History Main / GunKata

* In the 2017 Korean film ''Film/SteelRain'' the short range version happens in the hospital scene, as two intelligence agents try to shoot each other while fighting hand-to-hand.

* Briareos does this all the time in ''Anime/AppleseedExMachina'' -- a [[TookALevelInBadass vast improvement in coolness]] since the first movie. And for bonus points it was produced by none other than Creator/JohnWoo, making this his first use of Gun Kata.
* Revy and Mr. Chang's gunplay style in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' (2006) is very similar to the Gun Kata, although they apparently do aim their guns.
** At least one episode in 2nd Barrage has Revy doing a perfect imitation of a [[Film/{{Equilibrium}} Grammaton Cleric]] while standing in the open surrounded by mooks with guns, down to body, arm and hand movements. Severe Badassery ensued.

* Spike from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' uses Gun Kata when fighting [[spoiler:his nemesis Vicious, most evident in the finale where he parries Vicious's sword with his gun.]]

* In ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' (2004), the titular ActionGirl uses Gun Kata-like technique in the final episode during the ChurchShootout. [[spoiler:Although she not so much ''dodges'' bullets, as is [[ImmuneToBullets unaffected by them]]...]]
** In most of her fights, it's not so much a kata as it is a dance - with the dance steps somehow taking her where the bullets aren't. She does this with ''her eyes closed''.

* ''[[http://www.moddb.com/mods/hall-of-mirrors Hall of Mirrors]]'' is an ''Equilibrium'' mod for ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 2'' that introduces the movie's famous Gun Kata into the gameplay, replacing normal Berettas with "Grammaton Sidearms" complete with the impossibly cool muzzle flashes.

-->-- '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4mS_3hWwtk Vice-Counsel DuPont,]]''' ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}''

* Father Tres Iquis' infamous scene in episode 2 ("Witch Hunt") of ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' (2005) almost exactly emulates the opening shoot-out in ''Equilibrium''. This comes complete with gun flare lighting and BloodstainedGlassWindows, although it may be [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that Father Tres is an android.

* The Butei in ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'' utilize Gun Kata as a martial art called "Arukata", in which they use the premise that both combatants are wearing bulletproof vests.

* The Butei in ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'' utilize Gun Kata as a martial art called "Arukata", in which they use the premise that both combatants are wearing bulletproof vests.
* ''LightNovel/TheAsteriskWar'': Saya Sasamiya combines gunplay with bits of [[FantasticFightingStyle Amagiri Shinmei Style]] martial arts, often using the gun as a defensive melee weapon while it charges up to fire.

[[folder:Film]]

[[caption-width-right:350:A typical sparring session of Take Gun Do.]]

* '''{{Short Range|LongRangeWeapon}}:''' The second form of (possibly) Gun Kata depicted in ''Equilibrium'' involves two armed combatants fighting each other at a very close range, with both constantly trying to aim and fire their guns at their foe, while also trying to knock off the foe's aim. It is essentially the Wing Chun "Sticky Hands" technique, but with guns. This combat style technically doesn't involve ''kata''-styled trained choreography[[note]]This "non-kata gun kata" was not named inside the movie; in Wimmer's DVD commentary, it is claimed that this fighting style was developed because they ran out of time and money during production[[/note]], and functions more similarily to [[SwordFight fencing]] with guns.

It needs to be emphasized that the practical definition of Gun Kata is the act of striking dynamic motions when firing guns, not the in-universe bullet dodging [[JustifiedTrope justifications]] of Gun Kata from ''Equilibrium''. A gun-based CQC scene consisting of literal bullet dodging, like the one seen in ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta'', would better be described as some sort of "bullet-dodge-fu".

It needs to be emphasized that the practical definition of Gun Kata is the act of striking dynamic motions when firing guns, not the in-universe bullet dodging [[JustifiedTrope justifications]] of Gun Kata from ''Equilibrium''.

* '''Long Range:''' The proper form of Gun Kata involves a combatant firing guns at extreme close range, outside of cover, while executing intentionally choreographed, pre-trained [[AssKickingPose body positions]] during combat, much like how a real world martial artist executes their practised ''kata'' techniques. These gun kata patterns usually involve [[GunsAkimbo dual pistols]] being fired at enemies [[OffhandBackhand without aiming or even looking at them]], often alongside copious amounts of GangstaStyle and gratuitous whole-body spins, with the shots [[ImprobableAimingSkills always hitting]] regardless. Properly executed, the choreographed motions of gun kata give the combat style a dance-like quality.

