What martial arts does Rock Lee use in Naruto?

If you’re familiar with the Naruto TV series then you’ll also be aware of Rock Lee, who is one of the main characters in the anime. Like the main character Naruto, Rock Lee’s fighting style is often described as ‘Taijutsu’ which is a blend of various martial arts. You could even go as far as to claim that Taijutsu is used in Naruto to describe what many call Jeet Kune Do.

In this article, we shall be taking a closer look at what Taijutsu means and what Rock Lee really uses when fighting against ninjas on the show. As you’d expect, it’s a mash of various styles and is made to look good in order to entertain fans watching the series.

Rock Lee trains Taijutsu

In Naruto, Rock Lee is taught Taijutsu by his teacher Might Guy. It’s not surprising that Rock Lee looks very similar to his mentor, considering he mimics not only his looks but also his fighting techniques as well.

Simply put, Taijutsu is a blanket term in Naruto. It is a mixture of various martial arts that mostly involve striking using punches and kicks – as opposed to grappling. Overall, most animes prefer to use this style as opposed to grappling, as it’s probably more realistic in all honesty. Read on for more information as to what Taijutsu actually means.

Martial arts used by Rock Lee

Taekwondo

When looking at Rock Lee’s main fighting style, it’s probably most comparable to Taekwondo. In fairness, you could easily say that it also looks like Karate as there’s a lot of overlap between the two. However, Taekwondo edges it as it’s generally a more stylish approach to fighting which is more entertaining.

On a similar note, you could also say that some of Rock Lee’s kicks are from Karate if you want to get into the specifics. One of his moves that is definitely from TKD though, is the superman punch which could be seen in his bout against Gaara. Once again, this ties in with his exciting fighting style.

When it comes to using Taekwondo moves, Rock Lee often throws a mixture of roundhouse kicks, and dramatic flying jump kicks. In other words, if you were to be on the end of one of his kicks, it would seriously hurt.

Drunken fist boxing

Aside from throwing kicks, Rock Lee also throws punches as well. This style is akin to Chinese drunken boxing which is actually a legitimate martial art. Its name comes from the idea of fighting like you’re drunk. Ideally, you’d be relaxed and calm which would lead to more fluid movements whilst fighting, as opposed to being stiff and rigid. Defensively, it also involves leaning back as if you’re drunk and relies on extreme balance and base to pull this off.

This can be seen with Rock Lee who has a very relaxed style which is good when it comes to fighting. In real life, the ex-UFC champion Anderson Silva had a style that was similar and this served him well. As for Rock Lee, it means that his punches never seem forced yet still yield a lot of power.

Rock Lee is based on Bruce Lee

In case you hadn’t gathered, Rock lee is actually based on the legendary martial artist, Bruce Lee. For instance, Rock has the same birthday, the same haircut, and a similar name to the Hong Kong icon. Unsurprisingly then, he also shares similar fighting techniques that were used by Bruce Lee.

For instance, one of these styles used by Rock Lee is Wing Chun. Arguably, this was Bruce Lee’s most famous martial art that he practiced. In some fights, Rock Lee will rely on intense hand and arm speed whilst blocking and diverting punches from close range. This comes from Wing Chun.

What fighting stance does Rock Lee use?

In his fight against Gaara, Rock Lee uses a Kung Fu stance which involves having crouched legs with one arm and hand extended in front of him, with his other arm placed behind his back. Over the years, this has become an iconic stance and is similar to the Tiger stance used in traditional Kung Fu.

In fact, this pose is so legendary, that UFC champion Israel Adesanya even mimicked it in one of his MMA fights. It’s no secret that Adesanya is a huge anime buff and fan of Naruto, so it’s not too surprising given the circumstances. Although not quite the same, Conor McGregor used to adopt a similar pose which was to show confidence whilst fighting.

Conclusion

As you’d expect, Rock Lee is a well-versed martial artist who is skilled in multiple styles. For the most part, his fighting style revolves around kicks and is most similar to Taekwondo, with a mixture of Karate, Wing Chun, and Kung Fu mixed in as well.

This means that if you were to fight Rock Lee, your best bet would be to grapple him to the ground by using wrestling, whereby you would nullify his strengths and then finish the fight by using a BJJ submission.

This would not be easy though, as getting close to Rock Lee would be dangerous to begin with. As confirmed, he’s a very skilled fighter – but also due to his martial arts lifestyle, he’s also incredibly strong, athletic, and conditioned.

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