Summary
Fish-Men inOne Piecehave a number of unique traits, ranging from their distinctive appearances, enhanced physical strength, and their immense stature when compared to the normfor most races, save for giants. However, one of the most notable cultural exports from their homeland in the Ryugu Kingdom on Fish-Man Island is the martial art of Fish-Man Karate.
Practiced by a few incredibly powerful individuals inOne Piece, including notorious pirates and members of the Revolutionary Army, the fighting style revolves around striking techniques that can exert devastating force against any opponent. While Fish-Men are the ones responsible for its creation, Fish-Man Karate, can be learned and performed by members of other races, including humans. Thisis evidenced in how Nico Robin, the Straw Hats' archaeologist, and Koala, an Officer in the Revolutionary Army alongside Sabo, and the organization’s Assistant Fish-Man Karate Instructor, are both seen using it in combat scenarios.
RELATED:One Piece: Sabo’s Ryusoken, Explained
What Is Fish-Man Karate?
Although mostFish-Man Karate techniques can be performedon dry land, they are at their most potent underwater, where the enhanced strength and speed of Fish-Men, coupled with their ability to manipulate water shine brighter than in other settings. Contradictory to other fighting styles in the series, Fish-Man Karate seems to have a discrete rating system based on levels that define a user’s proficiency in the martial art, much like karate does in the real world.
For instance, Kuroobi, an officer for the Arlong Pirates stated that he was a level 40 practitioner, whereas Hack, the Revolutionary Army’s Fish-Man Karate Instructor is said to be a level 100 practitioner. Prospective students can learn the fighting style at theFish-Man Karate Dojo on Fish-Man Island. A large part of mastering this martial art lies in the user’s ability to manipulate the water in their surroundings. This can range from large bodies of water, to the moisture in the air, or even the fluids in an opponents body.
Hence, the strikes in Fish-Man Karate depend on moisture to carry their impact, and they are also at their most destructive within the depths of the sea. That is not to say that this fighting style will not be effective on land. In fact, Fish-Man Karate in the hands of any capable user can be used to deal massive damage to any opponent, through strikes that do not even have to make direct contact with the target’s body. Additionally, since most living creatures have considerable amounts of water in their bodies, Fish-Man Karate can inflict damage internally. For instance,Luffy, who is generally immuneto blunt force attacks due to his rubbery constitution, is not invulnerable to Fish-Man Karate.
Different Approaches To Fish-Man Karate
Most users, especially Fish-Men themselves, adapt the basics of this fighting style to complement their own bodies. This is pertinent when considering the unique traits possessed by various types of Fish-Men, which lend themselves to different kinds of offensive maneuvers.Jinbe for example, is an extremely powerfulexponent of Fish-Man Karate and his techniques generally harness his brute strength and stature in direct attacks delivered as punches.
These attacks generally generate massive amounts of force in the form of shock waves conveyed through water, moisture in the air, or the moisture in an opponents body, making them incredibly difficult to defend against.He also makes use of smaller scale attackswhich use droplets of water hurled at speeds fast enough for them to behave like bullets, throwing columns of water with incredible force, delivering powerful roundhouse kicks, or using his superhuman grip strength to crush an opponent’s fingers.
On the other hand, Kuroobi of the Arlong Pirates exploited his arm fins, extended reach, and the length of his ponytail as a ray Fish-Manwhile fighting Sanji in the Arlong Park Arc. This ranged from executing strikes with his arm fins, to restraining an opponent with his ponytail to suffocate them while underwater. He also used more direct attacks delivered as punches and kicks much like Jinbe, but his mastery of the fighting style paled in comparison to the former Warlord and “Knight of the Sea.”
RELATED:One Piece: Big Mom’s Soru Soru no Mi, Explained
Hody Jones of the New Fish-Man Pirates also appeared to be an extremely strong combatant with this fighting style, although this was later revealed to be the result of him overusing Energy Steroids. In his use of the martial art, Hody preferred to exercise his grip to crush walls or hurl droplets of water as high speed projectiles, in contrast to the moredirect approach shown by Jinbe. Aladine, a merman and member of the Sun Pirates was also quite proficient at Fish-Man Karate, having been able to clash evenly with Charlotte Oven of the Big Mom Pirates.
Nico Robin was only shown learning the fundamentals of Fish-Man Karate, and her proficiency with the style rests heavily on thepower of her Devil Fruit, the Hana Hana no Mi. Hack, the Fish-Man Karate Instructor for the Revolutionary Army has been depicted using a punch attack similar to Jinbe, and it is quite likely that the two may be comparable in their knowledge of the fighting style. Lastly, while Koala’s strength has not yet been fully shown, it is possible that she might only be a few steps behind Hack, who also benefits from the superior speed and strength of his Fish-Man physiology.
Who Is The Best Fish-Man Karate User?
Since her knowledge of Fish-Man Karate is limited to its fundamental precepts, Robin cannot really be considered in the running. The same goes for Hody Jones, whose strength was the product of a performance enhancing drug. Kuroobi could also be discounted as the current power scaling inOne Piecehas left him far behind,especially since he lost to Sanjiat the very start of the crew’s journey. Aladine and Koala’s skill at Fish-Man Karate may be comparable, since they have both held high ranking positions in extremely powerful organizations.
In effect, the question of who is most proficient at Fish-Man Karate comes down to a contest between Jinbe and Hack. Where the Knight of the Sea was a highly skilled user of the fighting style even in childhood, Hack is the main Fish-Man Karate Instructor for the whole Revolutionary Army. Despite this, considering Jinbe’s incredible feats throughout the series,especially in the Marinefordand Wano Country Arcs, it is safe to say that he is the best known user of Fish-Man Karate in the series so far, just about edging out the competition.
