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[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maritalarts.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Get those chores done, now! Chop chop!]]

->''"We would parade across the rooftops in the still of night, making naught but a whisper. By the time they realized there was a parade it was already over..."''
-->-- '''Karashi''' (on [[https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5758783607eaa0b68fc52697/57616ce645bf211a51aea8f7/57616d39e321404dd31c6834/1466002747020/0393.GIF?format=750w ninja marching bands]]), ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}''

In shows which feature martial arts heavily, there are a lot of different styles found in TheVerse. This is TruthInTelevision as there have been many martial arts developed throughout history often based on local needs. For example [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawan_kobudo Okinawan weapons]] were developed from household and farm implements.

Sometimes ''everything'' is made into a martial art. Need medical attention? We have Ninja Medics! The King's scribe? He probably knows Martial Arts Calligraphy. Need trees chopped? Black Belt Lumberjacks. Expect these characters to have an AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance related to their fighting style. For even greater TruthInTelevision, keep in mind that the term "kung-fu" actually means ''any'' skill which requires hard work, discipline and practice -- not just martial arts.

This trope covers instances where a martial art is developed from humble beginnings. This trope is sometimes invoked by games that seek to be [[PVPBalanced balanced for PVP]] or [[CompetitiveBalance competitive dueling]].

See also AsianCleaverFever. Compare MundaneMadeAwesome, ImprobableSportsSkills and EverybodyWasKungFuFighting. It's often a case of IKnowKungFaux.

Contrast WhatTheFuAreYouDoing.

IKnowMaddenKombat is a subtrope of this trope, dealing with sports as martial arts. DanceBattler and WaxOnWaxOff are related. Inverse of MartialArtsForMundanePurposes, where conventional martial arts skills are used for mundane purposes. Not to be confused with [[ArtAttacker using art as a martial art]].

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' is likely the TropeMaker, certainly the TropeCodifier, and the list of just how many different styles that the anime ''alone'' named is high. Most, but not all, are based specifically on one of the many [[CookingDuel strange competitions they have]]. In general, you have "serious" ones (that is, ones where the contestants aim to hurt each other), and "contest" ones (martial arts that tend to be goofy even by this series' standards).
-->- "If It has the word ''Martial'' in it, I can win..." - '''Ranma'''
** On the serious side, we have these gems...
*** Martial Arts Cookery: though never explicitly named, there are implied to be quite a few of these in the world of ''Ranma ½''. [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Ukyô]] [[{{Bifauxnen}} Kuonji]], one of the main characters, practices a variant revolving around okonomiyaki (a kind of savory pancake), and in the late manga we are introduced to a childhood rival who practices a variant involving takoyaki (small dumplings with octopus filling). An anime episode has Ukyô fight a practitioner of Martial Arts Crepe Cookery, and the episode ends with the implication of Martial Arts Sushi/Sashimi Cookery.
*** Good Old Days Martial Arts: an anime-only martial art that involves using old-time toys (trading cards, tops, marbles, hackey-sacks, thread, etc.) as deadly weapons. The champion of this style is a little girl, but she's no less skilled than teenage martial artists.
*** Martial Arts Calligraphy: while the combatants do aim simply to be the first one to draw a certain kanji/hiragana symbol, they are also allowed to beat the snot out of each other with letter openers, paper weights, ink, paper and calligraphy brushes the size of quarterstaves. An apparently lost variant allows the practitioner to draw special designs on a person's body that can manipulate their internal ki -- the only example we're shown, the Mark of the Gods, is a goofy smiley face on the belly that amplifies the subject's strength and speed something like tenfold.
*** Martial Arts Figure Skating: teams of two in extravagant costumes zipping around on an ice-skating rink and beating the living tar out of each other. This one is actually very dangerous, and the story arc involving it features arguably the most violent fights of the series. After all, they are fighting with the equivalent of daggers strapped to their feet, and over a hard, rough, icy surface.
*** Martial Arts Tea Ceremony: uses items from tea ceremony, including stirring sticks, spoons and tea whisks as weapons. Combatants must fight from the formal kneeling position -- the trained practitioner can zip around in this pose as though they were standing, thanks to their strengthened toes, and even climb, hang upside down from the ceiling, and jump.
*** Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics: implicitly a girls-only style (explicitly stated to be so in an anime filler episode involving an attempt to create a men's version), combatants use gymnastic props to beat on each other, but are not allowed to directly touch the other combatant. Oddly enough, [[RealMenWearPink Ryôga knows this art well enough]] to teach it to Akane.
*** Martial Arts Cheerleading: another "girls only" style, Martial Arts Cheerleaders attempt to bolster their team through a mixture of cheering on their own teammates and beating up the opposing team, usually with very flashy moves.
*** Martial Arts Takeout Delivery: combatants race to be the first to deliver their takeout to the delivery place, beating up anyone who tries to oppose them. The only rule is that their own delivery item survive unscathed. (Anime-only; the manga version of the storyline features Shampoo in the role of Kaori and makes no reference to a Martial Arts School centering around the delivery.)
*** Bathhouse Fu: an anime style (though hinted at by Happôsai in an early story common to both canons), this fighting style is amphibious in base (combatants attack both from under water and on the surface) and uses items from around the bathhouse, like towels and pails, as weapons.
*** Martial Arts Shogi: combatants dress up in shogi piece costumes and adhere strictly to the rules of the shogi piece they are ranked. What keeps this from being a hokey style is the fact that they do legitimately try to pulverize the other team.
*** The ''Umisenken'' and ''Yamasenken'' styles are a mysterious pair of styles. ''Yamasenken'' involves shouting "FREEZE!!" at the top of your lungs and striking while the opponent is distracted, and ''Umisenken'' is a technique where the user erases all trace of their presence. Both have the philosophy of comparing the opponent to a house, which is why when Ranma trains in ''Umisenken'', he attacks doors, drawers, and the house's foundation. Now, what craft was this martial art designed around? [[spoiler:Thievery. ''Yamasenken'' is a robber's technique for breaking into houses and intimidating the inhabitants. ''Umisenken'' is a burglar's technique for sneaking into houses. The house analogy is because the user is expected to use the techniques ''on'' houses; for example,''Yamasenken'' has an opening move meant to [[BarrierBustingBlow break down the front door]], and ''Umisenken'' has a RapidFireFisticuffs technique meant to quickly rummage through drawers]].
** There are more serious Martial Arts And Crafts in ''Ranma ½'' than there are joke ones... which is kind of worrying.
*** Martial Arts Dining: this style gives a whole new meaning to "food fight". The objective is to be the first one to clear all of the many plates of food you're given -- and, for an extra twist, you must be incredibly neat about it. As in, you can't be seen to actually eat the food -- if you're spotted, you get an extra plate as a penalty. As a result of centuries of adherence to these rules, practitioners have faces that they can warp and stretch like silly putty, as well as super-speed hand-strikes. Swallowing watermelons whole, picking a sweet from the top of one's own head with one's tongue and then swallowing it, all of these are possible. [[spoiler:Ranma, unable to actually develop sufficient speed to compete, instead attempts to master an ancient and dangerous strategy known as the "Parlay du Fois Gras", where one's food is stuffed into ''the opponent's'' mouth (much like geese are force-fed to make fois gras) in an attempt to cause a jam and thus, a forfeit. The "dangerous" part comes from the fact that devoted users tend to starve to death.]]
*** Martial Arts Watermelon/Carry The Snowman Race: two different versions of a contest, one for beaches, one for mountains, and both essentially based on the SmashingWatermelons game. With a watermelon/miniature snowman in one hand and a bokken in the other, race for the finish line while smashing the items carried by the other racers and avoid getting your own smashed.
*** Martial Arts Pingpong/Badminton: just like the ordinary game... only the balls that the fighters bat back and forth can contain all sorts of booby traps, like exploding in a shower of glue.
*** There was also a Martial Arts Marriage Contest in the second movie.
** It also seems that every mundane task in TheVerse gets not only a martial art, but specific fighting moves in Anything Goes. Crouch of the Wild Tiger is used to beg forgiveness.
* ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo'': The main character uses "Fist of the Nose Hair", which is basically ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. That is only the beginning of the martial arts madness. There's a full list [[http://bobobo.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Shinken here]].\\\
It must be noted that, although the Finishing Attacks of each school do indeed fit the theme indicated by the name, most of the actual fighting in the series, no matter the formal school used, boils down to confusing the enemy to the point where they can't defend themselves against that finishing attack. Bo-bobo at one point laments that, aside from a basic hand chop and the "confuse them" strategy, he really only has a single special attack.
* In ''Manga/CromartieHighSchool'', Masked Takenouchi masters the art of pillow-jutsu, in which he softens a pillow by beating it with a stick according to the desires of the pillow user. [[MundaneMadeAwesome He takes out a whole bike gang with this type of combat.]]
* Every school club in ''Manga/FutabaKunChange'' seems to have a martial art based upon whatever the club's focus is. Including martial arts calligraphy.
* The chainsaw-fu that protagonist Fumio in ''Manga/SaitamaChainsawShoujo'' uses on her classmates was originally meant to aid her when she inherited her grandfather's lumber company.
* The ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' filler brings us Ninja Chefs and Ninja Postmen. Self-explanatory, really. In canon, they have Ninja Medics (though for the most part these are simply {{combat medic}}s in a ninja organization, they also have ninja-based healing techniques and some also have ways to use their medical techniques to fight), Ninja Puppeteers (who use chakra strings to manipulate a variety of booby-trapped puppets to fight for them), and at least one Ninja [[ArtInitiatesLife Painter]].
* As a variation, in ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub'', one story deals with a samurai [[strike:postman]] messenger.
* ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita'' gives us hypersonic knitting. Yeah.
* ''Manga/{{Hikkatsu}}'' is centered around the main character trying to turn PercussiveMaintenance into a martial art.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** It features plenty weird martial arts, some of them derived from mundane activities.
** Sanji has to fight a "noodle martial artist", who uses noodles as weapons -- including firing noodle darts through his nose or creating giant noodle tentacles. Sanji uses his own ChefOfIron training to beat him.
* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': If it can be a school club then expect super-powered martial arts. Tennis, band, gardening, sewing... someone has found a way to kick your ass with it.
* ''Manga/SakigakeOtokojuku'' In it's massive roster of often goofy martial arts styles throughout the franchise it features there are plenty of ones that are similar to mundane tasks and even claim to be the originators of them. Some of these styles involve things like blowing bubbles made of sulfuric acid however many more boast to be the origin of certain sports such as soccer, golf, ping pong, ice skating, air hockey, and even synchronized swimming.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Card Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Yomi}}'', a card game, is based around a Olympic-style martial arts tournament. While some of the characters the players can use make sense to be in a martial arts tournament, four other characters make less sense -- Jefferson [=DeGrey=], Ghostly Diplomat; Max Geiger, Precise Watchmaker (actually something of a TimeMaster); Valerie Rose, Manic Painter; and Lum Bam-Foo, Gambling Panda. For some precision, [=DeGrey=] seems to be spicing up his martial arts with some debating, Geiger with time control, Valerie Rose has the most common Martial Arts Painting, and Lum Bam Foo spices things up with Martial Arts GAMBLING. (Complete with coin throwing.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' had a reportage from the noble martial art of "House-Fu", where you use household items in combat. And the combat is assumed to take place in the kitchen.
* In one issue of ''ComicBook/TheMuppetShowComicBook'', the special guest is the master of stealth tapdancing, [[{{Pun}} Ninja Rogers]].
* A long-running cartoon in British newsmagazine ''Magazine/PrivateEye'' was ''TheCloggies'', an OopNorth morris-dancing team who elevated traditional northern English clog-dance to the status of a lethal martial art, frequently winning dances by ''three groinings and a right uppercut''. Eventually collected in comic-book form detailing the lives and times of northern folk. Homaged by Terry Pratchett as the Lancre morrismen (see below).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/MadamAndEve'':
** A variation appears in one set of strips where Eve practices for the South African Extreme Ironing competition.
--->"It combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."
** Played straight with [[http://www.madamandeve.co.za/cartoons/me002782.gif Tai Chi feather dusting.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Parodied in ''WebVideo/NarutoTheAbridgedComedyFandubSpoofSeriesShow'', where just about anything is a ninja thing.
