History Main / EverybodyWasKungFuFighting

->''[[TropeNamer Everybody was kung fu fighting]]''\\

-->--"Kung Fu Fighting," '''Carl Douglas'''

* Happens quite frequently in the [[TimBurton Burton]]/[[JoelSchumacher Schumacher]] ''{{Batman}}'' films. While roughly half the arch-villains ([[TheJoker Joker]], Penguin and Riddler especially) are [[NonActionGuy very unathletic]] and/or [[SissyVillain physically weak]], their {{Mooks}} are often improbably masters of kung fu, karate and various other styles, some of them even wielding ''[[KatanasAreJustBetter katanas]]''. For ''BatmanReturns'', Burton even had to hire ten (mostly) nameless guys from a Hollywood dojo specifically for a fight scene. Gets ''really'' ridiculous in ''BatmanForever'', where an entire street gang who spend most of their time threatening and mugging teenage girls are all skilled at kendo and various forms of hand-to-hand combat. A more realistic approach was taken in [[ChristopherNolan Nolan's]] ''[[TheDarkKnightTrilogy Batman]]'' films, where the {{Mooks}} for the most part don't know how to fight and just rely on guns.
* Happens a little more than two-thirds of the way through Disney's ''TheRocketeer'' when some gangsters try to shake down a diner. A fistfight breaks out, and ''everyone'' in the diner joins the action, including the kitchen staff who come out [[ImprovisedWeapon swinging their frying pans]].

* On ''TheSimpsons'' this happens ''a lot''.

* Happens quite frequently in the [[TimBurton Burton]]/[[JoelSchumacher Schumacher]] ''{{Batman}}'' films. While roughly half the arch-villains ([[TheJoker Joker]], Penguin and Riddler especially) are [[NonActionGuy very unathletic]] and/or [[SissyVillain physically weak]], their {{Mooks}} are often improbably masters of kung fu, karate and various other styles, some of them even wielding ''[[KatanasAreJustBetter katanas]]''. For ''BatmanReturns'', Burton even had to hire ten (mostly) nameless guys from a Hollywood dojo specifically for a fight scene. Gets ''really'' ridiculous in ''BatmanForever'', where an entire street gang who spend most of their time threatening and mugging teenage girls are all skilled at kendo and various forms of hand-to-hand combat. A more realistic approach was taken in [[ChristopherNolan Nolan's]] ''[[TheDarkKnightTrilogy Batman]]'' films, where the {{Mooks}} for the most part don't know how to fight and just rely on guns.

* The climax of ''BlazingSaddles''. After the "fake Rock Ridge" is blown up by the Waco Kid, Sheriff Bart leads every single one of the townspeople in a wild and confused attack on Hedley Lamarr's gang. Even the women throw punches, the preacher [[GroinAttack knees some guy in the groin]] (immediately asking God to forgive him for that), and the town drunk knocks out a number of thugs [[BreathWeapon simply by breathing on them]]. The free-for-all eventually literally [[BreakingTheFourthWall Breaks The Fourth Wall]] - [[NoFourthWall not that there was much of one to begin with]] - onto the Warner Brothers studio lot where ''Blazing Saddles'' is being filmed, with other productions being swept up in the turmoil and everyone eventually fighting their way into the studio cafeteria, where one of the cooks ''just happens'' to have a huge tray of custard pies handy so the entire cast can [[PieInTheFace throw pies at each other]].

See also AllAsiansKnowMartialArts, AllChinesePeopleKnowKungFu, SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat, IKnowMortalKombat, and DragonsUpTheYinYang to set the mood. AllMonksKnowKungFu seems to be this trope limited to all kinds of monks. Can be a form of EveryoneIsASuper, where "Super" is defined as "Martial Artist".

* In ''Film/BigTitsZombie'', even zombies know martial arts.

* ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'' gives us a glimpse of what non-military life in Mid-Childa is like through the eyes of Nanoha's daughter. After a few chapters, it becomes this. ThoseTwoGirls? HeirTOTheDojo of an ancient martial art and a {{Golem}} [[MarionetteMaster manipulator]] [[spoiler:who could also fight as a DittoFighter in close combat]] The BlitheSpirit nun-in-training? Tonfa-based WarriorMonk {{Trickster}} speedster. TheOjou? [[KnightInShiningArmor Literal]] MagicKnight fighting style passed down from Ancient Belka. The only named new character who hasn't been revealed to have a fighting style of some sort so far is TheOjou's butler, who is a very minor character.

* ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'' gives us a glimpse of what non-military life in Mid-Childa is like through the eyes of Nanoha's daughter. After a few chapters, it becomes this. ThoseTwoGirls? HeirTOTheDojo of an ancient martial art and a {{Golem}} [[MarinetteMaster manipulator]] [[spoiler:who could also fight as a DittoFighter in close combat]] The BlitheSpirit nun-in-training? Tonfa-based WarriorMonk {{Trickster}} speedster. TheOjou? [[KnightInShiningArmor Literal]] MagicKnight fighting style passed down from Ancient Belka. The only named new character who hasn't been revealed to have a fighting style of some sort so far is TheOjou's butler, who is a very minor character.

* ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'' gives us a glimpse of what non-military life in Mid-Childa is like through the eyes of Nanoha's daughter. After a few chapters, it becomes this. ThoseTwoGirls? HeirTOTheDojo of an ancient martial art and a {{Golem}} [[MarinetteMaster manipulator]] [[spoiler:who could also fight as a DittoFighter in close combat]] The BlithSpirit nun-in-training? Tonfa-based WarriorMonk {{Trickster}} speedster. TheOjou? [[KnightInShiningArmor Literal]] MagicKnight fighting style passed down from Ancient Belka. The only named new character who hasn't been revealed to have a fighting style of some sort so far is TheOjou's butler, who is a very minor character.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' specifically states that anytime someone throws a chair, everyone will engage in a mass fight. Huey and Uncle Ruckus are apparently gifted martial artists that are good with melee weaponry; in Ruckus' case, this is extremely bizarre (given his terrible health and physical ability, blatantly referred to in previous episodes). Colonel Stinkmeaner started out as a subversion (Huey assumed his blindness made him {{Daredevil}}, but it turns out he's just a blind old man who got a lucky shot in), but (ridiculously) [[LikeABadassOutOfHell returned from Hell]] a martial arts master, the episode implying that he was trained by ''{{Satan}} himself''. This was before his Hateocracy showed up, where they went up against hired bodyguard Bushido Brown

** Kung fu fighting mahjong players movie

* It's even easier in ''TabletopGame/{{LegendSystem}}'' with their track system. Everyone just takes one of the Monk class' "Discipline of the X" tracks, and you can have a barbarian that knows kung-fu, a jedi that knows kung-fu, a thief who knows kung-fu and a NinjaPirateZombieRobot that knows kung-fu.

* In pre-WorldWarII Japan, karate and kendo were compulsory school subjects for boys, and [[BladeOnAStick naginata-do]] for girls.

* ''TopGear'' created a TitleSequence for ''The Intercepters'', a non-existent Seventies action show, which featured members of Top Gear in PornStache taking out various villains with a well-placed karate chop. Eventually even hotel butlers and dancing girls are on the receiving end.

** Although in the case of ''Franchise/YuGiOh'', many characters actually are good fighters, which was particularly relevant in the first few volumes of [[Manga/YuGiOh the manga]] and the [[Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries Toei anime]]. Jounouchi is a skilled street fighter who knocks out a trained assassin and keeps up against a Leather Face expy, Honda isn't exactly a wuss either, Kaiba kicks the crap out of a couple of people, Anzu throws some mean punches, Yami Yugi is hinted at being quite capable (particularly in the Toei anime, where he has no troubles slamming his puzzle into the wall or kicking the daylights out of two of Kaiba's mooks who where twice his size (off-screen, sadly) and Yami Bakura wasn't exactly weak either; let's not even start bringing up their past selves, who were all without a doubt trained in combat.

