Does Doctor Who know martial arts?

Back in 1963, the first-ever episode of Doctor Who aired, and since then it’s fair to say that it’s gone on to achieve iconic status. During this time, countless Doctors have come and gone and it has gained a global audience in the process. If you’re a fan of the series, then you’ll also know that Doctor Who is no stranger to combat. He is a timelord that has lived for thousands of years after all…

In short, Doctor Who’s main venture into martial arts began with the third Doctor, who was played by John Pertwee. Before Pertwee, the Doctor didn’t really do much in the way of martial arts and so Pertwee helped pioneer fighting on the show. Since then, a handful of Doctors have carried on the martial arts introduced by the third Doctor so his legacy lives on.

This martial arts style is often referred to as Venusian Aikido when it’s used on the show. It should be noted before continuing that Venusian Aikido is purely fictional so don’t get alarmed. This article is mostly for a bit of fun and to explain the link between Doctor Who and martial arts. Having said this, many of the Venusian Aikido techniques are taken from a handful of real-life martial arts, so it’s not complete nonsense either.

Doctor Who uses Venusian Aikido

As previously established, Doctor Who uses Venusian Aikido. This martial art was apparently developed by Venusians on the show, who hailed from the planet Venus. In certain illustrations, these are shown as small, green aliens but on the TV show, there’s actually not too much in the way of Venusians making physical appearances. What is known is that Doctor Who supposedly learned their martial art and applied it to his own adventures when he was in trouble.

For example, against certain aliens and villains, the Doctor would use his Aikido when necessary. It’s not exactly known as to why it’s referred to as Aikido either, as it looks like a mixture of various disciplines but nonetheless, this is what the Doctor calls it. Below, we shall delve into more detail about Venusian Aikido and the real arts that it uses.

What is Venusian Aikido?

Remember, Venusian Aikido first appeared on TV screens back in the early 60s in the United Kingdom, so it wouldn’t use the likes of Muay Thai or BJJ which weren’t known back then. With this in mind, it mostly used martial arts that were already established and fairly mainstream at the time. Here’s what Venusian Aikido looks like.

Judo

During certain fights, Doctor Who can be seen using Judo to great effect. Compared to modern-day choreography, his Judo throws aren’t exactly technical, but they seem to get the job done. In one particular scene, Pertwee is seen performing a Seoi Nage on an enemy to take him to the ground.

As mentioned, it looks like his Judo skills aren’t exactly black belt level. However, in terms of effectiveness, his Judo is good enough when facing untrained attackers. Generally, the Doctors Judo mostly involves upper body throws, rather than foot trips or reaps, which may be down to looking better and more stylish on TV.

Aikido

In fairness, it would be weird if Venusian Aikido lacked Aikido, so it’s a good job that it’s used every now and then. Aikido is mostly known for its throws using pain compliance methods and wrist control. In one scene, Doctor Who manages to grab the wrist of his opponent and straighten the arm from the hold.

He then advances the position into a Russian tie where he is able to take his opponent down by using his own body weight to put pressure on the elbow which leads to the takedown. The Doctor has also been seen using wrist grabs to get out of certain holds which disadvantage him. As you may have figured by now, Doctor Who is a skilled grappler.

Karate

One of Doctor Who’s best attacks is the Knifehand strike which he used quite often. This uses the blade of the hand as a knife to chop opponents, primarily in the neck which can lead to great pain or even unconsciousness. In the show, the Doctor strikes using his hand on the back as well as the neck, often putting his opponents to the floor in the process.

Of course, with Karate, kicks are also involved. Doctor Who also uses lots of Karate kicking techniques to knock out his opponents by striking them in their heads. Actually, you could argue that the bulk of Venusian Aikido is actually Karate which would be a fair assessment.

Krav Maga…kind of

Technically, Krav Maga was founded in the late 70s, so it’s fair to say that it didn’t consciously feature in the earlier Doctor Who episodes. Nonetheless, Doctor Who uses elements of Krav Maga whilst fighting. For instance, when up against armed enemies, the Doctor can more than handle himself when it comes to disarming guns and blades. This is a handy skill to have in terms of self defense.

Sometimes, after taking weapons, the Doctor will use this for himself. So, if you’re fighting Doctor Who you can easily go from offensive to defensive if you’re caught unaware whilst armed.

Dim Mak

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Venusian Aikido is the addition of Dim Mak. Specifically, the technique borrowed from Dim Mak is the pressure point, which Doctor Who seems pretty fond of. Often, he would attack enemies by putting his fingers on their pressure points. This usually involved grabbing on the neck or just below. Usually, this would paralyze his enemies and would end the confrontation instantly with his opponents quickly backing down.

Dim Mak pressure points rely on touching the opponent on certain areas of their body to incapacitate them. Many people call this nonsense, but in Doctor Who, it seemed to work handily against aliens and other creatures. Remember, Doctor Who is an alien himself from the planet Gallifrey, so maybe there’s something in it.

Wrestling

Earlier, we mentioned how Doctor Who used sloppy yet effective Judo skills. It seems that his freestyle wrestling is similar in terms of technique. At one point, he’s seen completing a single leg takedown on his opponent. And, whilst this technique gets the job done, it would also be a lie to call the Doctor a skilled wrestler. In fairness, with a background in Judo, Aikido, and wrestling, it’s fair to say that he is pretty versatile when grappling.

Conclusion

Looking back, you could describe Venusian Aikido as a mixture of Aikido, Judo, Dim Mak, Wrestling, Krav Maga, and Karate. Ultimately, if you were skilled in these areas, you’d be a pretty good martial artist. However, when watching the content, it’s fair to say that Doctor Who isn’t an expert in martial arts but is instead a versatile practitioner.

As said, John Pertwee is mostly responsible for bringing martial arts into the world of Doctor Who. Still, a number of Doctors since then have used Venusian Aikido, such as Peter Capaldi amongst others. In fairness to John Pertwee, these fight scenes were shot in the early 60s, so the skill level on display isn’t exactly masterful and reflects the time they were used in.

If you’d like to check out more Venusian Aikido from John Pertwee as Doctor Who, then check out his Series 4 DVD here.