History Main / FullContactMagic

* Gwen from ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' mixes a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and magic {{mana}}-manipulation powers for dynamic and fluid fighting scenes.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Avatar The Last Airbender}}'' the ElementalPowers are all controlled by the physical action of the bender, and each element has a different martial art used to use the power more effectively (though it appears there can be variations as to which style is used). (This serves a practical purpose: it allows all the young characters to use martial arts via bending without having 14-year-olds beating the crap out of each other with their fists.) People occasionally use weapons in conjunction with the bending as well. Additionally, the more skilled a bender is, [[FingerPokeOfDoom the more they can get out of an action]], with the pinnacle of this being [[DishingOutDirt Bumi]]'s ability to control boulders with his ''chin''. In the artbook, the creators specifically mentioned they wanted to get away from the more traditional "wand magic." Just don't ever call [[InsistentTerminology bending]] "magic" around a bender...

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''

* In the games proper, ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'''s magic duels consist of a lazily-drifting defender hurling out [[MoreDakka ten trillion bullets]] floating out [[PainfullySlowProjectile at fifteen miles per hour]] while the attacker slowly but precisely [[OneHitPointWonder and VERY CAREFULLY]] dodges their elaborate patterns until time runs out. Since out of context this looks really hilarious, in most fan works they're shown as full contact magic to capture their actual intensity.
** FightingGame {{Spinoff}}s ''Immaterial and Missing Power'', ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'', ''Hisoutensoku'' and ''Hopeless Masquerade'' upgrade the fights into outright magically-enhanced slugfests.

*** In ''[[Videogame/PokemonXAndY Pokémon X and Y]]'', certain special category moves actually have the Pokémon performing the physical move animation rather than the special move animation. Among them are Grass Knot, Volt Switch, the aforementioned Vacuum Wave, and Hex as well!

* Red spirits in ''VideoGame/EienNoAselia'' work like this whenever they're using effective melee abilities. Which basically means if you're using Himika because Orpha and Nanaru are pure casters. Orpha does gain magical melee abilities later, though.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** The Illumnian race from ''Races of Destiny'' can use {{Strength}} or {{Dexterity}} to determine their number of spells per day and/or ability to penetrate [[AntiMagic Spell Resistance]], rather than {{Intelligence}}, {{Wisdom}} or {{Charisma}} as normal. Exactly how this ''works'' isn't explained, but FullContactMagic is a common interpretation. This gets particularly interesting when combined with the "Muscle Wizard" theoretical build, wherein a [[PrestigeClass Cancer Mage]] (who possesses immunity to the negative effects of disease) can gain arbitrarily high Strength by infecting himself with Festering Anger (a disease which causes the victim's muscles to grow until they explode).

* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'': Not really magical, but in Helmajistan Gauron shows us what a telekinetic mecha can do, summoning a ball of energy then doing a slashing motion, ripping a RedShirt to shreds with a big flash. Why is that unusual? Because another time, he simply pointed his finger at an opponent like a gun, imitated the recoil ("Let me show you. See? BANG.") and the opponent promptly exploded. In ''The Second Raid'' finale, Sousuke does [[http://lupussol.files.wordpress.com/2006/07/bscap007.jpg this]] against Gates who is using Clouseau as a human shield: he does a punching motion but stops before hitting Clouseau... Needless to say, it turned out to be his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome and his team's MassOhCrap.
* ''Manga/MakenKi'': While most of the cast uses weapon type Maken, Azuki, Minori, and Yan-Min all specialize in direct combat. So their Maken accommodates their proficiency in hand-to-hand. Azuki's Maken ('Hawk') [[http://www.mangatown.com/manga/maken_ki/c016/10.html channels wind]], Minori's "Dragon Ace" allows her to [[http://www.mangatown.com/manga/maken_ki/c043/15.html control thermal energy]], and Yan-Min's [[SuperMode "Reilii" ability]] allows her to literally move and [[http://www.mangatown.com/manga/maken_ki/c017/5.html strike like lightning.]]

* In ''Disney/BigHero6'', Yokai, in contrast to Hiro's demonstration, tends to use hand gestures and similar physical movements to control the microbots.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' - Several complex Shinsoo technique's, for instance Quant's freezing technique, usually only work on full contact. This does not account for TeenGenius Bam, though.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' - Several complex Shinsoo technique's, for instance Quant's freezing technique, usually only work on full contact. This does not account for TeenGenius Baam, though.

