What martial arts does The Punisher use?

Otherwise known as Frank Castle, The Punisher is a former US marine turned antihero. Unlike other superheroes, he isn’t reliant on super powers and in that sense he’s just an ordinary human being. However, due to years of military training and a lust to avenge his family, this makes him a very fearsome fighter. As a result, his nickname of ‘The Punisher’ is well earned. Here we shall look through the martial arts styles that he uses which are certainly taken from his time in the US marines. Read on for more information.

MCMAP

MCMAP stands for Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and is where The Punisher’s skills originate from. You could argue that every fighting style that he has learned was done under the MCMAP, or was at least heavily influenced by it. The MCMAP is mostly based around tactical shooting and assumes the marines using it are fluent with guns. In other words, the bulk of The Punisher’s training during MCMAP would have relied on his weapon.

This can be seen in the comics and in the movies, where The Punisher is deadly with machine guns, pistols and of course, his trusted sniper rifle. In other words, he is highly skilled when handling a number of different firearms and doesn’t just specialize in one area which is very rare. Because of this, most of the time he relies on his MCMAP skills and would rather kill by using a gun. This makes sense considering it’s much more efficient compared to using hand-to-hand combat skills. Remember, The Punisher is only human so it doesn’t make sense for him to try and take on multiple attackers with his just his hands.

Eskrima

In the TV series, The Punisher shows off his knife fighting skills and has a small but very sharp blade on him which he uses when guns aren’t around. There are also a few instances during the comics where he fights from close range with knives and this is where his Eskrima comes into play.

It should be noted that knife fighting is taught in MCMAP, but Eskrima and Kali are arguably better ways to learn about the blade. The reason for this is that these Filipino martial arts are more purist, whereas MCMAP’s knife curriculum is broader. Therefore, it makes sense that The Punisher is handy with his Eskrima skills. In one of the comics, he even jumps from far and lands on an enemy, slicing off their hand instantly due to his deadly use of Eskrima.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Another aspect of MCMAP that has spilled over into bigger things for Frank Castle is his use of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It should be noted that this isn’t his main style of fighting and he only relies on his grappling when he’s unarmed. In terms of hierarchy, The Punisher would rather opt for guns, then knives, then BJJ which is a sensible choice.

Anyway, in some cases, The Punisher has been known to use his BJJ to out-grapple his opponents. Obviously, he’s a very large, muscular man so this only plays into his hands. For example, on occasion, he’s been known to use rear naked chokes on his enemies which requires a knowhow of what you’re doing. In one particularly bizarre scene in the Marvel comics, he even swims behind someone in the sea, grabs onto them, and throws them into the mouth of a shark. This is one of the more creative ways to kill someone by grappling, but if it works, then it works!

Judo

Judo is mostly used by The Punisher in the TV series which makes sense as it looks pretty cool on TV. Here, he will also grapple his opponents whilst standing and knows a variety of throws. In one scene, he also hits an Uchi Mata hip toss on an enemy that tries to attack him from behind.

Interestingly, Judo doesn’t really feature as much in the comics and he usually relies on his weaponry or striking skills. Nonetheless, if called upon it seems that The Punisher is pretty good at Judo. Again, this may have been from his MCMAP days where takedowns are part of the curriculum.

Boxing

Perhaps The Punisher’s greatest martial art without weapons is his boxing skills. Remember, his introduction to the comic book world was back in 1963 when certain martial arts such as BJJ and Eskrima weren’t as popular. So, although he’s a gunman at heart – his second most reliant skill is probably his boxing.

This also ties in with his personality as The Punisher. Whilst it may be effective to kill people with bullets and chokes, it’s also brutal and remorseless to do so by punching them to death. As The Punisher is a man with a grudge, this style plays into his character well and shows off his grisly personality. It’s assumed once again that he trained boxing whilst in the military and due to his kill count and effectiveness with his boxing, you can assume he’s trained it for years at a very high level.

Street Fighting

Yes, we get it – street fighting is not a formal martial art. However, The Punisher is certainly a skilled street fighter and brawler, so it would feel odd not to include his street fighting antics. Like James Bond and other heroes who aren’t dependent on super powers, The Punisher isn’t afraid to fight dirty and will do whatever it takes to win. Even if this includes underhand tactics, he will do what is necessary to survive.

Whether this comes in the form of some of Krav Maga’s dirtier techniques, or whether he’s just going to shoot someone and waste no time getting into a physical fight, The Punisher knows how to win at all costs. Based on his profession and the seriousness of his duties, this is a good attitude to have at all times.

Conclusion

The Punisher is one of the world’s most deadly men and what’s more impressive is that he’s not a typical superhero with powers. Instead, he’s a military expert who has literally dedicated his life to killing others. This is scary when you think about it, but also explains why he’s so good when it comes to combat. As mentioned, most of his strengths lie in firearms which is where he’s best at. However, he is also well equipped with daggers, boxing, and grappling skills if called upon. As a result, it’s fair to say that The Punisher is highly skilled in martial arts and shows no remorse when killing his enemies.