* The two-person non-lethal takedowns in ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' often begin with the targets attempting to expertly melee Jensen followed by an equally expert counter and finishing move. Said takedowns can be done not just on enemies but also regular [=NPCs=]. Which means that you can witness elaborate martial battles not just between Jensen and soldiers, but between Jensen and ordinary civilians or even between Jensen and ''street prostitutes''.
** [[FridgeBrilliance If anyone needs adequate self-defense skills, it's them]].

* The same applies for any TabletopGame based on {{Fighting Game}}s, such as the ''StreetFighter'' RPG, ''Thrash'', and ''Final Stand''.
* The RPG ''{{Weapons of the Gods}}'', and (one assumes) [[AdaptationDisplacement the Taiwanese comic book on which it's based.]]

* ''TabletobGame/{{Exalted}}'' loves it's Supernatural Martial Arts and as such:

* Played to hilarious, ''awesome'' excess in ''KungFuHustle''.
* Of course, it's a staple of almost every modern day HK MartialArtsMovie made since the 70s. There's at least one movie out there where an interior decorator turns out to be a kung-fu expert. To date there is a/are many movie(s) about:
** Kungfu fighting basketball players
** Kungfu fighting chefs
** Kungfu fighting mahjong players
** Kungfu fighting cops
*** A staple of Jackie Chan films. Jackie Chan's opponents tend come from all walks of life, including accountants.
** Kungfu fighting hip hop dance (the movie was called Kung Fu Hip Hop)
*** Which actually makes a little sense, considering some moves in breakdancing were inspired by kung fu films.
** A plot point in the movie ''ShaolinSoccer'': the hero wants to spread Shaolin Kung Fu and points out to a soccer coach how it could be used to improve peoples' lives (like avoiding {{Banana Peel}}s and [[MundaneMadeAwesome parallel parking]]). After they win a soccer tournament with an entire team of Shaolin monks, the hero gets his wish, and we get a {{Montage}} of people using Kung Fu [[MundaneUtility in their everyday lives]]. In the English dub, the song that plays in the background is a cover of ''Kung Fu Fighting'' by Carl Douglas.

* ''EnterTheDragon'' ends with a massive kung fu battle. On one side you have Han's army of martial arts students, trained to kill mercilessly with their bare hands. On the other side you have... a bunch of vagrants and runaways, kidnapped from the streets of Hong Kong and freshly released from Han's dungeons. The two sides appear to be about evenly matched.
* ''Chocolate'', another Thai martial-arts film from the director of ''OngBak''. Everyone on the streets of UsefulNotes/{{Bangkok}}, from warehouse labourers to butchers to gangsters, is a martial artist of some kind (except for the transvestite gangbangers, who use guns). Almost all of them have their ass handed to them by an [[TheRainman autistic]] [[WaifFu teenaged]] [[LittleMissBadass girl]].
* ''RushHour 3'': Carter clearly knows how to fight by now against other fighting experts. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BvJZTe4L88&feature=related He even breaks into song]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny afterwards]].

* In ''BigTitsZombie'', even zombies know martial arts.
* In ''AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'', every anchorman apparently keeps weapons on their person, at all times.
* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in Film/TheMatrix due to the training programs, where people can simply [[TransferableMemory download]] the necessary skills.

* Robert Muchamore's ''{{CHERUB}}'' series has every member of the titular organisation be trained in martial arts, justified in that it's a SpySchool and the pupils are required to know this for missions.

* ''XenaWarriorPrincess''. Not only does everyone (outside of [[RedShirt the mooks]]) know Kung-Fu, they know different styles: Karate, Capoeira, Judo, pressure point manipulation -- if it's vaguely martial art-like, a Xena character has used it. Yes; [[RuleOfCool in Ancient Greece]].

* On ''{{Lost}}'', everyone except Hurley is an expert marksman and close-combat fighter. Hurley makes up for this lack by [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome running people over with a bus.]]
** He knows CarFu.

* The TropeNamer is Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting".
** There's a version called "Kung Fu Dancing" by Fun Tomas from ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''.