** Alex Louis Armstrong. He doesn't punch ''you'', per se... but he does punch ''rocks'', transmuting them into ''cannon shells'', in your direction. That's not to say he won't try and punch your skull in if you're dumb enough to let him get close enough.
** Mustang is the exception. He snaps his fingers to create fire.

* In the film adaptation of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings: Fellowship of the Ring'', Gandalf and Saruman's staff-fight in Saruman's chambers was easier than taking ten minutes to explain why Gandalf was powerless to ignore an order from a now-obviously illegitimate authority.

* It's not technically "magic" so much as "superpowers", but ''many'' comic book characters will use gestures to accompany their powers even when it shouldn't really be necessary. Those with some sort of telekinesis, or something similar (such as ComicBook/{{Magneto}}), have powers that should be activated by thought alone, but will often use physical movements as well, especially when they get stressed. Presumably it's for the same reasons as the motions that accompany [[StarWars Jedi force powers]] (see below).

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': While it is ''possible'' to use the Force without moving, such as when a user is tied up, most [[StarWars Jedi, Sith, and assorted Force users]] use hand motions to focus their powers. (And for [[RuleOfCool dramatic effect]], of course.)

A SubTrope of MagicalGesture. Compare with MagicDance, which adds choreography to the full-contact-ness. Contrast with the ''much'' less physical PstandardPsychicPstance. Also contrast PowersDoTheFighting.

[[folder: Literature]]

* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'': Not really magical, but in Helmajistan Gauron shows us what a telekinetic mecha can do, summoning a ball of energy then doing a slashing motion, ripping a RedShirt to shreds with a big flash. Why is that unusual? Because another time, he simply pointed his finger at an opponent like a gun, imitated the recoil ("Let me show you. See? BANG.") and the opponent promptly exploded. In ''The Second Raid'' finale, Sousuke does [[http://lupussol.files.wordpress.com/2006/07/bscap007.jpg this]] against Gates who is using Clouseau as a human shield: he does a punching motion but stops before hitting Clouseau... Needless to say, it turned out to be his CrowningMomentOfAwesome and his team's MassOhCrap.

* Some ninjutsu in ''Fraanchise/{{Naruto}}'' seem to require a physical action besides [[MagicalGesture hand seals]] for use even if it's not used in the attack itself. The most noticeable example is [[GravityMaster Deva Path Pain]], who can use a Shinra Tensei, which repels objects away from him, in all directions without any movement, but needs to use his hand(s) to focus it in one direction or one object or select an object to use Bansho Tenin, which pulls objects toward him, on (presumably he would [[BlessedWithSuck attract all objects in the area]] to him otherwise).

Contrast with MagicKnight, where a wizard is not squishy, but simply is a trained warrior in addition to casting spells., and SupernaturalMartialArts, where the martial arts training is what creates the magical effect, rather than the magical spells themselves requiring broad motions. When a character can use both [[FunctionalMagic Magic]] and martial arts separately, it's KungFuWizard.

* In a Music/{{Skrillex}} music video, a little girl attacks a pedophile who's been following her with a barrage of [[PsychicPowers psychic blasts]] that she controls with various hand gestures, at one point launching him straight up into the air by [[ShockwaveStomp stomping the ground]]. At the end of the video, after she's done beating the crap out of him, she positions her hands as though to wring a towel and violently twists, apparently killing him.

* In the games proper, [[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Gensokyo]]'s magic duels consist of a lazily-drifting defender hurling out [[MoreDakka ten trillion bullets]] floating out [[PainfullySlowProjectile at fifteen miles per hour]] while the attacker slowly but precisely [[OneHitPointWonder and VERY CAREFULLY]] dodges their elaborate patterns until time runs out. Since out of context this looks really hilarious, in most fan works they're shown as full contact magic to capture their actual intensity.

** Mustang is the exception. He snaps his fingers to create bombs.

[[caption-width-right:350:You do ''not'' want to get punched by Subaru]]

A SubTrope of MagicalGesture. Contrast with the ''much'' less physical PstandardPsychicPstance. Also contrast PowersDoTheFighting.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', the [[JapaneseChristian Amakusa Christians']] origins as an IllegalReligion have led them to develop "invisible" [[ReligionIsMagic spellcasting techniques]], hiding their SpellConstruction within precise applications of everyday actions and objects. As a result, many of them have learned to encode {{Magical Gesture}}s into their fighting techniques as well. Combined with the strange mishmash of Christian and Shinto-Buddhist concepts that their spells are based on, this sums up to make them [[ConfusionFu incredibly confusing to fight]].