-->"The prostitutes in Ninja Village are also ninjas! That's why we call them '''Ninja Prostitutes'''."
* Invoked in ''Fanfic/VoyagesOfTheWildSeaHorse'', where Kodachi Kuno decides that her Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics is too hampered by its fundamental nature as a glorified sports style to stay her primary style on the high seas. In comparison, Ukyo takes such pride in her family tradition of Martial Arts Okonomiyaki Cooking that, despite acknowledging it as "kind of gimmicky", she vows she will prove its strength by using it to fight her way to the One Piece.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Gymkata}}'' features the deadly combination of ninjitsu and... ''gymnastics''. It also completely fails at both. To be fair, pommel-horse fu is scary... if you're within two and a half feet of a pommel horse.
* ''Film/FlirtingScholar'': A famous painter covers a man in ink, and uses his body like a paint brush. The painter moves the inked body around using Kung Fu, or rather {{Wuxia}} style WireFu.
* ''Film/KungFuHustle'', made by the same team as ''Shaolin Soccer'', has this in droves; because the theme of the movie is ordinary-looking people turning out to be kung-fu masters, we typically see the "mundane" use before their true abilities are revealed to the viewer. [[spoiler:The strong, silent Coolie who carries heavy loads for people uses his super-strong legs for kicking. The doughnut-maker who uses long poles to knead the dough is a master with spears and bow-staffs. The tailor uses heavy rings to both hang up his wares and wears them on his arms in combat. The Landlord who's constantly being beaten up by his wife can secretly deflect and withstand heavy blows. The Landlady who's always yelling and roaring at everyone has an outright sonic scream.]]
* ''Film/TheKarateKid'' films involves combat applications to mundane things. In the first film, for example, the acts of sanding, waxing, and painting are done to build strength, and muscle memory, for a blocking set. Likewise, the Kung Fu-centric remake derives the contents of a small fight scene from the mundane things Dre does.
* In ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'', the dwarves use surprising reflexes, agility, and coordination...to tidy up Bilbo's dishes after they're done eating. Bonus points for singing and playing instruments while they're doing it, and tossing the plates in time with the music.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''
** In ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', Lu-Tze dismissively describes ''tung-pi'' as "bad-tempered flower arranging".
** ''Literature/MakingMoney'' has a brief demonstration of ''sloshi'', Martial Arts Clowning, in which ballistic pie throwing, "[[PlankGag battle-planking]]" and lethal balloon animals all feature, in addition to tangling three men with a ladder in such a way that none of them can be removed without excruciating pain to the others.
** A throwaway one-liner in some supplementary material indicates that in the Discworld's equivalent of Wales, "choral singing has been elevated to the level of a martial art".
** ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'' has a group of Morris Dancers who manage to fight off attacking [[TheFairFolk Elves]] with their dance routine. ''Literature/{{Wintersmith}}'' reveals that this is in fact what Morris dancing (and its secret midwinter ShadowArchetype, the Dark Morris) was originally designed for.
* ''Age of Discovery'' trilogy by Michael Stackpole: A true Martial Artist may achieve true magic and potential immortality by completely mastering his style. Then again, so can a basket-weaver once he completely masters basket-weaving.
* ''Literature/BewareOfChicken'': The Verdant Blade Sect's core technique is the ''Blades of Grass'', which creates a [[SpectralWeaponCopy copy of the user's weapon]]. Depending on the user's level of skill, it could produce a single, small, fragile result, or a FlechetteStorm of exact copies that can then be [[MasterOfTheLevitatingBlades wielded with telekinesis]]. However, it eventually turns out that the technique was originally invented for ''stage performances'', and its creator was horrified at the very thought of debasing it with actual combat.
* ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'': Ambient magic is when people have magic that reacts to certain activities -- such as gardening, metalworking, dancing, making clothes, you name it. Anything to do with that activity, that ambient mage draws power from it. Most of the time, ambient mages just work away at their own crafts, but when you get in a fight...[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome just watch out!]]
