What martial arts does Gambit know?

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana as Remy LeBeau – Gambit is one of X-Mens coolest superheroes. Perhaps it’s the mystery that surrounds him or his skilled magic tricks, but Gambit has always been a fan favorite. Aside from his magic cards, another thing that is instantly recognizable about Gambit is his use of the Bo staff. Since the inception of his character, Gambit has used his trusted metal pole to fend off enemies, and whilst he’s very skilled with this, it’s no coincidence either. This is because he’s trained in martial arts which stems back to his days of training under the guild of thieves. For more information on Gambit and his martial arts background, keep reading on for more details.

Gambit knows Bojutsu

When it comes to the superhero universe, there is no one who can use the Bo like Gambit. Whether it’s in a one vs one situation or against multiple attackers, Gambit often uses his Bo staff to great effect. Here, he either prods it or slashes with it. Regardless, if you get hit with a metal pole, it’s going to hurt. In many states, the Bo is actually illegal to carry, but then again Gambit is a mutant and lives by his own rules anyway, so it’s not like carrying the Bo matters to him and he could easily slip the police if required.

The Bo originated from the Japanese island of Okinawa which is where Karate and other martial arts weapons came from. Basically, he is very skilled with the Bo which makes sense as he carries it practically everywhere and in terms of the Marvel universe, there’s no one that can really get close to him in terms of using the Bo.

Gambit knows French Savate

Unsurprisingly due to his French background, Gambit knows Savate. For those wondering, Savate is basically a form of French kickboxing which is very effective. Sadly, due to the mainstream appeal of Dutch kickboxing though, Savate is lesser known. Nonetheless, it’s still very effective and Gambit would often rely on his Savate skills when his Bo staff wasn’t around.

This isn’t too surprising considering that Gambit is of French origin. Standing at 6’1 feet, he’s also the perfect height to use his long legs and limbs to beat up bad guys. Whilst it’s great to be skilled with weapons, it’s also good to have a plan B and this is where his Savate skills come in handy. Combined with his mutant powers such as agility and strength, his Savate gives him a solid basis when fighting.

Gambit knows Capoeira

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that was founded by African slaves living there at the time. In short, this art combines dancing with fighting and is mostly centered around flashy, stylish kicks that involve spinning and rely on agility and flexibility. This is why Capoeira is such a great fit for Gambit, as he’s an ex gymnast after all. When you combine his mutant powers, it makes his Capoeria even more effective and his kicks can easily reach head height, making him very dangerous.

This is a classic case of someone playing to their strengths, as you have to be athletic to be good at Capoeira, and Gambit is incredibly athletic. For those out of the loop, Capoeira is also quite a bit different from Savate and often focuses on big, dynamic movements and head kicks, whereas Savate is generally less flashy and combines with regular, traditional boxing.

Conclusion

Whilst Gambit may not be the most known X-Men characters out there, he’s certainly one of the more unique ones who has his own style. When it comes to martial arts, he’s clearly very talented too and doesn’t have invincibility like Wolverine, or the brute strength of Beast either. As a result, he has had to use his smarts which means relying on a weapon such as the Bo staff. He also uses a combination of kick-based martial arts such as Savate and Capoeira when he isn’t armed too, proving that he isn’t just a goon with a weapon and that he is capable of fighting with weapons.

In summary, Gambit probably isn’t the best superhero martial artist out there. However, he isn’t the worst either and is an interesting character to dissect. As for regular humanbeings, he would be a nightmare to fight as well considering his freak athleticism and mutant skills which would literally make him superhuman.