Gun fu

Gun ''fu'', a portmanteau of ''gun'' and ''kung fu'' (also known as gun ''kata'', bullet ballet, gymnastic gunplay or bullet arts), is a style of sophisticated close-quarters gunfight resembling a martial arts combat that combines firearms with hand-to-hand combat and traditional melee weapons in an approximately 50/50 ratio. It can be seen in Hong Kong action cinema, and in American action films influenced by it.

The focus of gun ''fu'' is both artistic style and the usage of firearms in ways that they were not designed to be used. Shooting a gun from each hand (usually paired with jumping to the side at the same time), dual wielding, shots from behind the back, as well as the use of guns as melee weapons (usually knife fights) are all common. Other moves can involve submachine guns, assault rifles, combat shotguns, rocket launchers, and just about anything else that can be worked into a cinematic shot. It is often mixed with grappling maneuvers.

Gun ''fu'' has become a staple of modern action films due to its visual spectacle, a result of often impressive choreography and stuntwork, regardless of its unrealistic elements when compared to real-life gun warfare.

Hong Kong origins

As the name suggests, gun ''fu'' has roots in martial arts films from Hong Kong action cinema, including ''wuxia'' films and ''kung fu'' films from the likes of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. These films typically involved martial artists fighting large numbers of enemies in stylized choreographed action set-pieces, with a fighting style that lay somewhere between brawling and dancing. Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo, who began his career directing martial arts films, took the martial arts style of action and added guns, combining the elegance and precision of ''kung fu'' with the brutality and violence of gangster films.

John Woo originated the style that would later be called gun ''fu'' in the 1986 Hong Kong action film ''A Better Tomorrow''. The film launched the " heroic bloodshed" genre in Hong Kong, and gun ''fu'' action sequences became a regular feature in many of the subsequent heroic bloodshed films, which combined the elegance and precision of ''kung fu'' with the brutality and violence of gangster movies. John Woo continued to make several classic heroic bloodshed films, all featuring gun ''fu'', and all starring leading man Chow Yun-fat.

Anthony Leong wrote of the gunfights in ''A Better Tomorrow'',
Stephen Hunter, writing in ''The Washington Post'' wrote,
Other Hong Kong directors also began using gun ''fu'' sequences in films that were not strictly heroic bloodshed films, such as Wong Jing's '' God of Gamblers'' (1989) and its sequel '' God of Gamblers Returns'' (1994). There were several heroic bloodshed films that did not feature gun ''fu'', but opted for more realistic combat, such as Ringo Lam's '' City on Fire'' (1987).

Spread to the United States

The popularity of John Woo films, and the heroic bloodshed genre in general, in the U.S. helped give gun ''fu'' greater visibility. Some of the earliest Hollywood productions not directed by Woo that adopted the style were '' Desperado'' (1995) and '' The Replacement Killers'' (1998), the latter starring Chow Yun-fat.

The success of ''The Matrix'' (1999) helped to popularize and develop the style in the U.S. One classic gun ''fu'' move consists of reloading two pistols simultaneously by releasing the empty magazines, pointing the guns to the ground, dropping two fresh magazines out of one's jacket sleeves, or strapped to one's legs, into the guns, and then carrying on shooting. The style is also featured, albeit in a small way and with the assistance of gadgets, in '' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (2001). In '' Equilibrium'' (2002), the law enforcement responsible for handling "Sense Crime" are trained in "gun ''kata''" to gain an advantage in their raids on armed opponents. In the film '' Bulletproof Monk'' (2003), The Monk With No Name (portrayed by Yun-fat) empties two pistols, ejects the magazines and spins to kick the empty magazines at his assailants. This was parodied in an episode of ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (Season 1, Episode 19 "Tactical Village"). ''Underworld'' (2003) brought The Matrix's aesthetic from the cyberpunk subgenre into the dark fantasy realm, including its gunplay. In '' Wanted'' (2008), assassins belonging to The Fraternity possess the skill of "bending" bullets around obstacles; in a gunfight early in the film, one assassin knocks another bullet out of the air with his own round. In '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009), Agent Zero ( Daniel Henney) reloads his handguns by throwing them into the air and catching them with the magazines he is holding in his hands.

In the 2010 film '' Kick-Ass'', the character Hit Girl, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, frequently uses gun ''fu''. In the 2012 film '' Django Unchained'', the climactic shootout in Candieland is inspired by John Woo, replicating scenes from his 1989 classic '' The Killer'' shot-by-shot. The 2013 '' G.I. Joe: Retaliation'' utilized gun ''fu'' in the climactic fight between Roadblock and Firefly. The style is also heavily featured in 2014's '' John Wick'', as well as 2015's '' Kingsman: The Secret Service''.

A gun ''fu'' sequence involving Chris Redfield and Glenn Arias is showcased in the 2017 CGI film '' Resident Evil: Vendetta''. Although produced in Japan, the ''Resident Evil'' franchise takes the majority of its inspiration from American horror and action cinema.

