What martial art does Obi Wan Kenobi use?

In Star Wars, Obi Wan Kenobi is one of the main characters and is one of the most powerful Jedi of all time. Obviously, being a Jedi involves combat and so it makes sense that a Jedi would be skilled when it comes to fighting.

Although Obi Wan has never formally trained in martial arts (that we know of) – he has trained combatives during his earlier days as a Jedi. In other words, it may not be explicitly stated what Obi Wan trained – but we can see a lot of martial arts styles used in his combat scenes which give us a hint of his fighting style. Remember, this article is purely fictional, and not to take it too seriously.

Obi Wan uses Kenjutsu

Kenjutsu is the art of sword fighting and comes from Japan. Arguably, this is the closest thing to fighting with a lightsaber where one wrong move can result in death. Kenjutsu often uses one-handed control for swords just like the lightsaber and also relies on using the sword to block, as well as strike when necessary.

Sometimes, Kenjutsu also uses both hands to control the sword as well which also happens in Star Wars. For instance, in his fight against Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan changes his stance from one-haded to two-handed grips, depending on the weight of his opponent’s lightsaber.

As Obi Wan got the better of Anakin that day, we can see that he’s truly a master at swordfighting and has been involved in a fair few scraps over the years. A big part of Kenjutsu is also the footwork. Like boxing, the damage may be done by upper body strikes but the bulk of the offensive and defensive movements come from solid footwork.

Obi Wan uses Aikido

In the Disney+ series Obi Wan Kenobi, we actually see him use Aikido as well. Before this addition, Obi Wan didn’t really use Aikido that we know of. In the trailer at the 1.15 mark, we can see Obi Wan successfully hit a Kote Gaeshi throw on his enemy.

This involves grabbing the opponent’s wrist with both hands and bending it back whilst twisting the arm. If the attacker doesn’t fall then it leads to a broken wrist or arm. So, they will often go with the momentum and accept a take down to avoid a broken limb.

Like Kenjutsu, it makes sense that Obi Wan would be well versed in Aikido. Often Jedi’s are involved in combat where they need quick reactions and hand fighting is necessary. So, Aikido is the ideal martial art in this respect. It will be interesting to see if Obi Wan’s Aikido is expanded upon more in future Star Wars stories.

Obi Wan uses Tai Chi

If you’re to claim that using the force is the equivalent of using Chi energy, then Obi Wan is a Tai Chi master. Of course, Chi energy cannot be used in real life (at least it can’t be used to forcibly throw someone to the other side of the room). However, Obi Wan is a Jedi and truly understands his surroundings and how to manipulate the force.

This means he can use the surrounding energy to push and pull objects, as well as create force fields. Whilst this may be impossible for a regular human being to pull off, remember a Jedi is basically a super hero with super human powers. Sadly, the Tai Chi used in real life is massively different compared to how the force operates. Still, it gives us a good idea of energy manipulation used in a combat setting.

Obi Wan uses Ninjutsu

Most of the time, Jedi’s try to avoid confrontations when possible. However, due to their often violent lifestyle, they still have to fight from time to time. To try and diffuse such confrontations, they will often use Jedi mind tricks to confuse potential aggressors and avoid violence.

This line of thought ties in strongly with Ninjutsu which often teaches about manipulating people and using your own intelligence to outwit them. Like Tai Chi, Ninjutsu is far less impressive in real life – however, within the Star Wars universe it’s quite impressive.

The big difference between Jedi mind tricks and Ninjutsu is that the suggestion used in Ninjutsu is closer to verbal Judo, whereas the Jedi mind tricks are closer to magic. This is a good example of using a martial art that doesn’t involve any physicality. As the saying goes, the art of war is to not start a war.

Obi Wan uses Capoeira

In Star Wars Episode 1, Obi Wan Kenobi famously fought Darth Maul in an epic fight scene. Around this time, Star Wars director George Lucas was pretty obsessed with the Brazilian art of Capoeira and it frequently featured in the Jedi vs. Sith fight scenes. In particular, Darth Maul used a lot of athletic movements that were used in Capoeira.

Here, Obi Wan would use some impressive jumps, kicks, and dynamic movements to avoid getting hit by Darth Maul, as would Darth Maul against him. Arguably, Capoeira should be used more in films as it truly does look impressive compared to other styles of fighting. Whilst not everyone would have the physical capabilities to pull off Capoeira, remember Jedi’s and Sith’s are not regular humans.

Summary

When looking at Star Wars, it’s important to note that the Jedi’s were inspired by the Samurai. This is why their lightsabers resemble katana swords and their fighting styles are similar. In fact, the entire, stoic philosophy of being a Jedi is similar to that of a Samurai.

Aside from the obvious sword fighting, Obi Wan also knows a bit of Aikido, Ninjutsu, and Capoeira. The likelihood is that he trained in these disciplines for many years growing up and then perfected them in battle on many occasions.

It’s also important to remember that they’re often called Jedi Knights, which means you should expect them to be able to excel in combat due to being a literal knight. Combined with special abilities such as the force and Jedi mind tricks, this makes Obi Wan Kenobi a very skilled, dangerous martial artist.