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Gunfu, aportmanteau ofgun andkung fu (also known asgunkata,bullet ballet,gymnastic gunplay orbullet arts),[1] is a style of sophisticated close-quartersgunfight resembling amartial arts combat that combinesfirearms withhand-to-hand combat and traditional melee weapons in an approximately 50/50 ratio. It can be seen inHong Kong action cinema,[2] and in Americanaction films influenced by it.
The focus of gunfu is bothartistic style and the usage offirearms in ways that they were not designed to be used. Shooting a gun from each hand (usually paired with jumping to the side at the same time),dual wielding, shots from behind the back, as well as the use of guns as melee weapons (usuallyknife fights) are all common. Other moves can involvesubmachine guns,assault rifles,combat shotguns,rocket launchers, and just about anything else that can be worked into a cinematic shot. It is often mixed withgrappling maneuvers.
Gunfu has become a staple of modernaction films due to its visual spectacle, a result of often impressivechoreography andstuntwork, regardless of its unrealistic elements when compared to real-lifegun warfare.
As the name suggests, gunfu has roots inmartial arts films fromHong Kong action cinema, includingwuxia films andkung fu films from the likes ofBruce Lee andJackie Chan. These films typically involvedmartial artists fighting large numbers of enemies in stylized choreographed action set-pieces, with a fighting style that lay somewhere betweenbrawling anddancing. Hong Kong filmmakerJohn Woo, who began his career directing martial arts films, took the martial arts style of action and addedguns, combining the elegance and precision ofkung fu with the brutality and violence ofgangster films.[3]
John Woo originated the style that would later be called gunfu in the 1986 Hong Kong action filmA Better Tomorrow. The film launched the "heroic bloodshed" genre in Hong Kong, and gunfu action sequences became a regular feature in many of the subsequent heroic bloodshed films, which combined the elegance and precision ofkung fu with the brutality and violence of gangster movies.[3] John Woo continued to make several classic heroic bloodshed films, all featuring gunfu, and all starring leading manChow Yun-fat.
Anthony Leong wrote of the gunfights inA Better Tomorrow,[4]
Before 1986, Hong Kong cinema was firmly rooted in two genres: themartial arts film and thecomedy. Gunplay was not terribly popular because audiences had considered it boring, compared to fancykung fu moves or graceful swordplay ofwuxia epics. What moviegoers needed was a new way to present gunplay—to show it as a skill that could be honed, integrating the acrobatics and grace of the traditional martial arts. And that's exactly what John Woo did. Using all of the visual techniques available to him (tracking shots,dolly-ins,slo-mo), Woo created beautifully surrealistic action sequences that were a 'guilty pleasure' to watch. There is also intimacy found in the gunplay—typically, his protagonists and antagonists will have a profound understanding of one another and will meet face-to-face, in a tenseMexican standoff where they each point their weapons at one another and trade words.
Stephen Hunter, writing inThe Washington Post wrote,[5]
Woo saw gunfights inmusical terms: His primary conceit was the shootout as dance number, with great attention paid to choreography, the movement of both actors within the frame. He loved to send his shooters flying through the air in surprising ways, far more poetically than in any real-life scenario. He frequently diverted to slow motion and he specialized in shooting not merely to kill, but to riddle—his shooters often blast their opponents five and six times.
Other Hong Kong directors also began using gunfu sequences in films that were not strictly heroic bloodshed films, such asWong Jing'sGod of Gamblers (1989) and its sequelGod of Gamblers Returns (1994). There were several heroic bloodshed films that did not feature gunfu, but opted for more realistic combat, such asRingo Lam'sCity on Fire (1987).
The popularity ofJohn Woo films, and the heroic bloodshed genre in general, in the U.S. helped give gunfu greater visibility. Some of the earliestHollywood productions not directed by Woo that adopted the style wereDesperado (1995) andThe Replacement Killers (1998), the latter starringChow Yun-fat.