* '''Long Range:''' The proper form of Gun Kata involves a combatant firing guns at extreme close range, outside of cover, while executing intentionally choreographed, pre-trained [[AssKickingPose body positions]] during combat, much like how a real world martial artist executes their practised ''kata'' techniques. These gun kata patterns usually involve [[GunsAkimbo dual pistols]] held in awkward angles being fired at enemies [[OffhandBackhand without aiming or even looking at them]], often alongside copious amounts of GangstaStyle and gratuitous whole-body spins, with the shots [[ImprobableAimingSkills always hitting]] regardless. Properly executed, the choreographed motions of gun kata give the combat style a dance-like quality.

* '''Long Range:''' The proper form of Gun Kata involves a combatant firing guns while executing intentionally choreographed, pre-trained [[AssKickingPose body positions]] during combat, much like how a real world martial artist executes their practised ''kata'' techniques. These gun kata patterns usually involve [[GunsAkimbo dual pistols]] held in awkward angles being fired at enemies [[OffhandBackhand without aiming or even looking at them]], often alongside copious amounts of GangstaStyle and gratuitous whole-body spins, with the shots [[ImprobableAimingSkills always hitting]] regardless. Properly executed, the choreographed motions of gun kata give the combat style a dance-like quality.

Both of these combat styles runs on extreme amounts of RuleOfCool. ''Equilibrium'' claims that Gun Kata (the first, proper, long range form of it) allows combatants to shoot where the foe ought to be when they're aiming at you, and to [[DodgeTheBullet not be where the foe ought to shoot]]; this completely ignores the possibility of a target firing from cover, which is the fact of most gunfights in real life. The second form of "gun kata", while logically more plausible, disobeys several gun safety rules, and a much safer approach for both parties at that range would be to physically attack the opponent's ''person'', instead of trying to knock away their gun.

Both of these combat styles runs on extreme amounts of RuleOfCool. ''Equilibrium'' claims that Gun Kata (the first, proper, long range form of it) allows combatants to shoot where the foe ought to be when they're aiming at you, and to not be where the foe ought to shoot; this completely ignores the possibility of a target firing from cover, which is the fact of most gunfights in real life. The second form of "gun kata", while logically more plausible, disobeys several gun safety rules, and a much safer approach for both parties at that range would be to physically attack the opponent's ''person'', instead of trying to knock away their gun.

* Experienced deathmatch players in fast-paced first-person shooters since ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' are known to score kills without even looking by shooting into hiding places favored by novice players. Gun Kata form 1, indeed.

* Learning how to play BulletHell games is almost akin to this art. Since the projectiles are slow enough and typically shoot in a defined pattern, in order to score hits you have to set yourself up not only to manipulate where the enemy shoots and thus, give you a favorable formation of the pattern to dodge, but at the same time you need to be in a position to shoot the enemy back. And in fact, by rote memorization (playing the game a bunch of times), this is really the only way of surviving long enough when a up against thousands of bullets at once.

* '''Long Range:''' The proper form of Gun Kata involves a combatant firing guns while executing intentionally choreographed, pre-trained [[AssKickingPose body positions]] during combat, much like how a real world martial artist executes their practised ''kata'' techniques. These gun kata patterns usually involve [[GunsAkimbo dual pistols]] held in awkward angles being fired at enemies [[OffhandBackhand without aiming or even looking at them]], often alongside copious amounts of GangstaStyle and gratuitous spinning, with the shots [[ImprobableAimingSkills always hitting]] regardless. Properly executed, the choreographed motions of gun kata give the combat style a dance-like quality.

* '''Long Range:''' The proper form of Gun Kata involves a combatant firing guns while executing intentionally choreographed, pre-trained [[AssKickingPose body positions]] during combat, much like how a real world martial artist executes their practised ''kata'' techniques. These gun kata patterns usually involve [[GunsAkimbo dual pistols]] held in awkward angles being fired at enemies [[OffhandBackhand without aiming or even looking at them]], that will [[ImprobableAimingSkills always hit]] regardless. Properly executed, the choreographed motions of gun kata give the combat style a dance-like quality.

Gun Kata is a firearm-based martial art invented by Kurt Wimmer and Jim Vickers in their 2002 film ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}''. The extremely stylized, RuleOfCool depiction of gun-to-gun combat resulted in many other works copying the fighting style, especially in anime and other Japanese media.