* In ''Catching Fire'', book two of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', Katniss theorizes that the reason why District 12 tributes do so poorly in the Hunger Games is that the people living there don't learn their district's trade of mining until they become adults and are finally safe from being picked as tributes. Meanwhile, children from other districts learn their districts' trades while as children, and are able to apply what they learn to combat settings (a prominent example being Finnick Odair, from the district that specializes in fishing, making him deadly when wielding a trident). This applies to Katniss herself, as her archery skills work equally well for both killing animals for food and killing human opponents.
* Ubiquitous in the ''Literature/CradleSeries'', where there are [[SupernaturalMartialArts Paths]] for everything from farming to medicine to entertainment to street cleaning.
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': In legal trouble, Eric visits his guild's in-house advocate, Reywal. The advocate's assistant soon makes a fool of himself and Reywal assures Eric that he is skilled in Advocate Martial Arts. Then he says, "kidding! But seriously..."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* A variation appears in an episode of ''Series/{{Sliders}}'' on a world where they have "seers" for every imaginable field -- medical work, law enforcement, even politics. (But presumably ''not'' gambling.)
* ''Series/TheGoodies'' episode "Kung Fu Kapers" featured the Lancashire martial art of Ecky-Thump, which consisted of hitting people with black puddings.
* The hired goons of the various gangs in ''Series/KaiketsuZubat'' always specialized in a particular skill which they also used as a fighting style. They always considered themselves the best, but Ken Hayakawa would prove that [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter they were only #2 in Japan]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* A major feature of ''TabletopGame/{{Risus}}''. Players are encouraged to invent ways to use inappropriate skills in combat [[RuleOfFunny (but only if it's funny)]]. Using an inappropriate skill successfully deals three times as much damage as normal. The text example is a ninja evening the odds against a hungry monster by presenting it with a poisonous souffle.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
** Among the many martial arts presented by this TabletopRPG, there's "Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style" for fighting while being refined and social, "Citrine Poxes of Contagion Style" for fighting with medicine and poisons, and "Prismatic Arrangement of Creation Style" for combining sorcery and martial arts. "Laughing Wounds Style" includes fetish gear as a form armour, and uses whips and chains as a form weapon. Popular among lesbian stripper ninjas, as is Pearl Courtesan. Let's not even mention some of the [[FanWork fanmade]] Martial Arts.
** Second Edition canonised Martial Arts ''Sailors'' (Seafaring Hero Style), Martial Arts '''Orgies''' (Orgiastic Fugitive Style) and even Martial Arts '''''Psychiatrists''''' (Border of Kaleidoscopic Logic Style, one of the most powerful in the game).
** The Quicksilver Hand of Dreams Style, which involves the manipulation of dreams and imagination and the imposition of same upon concrete reality, and the Obsidian Shards of Infinity Style, which can best be summed up as Martial Arts '''''[[AlternateUniverse Parallel Universes]]'''''.
* The ''TabletopGame/DianaWarriorPrincess'' TabletopRPG includes the ancient numerology-based martial art known as The Way of the Exploding Grid, or Su Doku.
* Parodied in ''TabletopGame/NinjaBurger'', where characters use their ninja skills for fast food delivery, losing honor if they're seen or late. Their slogan? "Guaranteed delivery in 30 minutes or less, or we commit seppuku!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The plots of [[Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} Type Moon's]] ''VideoGame/MeltyBlood'' {{Fighting Game}}s are driven by the reality-warping Night of Wallachia. Among other crazy things, this phenomenon transforms Kohaku and Hisui from simple maids into MartialArtsAndCrafts masters capable of fighting half-demons and ancient vampires by using dustpans and potted plants. Basically, a justification for CompetitiveBalance.
* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'':
** Civilian miners can be drafted into the military in an emergency, and are actually quite useful. The game uses their (quickly trained) mining skill instead of a weapon skill, their attributes are often much higher than your slower-working carpenters and masons, and pickaxes are fearsome [[DevelopersForesight organ-lacerating]] weapons.
** Civilian woodcutters use ''battle axes'' to chop down trees. Tree trunks, legs... not a huge difference, right?
* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', the story revolves around climbing the ranks to become the Number 1 Assassin. The problem is there are many characters, and none of them are an Assassin in any sense of the word. They clash giant, loud lightsabers, pilot giant robots, launch very illegal fireworks, and act like loud lunatics with random weapons.
