What martial arts does Green Arrow use?

Formerly known as Oliver Queen, Green Arrow is a DC superhero that specializes in archery. When equipped with his trusted bow and arrow, there are very few in the world who can stop him. If you’re a fan of the show or comics though, then you’ll also notice that he’s also highly skilled in a few other martial arts too. In other words, whilst Green Arrow is definitely a specialist in archery, he’s also well versed with his hands as well as certain other weapons.

Remember, Green Arrow isn’t immortal either, so it’s vital that he has to rely on these fighting methods to survive. Unlike some, he can’t be too relaxed about getting hit or shot – and is very dependent on these skills. Here’s a rundown of the martial arts and fighting styles that Green Arrow uses in combat. These skills have been taken from both the TV show, as well as the original comic book storyline.

Kyudo (archery)

Kyudo is a Japanese martial art that is based around archery. Whether Green Arrow trained Kyudo or used general archery training is unknown, but what is known is that he’s damn good at it. His eyesight and reaction speed is second to none, meaning that he can draw and aim his arrows within a split second. In some ways, his arrow almost acts like a gun and can be used to quickly kill his enemies or at least weaken them.

At times, he has even relied on his bow to strike opponents and act as a club. Whilst this isn’t taught in Kyudo, it’s still a valuable skill that can harm people. As a result, it’s no surprise that Green Arrow is deadly with his shooting. Within the comic book universe, only Deadshot comes close in terms of accuracy with a firearm.

Aikido

This martial art mostly features in the TV show where there’s a lot of time spent on the fight scene choreography. Basically, if enemies do manage to get in close to Green Arrow, then he will throw them using wrist locks and small joint manipulation. In fact, on the TV show, Green Arrow makes this look easy and is able to take his opponents down with relative ease.

It should be noted that many of the martial arts community do not agree with Aikido and its methods. The reason for this is that even though Aikido looks effective and stylish, the difference is that in reality it can be tough to pull off. So, you would expect that Aikido has been thrown into the Green Arrow lore for cinematic purposes.

Eskrima

As touched upon earlier, if necessary then Green Arrow will not hesitate to use his bow to strike people with. Part of this means that he’s been trained somewhere to be able to use it as a stick…or stick fighting. Returning to the TV show, Eskrima is also used without the use of the bow. Here, he can be seen using two sticks whilst fighting. Obviously, this is a useful skill to learn when fighting in close combat.

As seen above, Green Arrow (left) is seen training Eskrima. This is a Filipino martial art that uses sticks to attack and defend. The art of Eskrima is mostly to avoid getting hit, whilst returning strikes of your own if possible. Whilst being excellent with archery is great, it still leaves issues if Green Arrow becomes disarmed which is where Eskrima comes in handy.

Karate

Again, it’s nice that Green Arrow can rely on his archery but if he’s completely unarmed then this is where his Karate comes into play. In short, this is the main fighting style that Green Arrow uses without his main weapon. Here, he uses a combination of blocks with his forearms, as well as head kicks which show his superior leg flexibility.

One of the main benefits of knowing Karate is that it can be used to fend off multiple attackers too. Whilst it’s good to know Aikido for grappling, if more than one opponent turns up then you’re in trouble. However, with Karate you can successfully use this to defend against a few enemies which is great for Green Arrow, as he often fights outnumbered.

How good is Green Arrow at martial arts?

Based on the above, we can obviously agree that Green Arrow is an expert marksman and his Kyudo skills are second to none. After all, he wouldn’t have earned his nickname if he was ordinary with this weapon. Elsewhere though, Green Arrow is still a skilled martial artist but this comes in different forms. For example, he is still good at Eskrima and Karate, without truly being an expert like he is with archery.

This means that whilst Green Arrow is a dangerous opponent, he’s arguably one of the most one-sided superheroes in terms of his skill set and isn’t as rounded as others. Nonetheless, there’s something refreshing to see a superhero that isn’t always perfect and has flaws. In the case of Green Arrow, he could learn other martial arts such as Judo or BJJ to become more rounded. Having said this, because his archery skills are so effective, he doesn’t need to be as reliant on other arts in the first place.

Want to learn more about the skills of the bow? Check out this book on Kyudo and how it works.