The success ofThe Matrix (1999) helped to popularize and develop the style in the U.S.[3] One classic gunfu move consists of reloading twopistols simultaneously by releasing the emptymagazines, pointing the guns to the ground, dropping two fresh magazines out of one's jacket sleeves, or strapped to one's legs, into the guns, and then carrying on shooting. The style is also featured, albeit in a small way and with the assistance of gadgets, inLara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). InEquilibrium (2002), the law enforcement responsible for handling "Sense Crime" are trained in "gunkata" to gain an advantage in their raids on armed opponents. In the filmBulletproof Monk (2003), The Monk With No Name (portrayed by Yun-fat) empties two pistols, ejects the magazines and spins to kick the empty magazines at his assailants. This was parodied in an episode ofBrooklyn Nine-Nine (Season 1, Episode 19 "Tactical Village").Underworld (2003) brought The Matrix's aesthetic from thecyberpunk subgenre into thedark fantasy realm, including its gunplay. InWanted (2008), assassins belonging to The Fraternity possess the skill of "bending" bullets around obstacles; in a gunfight early in the film, one assassin knocks another bullet out of the air with his own round. InX-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009),Agent Zero (Daniel Henney) reloads his handguns by throwing them into the air and catching them with the magazines he is holding in his hands.
In the 2010 filmKick-Ass, the characterHit Girl, played byChloë Grace Moretz, frequently uses gunfu. In the 2012 filmDjango Unchained, the climactic shootout in Candieland is inspired by John Woo, replicating scenes from his 1989 classicThe Killer shot-by-shot. The 2013G.I. Joe: Retaliation utilized gunfu in the climactic fight betweenRoadblock andFirefly. The style is also heavily featured in 2014'sJohn Wick, as well as 2015'sKingsman: The Secret Service.
A gunfu sequence involving Chris Redfield and Glenn Arias is showcased in the 2017 CGI filmResident Evil: Vendetta. Although produced in Japan, theResident Evil franchise takes the majority of its inspiration from American horror and action cinema.
Video games, particularly in theshooter andshoot 'em up genres, have implemented gunfu-like gameplay. Below are some examples of video games and video game series which have been specifically compared to or described as gunfu:
Gun Fu is also the name of a series ofcomic books by Howard M. Shum and Joey Mason, about a Hong Kong police officer in the 1930s who employs a combination of gun-play and martial arts.[12]
It is not certain where or when the actual term "gunfu" was invented. One of the earliest written records exists in thetabletop role-playing gameCyberpunk 2020 which was first published in 1988.
Gunfu is a form of specialized martial arts usable in the game and is described as,[13]
Gun Fu : completely geared around mastery of thehandgun, this form makes a firearm truly an extension of the user. Students are only taught the basics of surviving agunfight: stay constantly moving, fire till your opponent is dead (preferably from as close a distance as possible), count your shots, when you are out don't hesitate to find another weapon instead of taking the time to reload yours (the dead guy on the floor won't be needing his anymore right). If you are hit don't think about it till you're dead or your enemies are, never panic and above all keep your opponent on the defensive. Once a student has learned the basics the only way for him to advance in his art is through combat, so beginners don't stay beginners long, they are either killed or they become better. A master is a truly magnificent sight in a gun battle.
Conspiracy X, another tabletopRPG first published in 1996, also included the combat style as a usable skill. In this game, gunfu allowed players' characters to use firearms in close combat and skilled martial artists to string together combinations of moves.[14]
In theBuffyverse role-playing games, gunfu is the name for the firearms skill, but this is more likely meant to be humorous rather than to imply characters practice an actual firearm-based martial art.[15]In theNinjas and Superspies supplementMystic China, gunfu is theTriad assassin training, and is a martial arts skill that can be available to player characters. It primarily emphasizes the use of paired 9mm pistols.[16]
InRun & Gun, a expansion of the fifth-edition of thepen-and-paperrole-playing gameShadowrun, gunfu is a combat style available.
TheGURPS roleplaying system has aGun-Fu supplement, written by S.A. Fisher, Sean Punch, and Hans-Christian Vortisch.
In the Japanese seriesTokusou Sentai Dekaranger, Banban "Ban" Akaza a.k.a. DekaRed is specifically mentioned as a master of gunfu technique, which in the series is called as "Juu Kun Do" (jū is the Japanese word for 'gun', and the name of the style is a play onJeet Kune Do). As a result, the mecha for the series, Dekaranger Robo, is also sometimes shown using gunfu. The American adaptation of the series,Power Rangers S.P.D., also shows the Red Ranger Jack Landors and the Delta Squad Megazord using the same technique, though that was more because of the source material – Jack is not specifically mentioned as being a master of gunfu.
In the animeMazinkaizer SKL, Ryou Magami (one of the two pilots of the titular Mazinkaiser) uses gunfu as his primary style of combat as he wields the Breast Triggers, a pair of handguns which store on Mazinkaiser's chest. Magami's fight scenes contain several visual homages to the filmEquilibrium, including a scene in the first episode where Mazinkaiser performs the signature pose of the Grammaton Clerics.
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