* The original GBA version of ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven'' had a calligrapher who did his strokes with the power of a martial artist, complete with kiai calls on the power strokes you were supposed to press A on.
* Justified in ''VideoGame/MasqueradaSongsandShadows'': The best way to harness the ElementalPowers the [[MaskOfPower Masquerenes]] give is to find some skill you're good at and incorporate the powers into that.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' has the in-game book "The Axe Man" about a master assassin who uses axes to kill. When he was a child, he was forced to live with his abusive uncle who basically used him like slave labor. His chores included scouring the floors after [[FantasticFruitsAndVegetables saltrice]] processing, ringing a heavy bell to signal laborers, and dusting rugs with a heavy iron rod. When his uncle went to abandon him as a teenager, leaving him homeless and illiterate, the boy snapped and grabbed an axe. He found swinging it just as easy as performing his chores and committed his first murder on his uncle. He was able to clean up the scene easily as well due to his scouring experience. He then took these skills into a career as a legendary assassin.
* In ''Videogame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', a fair amount of the Jobs are just actual jobs that normal people can have that Ichiban's overactive imagination extrapolates into somehow translating into combat abilities. This includes a street musician that can sing songs to heal the party as well as summon up a mosh pit to trample the enemies or hosts/hostesses who drizzle the opponents with champagne. [[OptionalPartyMember Eri]] in particular has the default job of "Clerk", in which she uses office implements as ninja weapons (tossing out thumbtacks, using a bag of flour as a smokescreen, wielding a ruler like a dagger, etc).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] and then subverted in ''Webcomic/{{Lookism}}'', the Jae Won HighSchool is a creative school where students can focus on what they like within [[RuleOfSeven 7 departments]], with (simplified) subjects like [[TheFashionista Fashion]], [[SweetTooth Confectionery]], [[ChattyHairdresser Beauty]], music and dance, just music, building, and sports. Despite this does all the departments have martial artists, who do real martial arts rather than ones based on their department.
* Parodied also in WebComic ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy'', which has the Ninja Mafia (black suits, ties, ninja masks), who were exactly what they sound like: organized crime, complete with protection rackets, run by ninjas (sort of). The Ninja Mafia broke up into a variety of mercenary and other groups when their emperor and ruling council were slain, including one bunch who formed their own Ninja Burger franchise, though that was more like a ninja-themed [=McDonald's=]. NMS, by the way, has ninja bookkeepers. Not just bookkeepers who are ninja, but people ''trained in the art of ninja bookkeeping''. Both bookkeeping with ninja skills, [[AmbiguousSyntax and]] keeping ninja books. *stage whisper*: They really only call it that to make the extremely elderly bookkeepers feel better about not reliably being Badass Great-Great-Grandparents.*/stage whisper*
* ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'':
** The [[McNinja French ninjas]] of "Le Restaurant des Ninjas" run their restaurant without being seen. Everything from directing patrons to their tables, to delivering [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01082.htm menus]], [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01093.htm food]] (including [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1200/fv01110.htm desserts]], [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01083.htm drinks]] (including [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01090.htm refills]]), and the [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1200/fv01112.htm bill]], all while being completely stealthy. Well, ''[[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01081.htm almost]]'' [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1200/fv01113.htm completely]]. They're so effective at hiding, [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01079.htm they hide their restaurant.]]
** Ninja accountants appear on-screen in [[http://www.goats.com/archive/011119.html Goats]].
** Oddly, this plays into a real life example, with [[http://ninjanewyork.com/ Ninja New York]], an actual ninja-themed restaurant in which your servers will appear from nowhere, and you might just get assassinated.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In The Weather Channel Goes the Way of MTV from ''Literature/HitherbyDragons'', there are weather ninjas that dress up in costumes with the weather forecast on them. Accordingly, we have martial arts like the invincible TORNADO WARNING fist and the FLOOD ALERT style.