* '''Long Range:''' The proper form of Gun Kata involves a combatant firing guns while executing intentionally choreographed, pre-trained [[AssKickingPose body positions]] during combat, much like how a real world martial artist executes their practised ''kata'' techniques. These gun kata patterns usually involve [[GunsAkimbo dual-wielding pistols]] and firing at enemies [[OffhandBackhand without even aiming or looking at them]].

In short, the focus of the style is simply to shoot where the foe ought to be when they're aiming at you, and to not be where the foe ought to shoot.

The Gun Kata is a firearm-based martial art used by Kurt Wimmer and Jim Vickers in their 2002 film ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'', appearing in two styles.

'''Long Range:''' As opposed to the much more famous BulletTime dodging popularized by ''Film/TheMatrix'', the first form consists of TheGunslinger dodging bullets by assuming a set of [[AssKickingPose predefined body positions]], which are theoretically supposed to reduce their body area exposed to enemy fire to the smallest amount statistically possible, all while raining lead upon the [[FacelessGoons enemy]] with their GunsAkimbo [[OffhandBackhand without even aiming at them]]. In his next film, ''Film/Ultraviolet2006'', Wimmer further expanded the technique by allowing an unarmed ActionGirl to assume such positions among the multiple enemies so that they ''[[DeadlyDodging shoot each other]]'' instead.

'''{{Short Range|LongRangeWeapon}}:''' Another form of Gun Kata depicted in ''Equilibrium'', though never explicitly named, involves dueling with a single opponent at a very close range, with both duelists wielding guns and trying to point them at each other and pull the trigger, while constantly knocking off the enemy's aim (since a fired shot cannot be blocked or parried as in unarmed combat or [[SwordFight fencing]], except under [[ParryingBullets exceptional circumstances]]). It is essentially the Wing Chun "Sticky Hands" technique, but with guns. Wimmer's commentary on the DVD notes that this different form is actually [[ThrowItIn the result]] of a recurring problem during filming; they ran out of time and money to do what they originally planned and would not explain the original idea, as he intended to use it in a later movie (it's possible the final fight in ''Ultraviolet'' is the result). Both forms were reproduced in later works, especially in anime.

Runs on extreme amounts of RuleOfCool. While the latter form is TruthInTelevision as this is entirely possible, it disobeys several gun safety rules, and a much safer approach for both parties at that range would be to physically attack the opponent's ''person'' to make him unstable instead of trying to grab at his gun. The former, however, completely ignores the possibility of a target firing from cover, which is the fact of most gunfights in real life.

While the latter form is TruthInTelevision as this is entirely possible, it disobeys several gun safety rules, and a much safer approach for both parties at that range would be to physically attack the opponent's ''person'' to make him unstable instead of trying to grab at his gun. The former, however, completely ignores the possibility of a target firing from cover, which is the fact of most gunfights in real life.

'''Long Range:''' As opposed to the much more famous BulletTime dodging popularized by ''Film/TheMatrix'', the first form consists of TheGunslinger dodging bullets by assuming a set of [[AssKickingPose predefined body positions]], which are theoretically supposed to reduce their body area exposed to enemy fire to the smallest amount statistically possible, all while raining lead upon the [[FacelessGoons enemy]] with their GunsAkimbo [[OffhandBackhand without even aiming at them]]. In his next film, ''Film/{{Ultraviolet}}'', Wimmer further expanded the technique by allowing an unarmed ActionGirl to assume such positions among the multiple enemies so that they ''[[DeadlyDodging shoot each other]]'' instead.

'''Long Range:''' As opposed to the much more famous BulletTime dodging popularized by ''Film/TheMatrix'', the first form consists of TheGunslinger dodging bullets by assuming a set of [[AssKickingPose predefined body positions]], which are theoretically supposed to reduce their body area exposed to enemy fire to the smallest amount statistically possible, all while raining lead upon the [[FacelessGoons enemy]] with their GunsAkimbo [[OffhandBackhand without even aiming at them]]. In his next film, ''Film/Ultraviolet1998'', Wimmer further expanded the technique by allowing an unarmed ActionGirl to assume such positions among the multiple enemies so that they ''[[DeadlyDodging shoot each other]]'' instead.

* While [[MultiRangedMaster Chris Yukine]] from ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' mostly specializes in [[MoreDakka dakka]] and [[MacrossMissileMassacre missiles]], we get to see her doing some {{guns akimbo}} Gun Kata action in the second season, G.
** Hilariously lampshaded in the OVA {{omake}} that takes place between S1 and G, where [[TheMovieBuff Genjuro]] lends her a DVD of Equilibrium, and she immediately gets hyped to learn how use guns in CQC like in the movie.