** As well as its successor, ''LegendsOfTheWulin''.
* One officially listed campaign suggestion for ''DungeonsAndDragons'' is to have everyone be a gestalt monk (basically, add in the abilities of the monk class on top of whatever actual class any character has), specifically to evoke this kind of feeling in a campaign.
* {{Exalted}} loves it's Supernatural Martial Arts and as such:

* ''FugitiveHunter: War on Terror'' is all about tracking down terrorists around the globe, taking them on in fistfights, and capturing them. Terrorists who, inexplicably, have the same martial arts skills as you do ? including ''[[spoiler:{{Osama bin Laden}}]]''.
* In ''JadeEmpire'', almost every character or enemy seems to have some sort of training in a martial art. Even the lingering spirits of random dead people seem to be capable of martial arts skills as advanced as yours. Makes the sole case of a DistressedDamsel (Fuyao, the girl who you rescue from slavers in Gao the Greater's pirate base) stand out.
* ''MetalGearSolid4''. Everybody seems to have a hardon for Big Boss's CQC system.
** Somewhat justified in that everybody who knows it, knew, was trained by, or learned it from Big Boss or The Boss themselves. Doesn't explain the PMC {{Mooks}}' knowledge of it though.

* VideoGame/SleepingDogs: Most people, including all mooks and many male civlians, know Kung Fu in HongKong. If you hijack a car or start punching people in the street, you may be surprised by the number of people who will at least try to hit back.

* Pretty much the case in ''GreekNinja''.
* Justified in the ''WhateleyUniverse'' stories. At the [[SuperHeroSchool Whateley Academy]], students have to take introductory martial arts ("introductory" in the superpowered sense of the word) or Survival, and those who skip out usually regret it when they discover the Combat Finals at the end of term. So huge numbers of mutants at the school can pull off some aikido or Shaolin kung fu or whatnot. There are over half a dozen teachers whose job is teaching martial arts, in a school of under 600 mutants.
* There was an unusual prevalence of combat skilled characters in ''{{Survival of the Fittest}}'' V3 and its Pregame, especially since the characters are all, at best, highschoolers. Averted in V2 and V1, mostly, since few characters got opportunities to engage in hand to hand fighting.
** Seth vs. Walter in V2, though, was a notable exception to this aversion, with inordinate skill levels being displayed (although Seth was, admittedly, already established as fairly skilled), especially with Walter, who displayed abnormal levels of strength against both Seth and [[VillainSue Mariavel Varella]], along with skill in the earlier knife fight against Jin Li-Jen. The actual fight with Seth soon turned into a brutal slugfest on par with [[GoodOldFisticuffs a bare-knuckle boxing match]].
* The 'WebVideo/TGWTGYearOneBrawl, ''every single one'' of the site's contributors proved to be semi-competent, marginally deadly martial artists.
** Except for poor Ma-Ti. [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway Heart!]]
* It seems that almost character in ''DarwinsSoldiers'' is fairly skilled with firearms. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that firearms training and basic marksmanship are mentioned as being mandatory or that the employee in question enjoy recreational shooting.
* ''{{Sockbaby}}''. In Sockb4by, even Ronnie's next door neighbor is one of the mook squad that attacks him.

* Subverted in [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=81803 this]] ''EverydayHeroes'' episode, where Mr. Mighty and his wife engage in "Trial By Combat" [[spoiler: (actually "Trial By Guitar Hero")]] to determine who has to clean the cat box.
** [[spoiler: His wife actually does know some sort of martial arts, which is shown later on.]]

* ''TheBoondocks'' specifically states that anytime someone throws a chair, everyone will engage in a mass fight. Huey and Uncle Ruckus are apparently gifted martial artists that are good with melee weaponry; in Ruckus' case, this is extremely bizarre (given his terrible health and physical ability, blatantly referred to in previous episodes). Colonel Stinkmeaner started out as a subversion (Huey assumed his blindness made him {{Daredevil}}, but it turns out he's just a blind old man who got a lucky shot in), but (ridiculously) [[LikeABadassOutOfHell returned from Hell]] a martial arts master, the episode implying that he was trained by ''{{Satan}} himself''. This was before his Hateocracy showed up, where they went up against hired bodyguard Bushido Brown