What martial arts does James Bond use?

James Bond is one of the UK’s greatest imports and is known internationally as one of the best spies to have ever lived. Originally a novel written by Ian Fleming, the James Bond universe exploded in popularity ever since the first movie Dr. No back in 1962. Since then, the film franchise is as popular as ever and still has millions of fans to this very day.

One of the reasons why James Bond is so universally acclaimed is his expert fighting skills. It’s no secret that James Bond can face a room full of bad guys and still come out unscathed. Remember, most of the time Bond fights pretty experienced opponents who know how to fight, these aren’t exactly civilians with no combat skills either. So, what martial arts does James Bond use – and how good is he at them? Read on for more information.

Karate

One of James Bond’s most successful fighting techniques is his use of the Karate chop. Otherwise known as the knife-hand strike, this is aimed at the neck and is designed to put the opponent unconscious. If hit hard enough, this puts too much pressure on the carotid artery and can instantly put someone out.

Over the years, 007 has used this countless times with great success. Whether used by sneaking up on an opponent, or used in open combat, he has often ended fights with this one move. It should be noted that this move used to also be used in Judo fights many years ago.

Judo

Author Ian Fleming said that James Bond was an expert at Judo and learned it in boarding school – as well as training Karate regularly. This comes in handy multiple times when 007 throws his enemies to the floor. Sometimes, he even has his back taken and opts for a drop Seoi Nage to turn a bad situation into a good one. As he is often fighting enemies in military uniforms or jackets, his Judo comes in handy and it allows for him to establish grips. From there, if Bond gets a solid grip on your collar, there’s a good chance that you’ll get thrown and taken down. In one of the earlier movies, Bond even says “I’m trained in Karate and Judo.” This makes sense, considering Bond lives in London. This city is home to the Budokwai which is the oldest Judo dojo in Europe.

Ninjutsu

Perhaps James Bond’s most useful martial art is his use of Ninjutsu. This is an umbrella term that basically describes the roles of Ninjas in feudal Japan. In many ways, the role of the Ninja was similar to the modern spy, and you could argue that Ninjas invented espionage tactics and spy culture. Here, they would be trained how to sneak into places, kill people in silence, steal information and also use explosives. Sound familiar? This is James Bond’s job in a nutshell.

In You Only Live Twice, James Bond has to enter Blofeld’s secret base in the Swiss Alps by using stealth. Obviously, he couldn’t just walk in casually and needed to do it without getting seen. Although this isn’t called Ninjutsu anymore, the founding principles and fundamentals remain the same and you can’t be a good spy without learning how to be sneaky!

Krav Maga

Another key skill that James Bond uses is Krav Maga, and he has done this in many of the films. A lot of people say that his fighting style resembles that of a street brawler, which is kind of true. Basically, 007 isn’t afraid to fight dirty and will use anything possible to gain an advantage. This is what Krav Maga is great at, and it’s about being effective in a real life situation. In the scene below, we can see Bond fighting unfairly. Is this unethical? Maybe…but it gets the job done.

Moving to more modern times, it’s no secret that actor Daniel Craig has also trained Krav Maga on and off for years. Whenever you see him break necks or kick people in the groin, he’s using Krav Maga. This makes sense as well, seeing as it’s rational to assume that James Bond has military training under his belt as well.

Aikido

Throughout the years, Aikido has been used a lot in big movies. Whilst it’s mostly discredited these days, it does look appealing when done on the big screen. In short, Aikido uses a lot of throws that are used by grabbing the wrists and manipulating them. In Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery suffered a broken wrist whilst training with Steven Seagal.

It’s known that Seagal is a black belt in Aikido and takes the art seriously. It’s not known what happened during their training, but some speculate that Seagal knocked him out. Nonetheless, if you don’t tap to a fully locked in Aikido wrist lock, your wrist will break. During this movie, James Bond used his Aikido on various henchmen, throwing them to the floor as a result.

Conclusion

As you would expect, James Bond is a very good fighter and knows how to win during combat. For an elite spy, you would expect this to be the case as well. What’s interesting about Bond is that he’s also highly skilled at grappling as well as striking, so this means he’s very well rounded, making him a difficult fighter to try and read. Perhaps the most unique aspect of his martial arts abilities though is his reliance on Ninjutsu.

When people think of this, they naturally assume Ninjas and believe that it’s irrelevant, but it’s actually very relevant these days but is under a different term, espionage. This is arguably Bond’s greatest skill as without it, he would be a mere martial artist who was good at fighting. It’s the Ninjutsu that brings his skills together and enables him to complete dangerous missions. Without this, he wouldn’t exist as a spy and it also shows his intelligence and ability to think on the spot.

If you’re a fan of James Bond and want to see more of his martial arts in movies, then check out this 24 movie boxset collection.