* Chaka, at SuperHeroSchool Whateley Academy in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', has the superpower of Ki control, and has invented new MartialArtsAndCrafts at the drop of a shuriken. When given detention, she invented (on the fly) martial arts mopping (instant cleaning by attuning her Ki with the mop), martial arts linen folding, martial arts grime scrubbing... She has used her martial arts skills for healing problems beyond medicine, like Doctor Heavy's inability to turn off his local 8-G gravity field (she turned it into a local 0-G field by accident). And she has developed all kinds of martial arts weapons for herself, including sewing needles, forks, playing cards...
%%* ''Literature/TheCodelessCode'' is about programming monks.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* ''WebVideo/FightersHigh'' sports this as an essential part of the eponymous school's culture. Within the first 10 minutes of the first episode, we've seen the school's cook face off against a student, blasting him into a wall using a fireball generated via spatula.
* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' features a ninja-style dancer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' has the standard Mountain Temple Ninjas, Monkey Ninjas, and Aristocratic Englishman Monkey Ninja. It also has Embarrassment Ninjas. Dr. Drakken speculates that in that field it pays to specialize. There's also [[SquareRaceRoundClass Sumo Ninja.]]
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', kung-fu baking becomes pretty SeriousBusiness.
* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'': "Lotsa Luck" reveals that there is an extreme sport called kung fu quilting, and [[spoiler:Mrs. Twombly was the inventor and grand master of the sport!]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira Capoeira]] is a martial art [[DanceBattler meant to look like a dance]]. In practice, it's extremely unpredictable, painful, and in some cases, rather impractical. (To be fair, the simplest and most practical techniques are the first to be taught, and the most impractical techniques do not even have to be learned).
* Traditional {{samurai}} martial arts included not only a variety of fighting styles, but every necessary skill for a soldier, split up into different techniques or ''jutsu''. This meant a well-trained warrior knew, besides the better-known ''jujutsu'' (unarmed technique) and ''kenjutsu'' (sword technique), things like ''suijutsu'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ("swimming in armour technique")]] and ''kajutsu'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ("burning down peasant huts technique")]]. All of these are still taught by a few hardcore traditionalist schools, although one wonders how they practice arson at the dojo.
** Probably with Rebuilding Jutsu so they can perform arson again and again for practice.
** As an example, one school includes "Chikujojutsu" - field fortification, which includes knowing about architecture, and looking for (and fixing) weaknesses in castle defences.
* Most of the "Animal Style" Kung Fu traditions have a legend about their founder watching some animal in its natural habitat doing what comes naturally. These masters are then struck with inspiration and found a new tradition of martial arts based on the natural flow found in the animal's movements.
* A lot of weapons started out as agricultural and gardening tools including scythes, flails, and even kunai! In fact, the French Revolution was mostly fought with farming equipment.
** In fact, save for obvious exceptions such as swords and certain types of firearms (e.g. machine guns and artillery), most weapons have legitimate civilian uses. The spear and bow were originally hunting tools, for example, and axes and hammers were and still are construction tools. Even those types of weapon mentioned do have legitimate uses, for example, using cannons as avalanche control devices. It's just that those uses are much harder to find.
*** A sword is just a knife long enough to be impractical for daily use as a tool. Gunpowder was the result of [[UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}} Taoist]] alchemists looking for an [[ImmortalityInducer elixir of immortality]], and most small arms have legitimate civilian uses including hunting (muskets, rifles, shotguns) and defending oneself against illegitimate civilian uses (e.g. shotguns, handguns). Also, gunpowder and dynamite (and plastified explosives in modern times) were extensively used for mining and industrial demolition. A great many battles have also been fought with hunting guns—the sharpshooter units of many European armies are called "hunters" (chasseurs in French, Jägers in German, snipers in English[[note]]After a type of bird, the snipe, that is notoriously difficult to stalk -- and yes, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe it really does exist]][[/note]]) ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin because that was what they did for a living in peacetime]]''.
* Given that they were mostly spies, any real-life ninja that knew how to fight would very likely [[ImprobableWeaponUser be fighting with whatever item they used in their day job]]. If a ninja happened to also be a samurai, they would of course have access to all kinds of battlefield implements including the katana and shuriken. If they were gardeners, then they would have to know their way around the [[GardeningVarietyWeapon kama and kunai]] if push came to shove.
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