What martial arts does Blade know?

Blade is a Marvel superhero who is best known as a vampire hunter. Although he’s a vampire himself, his goal is to rid the world of evil vampires that prey on humans. Since the comic book days, the story got adapted into a movie back in 1998 and had various spin-offs, proving that people loved Blade. In these films, Blade was played by Wesley Snipes who made the role his own.

Interestingly, Snipes is known as a high level celebrity martial artist with black belts in Karate, Hapkido, and other disciplines. This meant that like his character Blade, Snipes would bring a martial arts element to the movies which captivated fans. So, if you ever wondered what martial arts Blade uses – then wonder no more as here’s the breakdown.

Blade knows Kenjutsu

Perhaps Kenjutsu is Blade’s strongest martial art which is no surprise considering his love of the blade. As you may have guessed, this is probably where he gets his nickname from. Blade often carries around a katana made from silver which can kill other vampires. Due to his vampire abilities such as lightning speed, he can use swords to great effect. This means stabbing and slicing his opponents without them having enough time to react.

Whilst Blade can fight without his sword, it is definitely his main weapon. In short, if you can fight him without his sword then he becomes much easier. Although he’s still a challenge, he is arguably the greatest swordsman in the superhero universe. Being a vampire, he also has a long life and was born in 1929. That’s plenty of time to get good at sword fighting.

Blade knows Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu has a lot of parts to it. One of these parts is throwing stars and other such things. Basically, Blade was known for throwing stakes into his enemies to kill them. Obviously, a stake will kill a vampire if placed through their heart. As a result of this, Blade often carries stakes with them, and combined with his super abilities, he can use them to kill enemies. In the movie, he uses two blades put together which act as a throwing star.

Whilst these stakes may not quite be throwing stars, Blade applies the same principles found in Ninjutsu to his stakes. Like throwing darts for sports, this is a skill that takes years to master and relies on pin point precision.

Blade knows Eskrima

Another martial art that Blade uses effectively is Eskrima. This is a Filipino martial art that relies on knife work from close range. It can also be trained using sticks but is meant for those carrying daggers and smaller blades. Again, Blade would adapt this method to suit his own needs. In this case, Blade would carry stakes in his hands if he wasn’t using his sword.

This meant that if he got up close enough, then he could pull out a stake and quickly stab his victim. Similarly, he would sometimes jump from high and land on his victim, placing his stake into their heart to kill them. Eskrima will also teach you how to defend against knife attacks too, which is great if you’re like Blade who is often involved in knife fights.

Blade knows Karate

When he’s not armed, Blade needs other methods to be able to fight. In his case, he opts for Karate. This is a martial art that needs no introduction and is great if you’re reliant on your fists. Here, Blade would throw kicks and punches, again with lightning speed to defeat his enemies. One of the main things about Karate is its reliance on speed, which is handy for Blade as he has speed in abundance. As mentioned earlier, actor Wesley Snipes has a black belt in Shotokan Karate, so it makes sense to see him use this in the fight scenes throughout the movie.

Blade knows Capoeira

Capoeira is often used in films and this is because it looks great when done right. This is a Brazilian martial art that mimics dancing and requires great athleticism to pull off. Here, you’ll see spinning kicks, cartwheels, and more. This was probably added into the Blade movies to show a bit of style and add creativity to the fight scenes.

As expected, Blade is also meant to be a super fast vampire so it’s not surprising to see him use this style. In the film, vampires are meant to be fast and athletic, so it’s no surprise to see Capoeira in use. Blade uses this to both attack and defend during the hand-to-hand combat scenes of the movie.

Conclusion

Make no doubt about it, Blades’ use of swords and daggers is second to none. If you’re unfortunate enough to get in a fight with him whilst he’s armed then you’re in trouble. Combining his natural speed and strength with technical ability, he is a very tough opponent to go up against whilst brandishing a sword. When he isn’t armed, Blade is still a skilled martial artist and uses striking arts such as Karate and Capoeira.

Having said this, unlike certain other superheros, Blade is not really known as a grappler. Generally, he doesn’t need to grapple due to his expert ability with swords and fighting. Nonetheless, there is little evidence that he can grapple which means he is more one-dimension than other fighters out there. In fairness, what did you expect when the superhero is literally named Blade?