Other media

Video games

Video games, particularly in the shooter and shoot 'em up genres, have implemented gun ''fu''-like gameplay. Below are some examples of video games and video game series which have been specifically compared to or described as gun ''fu'':
* The " bullet time" gameplay of the '' Max Payne'' series has been described as gun ''fu''.
* The "CQC" fighting style in the ''Metal Gear'' video game series integrates the use of firearms into martial arts.
* The 2005 first-person shooter game F.E.A.R. also has firefight combat inspired by gun ''fu''.
* The 2007 third-person shooter game '' Stranglehold'', which serves as a sequel to John Woo's 1992 film '' Hard Boiled'', features gun ''fu'' gameplay elements.
* The 2008 fighting game series, '' BlazBlue'', features a fighter who specializes in this fighting style in Noel Vermillion.
* The 2012 video game '' Sleeping Dogs'' incorporates gun ''fu'' elements into its martial arts gameplay.
* The 2015 action role-playing game '' Fallout 4'' features an ability, or perk, called "Gun Fu", which awards bonus points to the player for targeting multiple enemies while in the gameplay feature known as the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.).
* The 2019 shoot 'em up game '' My Friend Pedro'' features gameplay elements that have been referred to as gun ''fu''.
* The 2005 survival horror game '' Resident Evil 4'' emphasises injuring enemies with gunshots and then performing martial arts on them while they're stunned.
* The hack and slash game series ''Bayonetta'' has most of its combat revolve around using guns in her hands and on her heels to execute ''kung fu'' like combos while weaving in shooting.
* The 2019 virtual reality action-rhythm game '' Pistol Whip'' allows players to dual-wield pistols in an homage to gun ''kata''. The game also features other elements from gun ''fu'' films like dodging bullets in slow motion and awarding extra points for shooting enemies in rhythm with the music track.
* Planned for release in 2025, SPINE is a cyberpunk action beat 'em up game that highlights gun fu style combat as one of its key features.

Comic books

''Gun Fu'' is also the name of a series of comic books by Howard M. Shum and Joey Mason, about a Hong Kong police officer in the 1930s who employs a combination of gun-play and martial arts.

Pen-and-paper games

It is not certain where or when the actual term "gun ''fu''" was invented. One of the earliest written records exists in the tabletop role-playing game '' Cyberpunk 2020'' which was first published in 1988.

Gun ''fu'' is a form of specialized martial arts usable in the game and is described as,

'' Conspiracy X'', another tabletop RPG first published in 1996, also included the combat style as a usable skill. In this game, gun ''fu'' allowed players' characters to use firearms in close combat and skilled martial artists to string together combinations of moves.

In the Buffyverse role-playing games, gun ''fu'' is the name for the firearms skill, but this is more likely meant to be humorous rather than to imply characters practice an actual firearm-based martial art.
In the '' Ninjas and Superspies'' supplement ''Mystic China'', gun ''fu'' is the Triad assassin training, and is a martial arts skill that can be available to player characters. It primarily emphasizes the use of paired 9mm pistols.

In ''Run & Gun'', a expansion of the fifth-edition of the pen-and-paper role-playing game ''Shadowrun'', gun ''fu'' is a combat style available.

The '' GURPS'' roleplaying system has a ''Gun-Fu'' supplement, written by S.A. Fisher, Sean Punch, and Hans-Christian Vortisch.

Television

In the Japanese series ''Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger'', Banban "Ban" Akaza a.k.a. DekaRed is specifically mentioned as a master of gun ''fu'' technique, which in the series is called as "''Juu Kun Do''" ( is the Japanese word for 'gun', and the name of the style is a play on Jeet Kune Do). As a result, the mecha for the series, Dekaranger Robo, is also sometimes shown using gun ''fu''. The American adaptation of the series, '' Power Rangers S.P.D.'', also shows the Red Ranger Jack Landors and the Delta Squad Megazord using the same technique, though that was more because of the source material – Jack is not specifically mentioned as being a master of gun ''fu''.

In the anime '' Mazinkaizer SKL'', Ryou Magami (one of the two pilots of the titular Mazinkaiser) uses gun ''fu'' as his primary style of combat as he wields the Breast Triggers, a pair of handguns which store on Mazinkaiser's chest. Magami's fight scenes contain several visual homages to the film '' Equilibrium'', including a scene in the first episode where Mazinkaiser performs the signature pose of the Grammaton Clerics.

See also

* Apache revolver
* Bayonet
* Buttstroke
* Combat pistol shooting
* Dual wield
* Girls with guns
* Gunspinning
* Heroic bloodshed
* ''Hōjutsu''
* ''Kayakujutsu''
* '' Krav Maga''
* Pistol sword
* Pistol-whipping
* Wire ''fu''

References

{{martial arts

Theatrical combat
Action films by genre
Cinema of Hong Kong
Fictional martial arts

Firearms
Firearm techniques
Film genres