwolf, an alien who wants to destroy Earth.
In this movie, Batman uses all possible martial arts he knows, including Judo, Boxing, and Krav Maga, to defeat the alien army of Steppenwolf.
Batman Ninja
Batman Ninja is an Animated Batman movie. It’s done in Japan, where Batman is a Ninja superhero who defeats the Japanese counterpart of Joker.
Batman Ninja gives Batman’s Ninjutsu skill a spotlight. It’s also a geological thing because Ninjutsu originated in Japan. In this movie, Batman uses stealthy moves and a Katana blade.
Common questions about Batman’s martial arts
Batman is a mysterious character. This characteristic makes his fans confused. Below are answers to some common Batman questions.
How many martial arts does Batman know?
Officially, Batman practiced a total of 127 martial arts styles. Some of these martial arts are Boxing, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, and Ninjutsu. However, this number is fictional because an actual human probably can’t master 127 in a lifetime.
Batman managed to learn this many martial arts because of his wealth. Being wealthy gives him a lot of resources to train with the best masters in the world.
Although unrealistic, the closest thing to Batman’s 127 martial arts is Jackie Chan. Jackie knows dozens of martial arts.
Who trained Batman in martial arts?
Ted Grant, a.k.a. Wildcat, trained Batman in the field of Boxing. Bruce got his Ninjutsu skills from Kirigi, a Ninjutsu master living in the remote mountains of North Korea. Other martial arts are most likely self-taught.
Other martial art styles have no solid proof of background on who taught him that specific style. However, due to his extreme intelligence, the remaining might be self-taught.
Has Batman mastered all martial arts?
We can say that Bruce Wayne is a Jack of All Trades, Master of some. An example of martial styles he mastered is Boxing, Kickboxing, and Krav Maga because of his excellent showcase of skill in each of these styles.
Bruce started martial art training when he was 10 after his parents died. Today, Batman is often depicted as 48; 38 years is not enough to master 127 styles to be realistic.
Does Batman know Kryptonian martial arts?
Batman didn’t have the chance to learn any alien martial art style, specifically Kryptonian martial arts. Though, Blackfire, the sister of Starfire, taught Robin some Kryptonian moves in one episode of Teen Titans. Unfortunately, those moves were not passed to Batman.
Despite having over 100 practiced martial art types, Batman only had the chance to learn styles used by his fellow earthlings.
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