What martial arts does Jack Bauer use in 24?

In the hit TV series 24, Jack Bauer is a counter terrorist special agent who is charged with stopping and uncovering deadly plots. As a result, it’s no surprise that he often gets involved in a fair number of physical confrontations. For the most part, Bauer is sometimes capable of solving crimes by using his brains – but he’s also not afraid to throw it down if it comes to fighting.

Perhaps the best thing about his character is that he’s not seen as invinsible or highly unrealistic either. Over the years, the likes of James Bond and others have shown fight scenes bordering on the unrealistic. This differs massively from Bauer who is able to fight people yet look vulnerable at the same time. In this article we shall assess the martial arts skills used by Jack Bauer. Just remember, this is a piece on a fictional character, so there’s an element of imagination used whilst looking at things.

List of martial arts used by Jack Bauer in 24

Aikido

One of the main martial arts that Jack Bauer uses in 24 is Aikido. He often relies on this whilst fighting against armed villains and uses his Aikido skills to disarm them. Sometimes, this involves using wrist locks to disable their pistols or knives. Obviously, Bauer needs to be good in this area, otherwise it can cost him his life. He will often control the wrist with his hand which keeps him safe, and then use this grip to eventually reverse his position or to throw his opponent.

Remember, Aikido was inspired by Judo so it’s not too surprising to see a number of similar Judo throws that arise from his Aikido skills. For the most part though, he mostly uses Aikido to keep himself safe from weapons. If you do fight Bauer and he happens to grab hold of your wrist, then there’s a good chance you’ll end in trouble at some point.

Krav Maga

Another big influence on Bauer’s combat style is his use of Krav Maga. Put simply, Bauer isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and is a gritty fighter at times. This means he’ll use surrounding objects to harm his opponents and survive at all costs which is one of the main ideas of Krav Maga. When fighting, he also uses multiple limbs such as his elbows, headbutts and elbows to win at all costs.

In short, it’s pretty clear that Bauer has been trained in Krav Maga in some capacity. He also uses the Krav Maga blocking system quite often as well and will often raise his arm to stop blows to the head. Here, he will often use this block to counter strikes and land blows of his own. This makes sense, considering similar martial arts are often taught to those in military and government positions like Bauer.

Boxing

One of the most commonly used martial arts found across the spectrum is boxing. When fighting, Bauer will often stand off his opponent and is more than happy to box. From here, he often uses hook punches to weaken his opponents before closing distance and coming in close. This tactic actually works pretty well in combination with his use of Krav Maga and Aikido.

In other words, he would be a pretty one-dimensional fighter if he couldn’t throw punches from afar which means he’s not bad on his feet. if you did have a job fighting terrorists and bad guys then it would make sense to learn some boxing. As for Bauer, he’s not the best boxer in the world but certainly has solid fundamentals where boxing is concerned.

Tactical Shooting

Oftentimes, Bauer is seen shooting his opponents and he is a pretty solid shooter. His guns range from pistols or even tactical rifles based on distance. Regardless, he has a pretty shot in both departments. Having said this, Bauer isn’t the perfect marksman either. As 24 is more realistic compared to other shows, he does miss on ocassion which is to be expected.

Still, if Bauer has a gun then he’ll probably win most fights and has an accurate shot. It should also be noted that his versatile use of different guns shows he’s not to be messed with in this department. Again, this is to be expected by a special agent. If he wasn’t good with firearms then it would be pretty alarming considering his profession.

Conclusion

Overall, Jack Bauer is a pretty skilled fighter and martial artist. His style is fairly well-rounded without him being some kind of combat master. For instance, his stand up grappling is pretty good, as is his striking. However, his ground fighting from the bottom isn’t great and he could arguably learn some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to sharpen up his game.

Still, if the average person were to fight Bauer then he would win quite easily. At the same time, his martial arts background is never really mentioned either and these skills are assumed to be learned over years. In other words, it’s safe to assume that Bauer isn’t formally trained in martial arts and probably isn’t a black belt. However, he’s probably trained and been in numerous fights over the years so when it comes to self defense and fighting he’s pretty legitimate and tough to defeat.

If you’re a fan of the 24 TV show then check out the first season here.