History Main / FightingFingerprint

* Tom "Pie-Face" Kalmaku recognizes his friend Hal Jordan is ''comicbook/GreenLantern'' because they have the same right hook.

--> '''Narrator/Michael:''' A fight is one of the quickest ways to tell if someone isn't who they say they are. If you say you are Russian but fight like an American, consider your cover blown, which means you better know Sambo, the mixed martial art of Russia. Of course, you also have to win the fight; a great cover ID doesn't help much if you're dead.

* In ''LeagueOfLegends'', Yasuo is WrongfullyAccused of murdering his master because he was killed using a wind blade technique that only Yasuo is known to have mastered. (Also he was while killed he was believed to be alone save for Yasuo, who was supposed to be guarding him but skipped out. They do have a pretty good case.)

This is a less meta-y trope than TellMeHowYouFight. Compare CoverBlowingSuperpower RevealingSkill.

This is a less meta-y trope than TellMeHowYouFight.

* In the ''Series/BurnNotice'' episode "Comrades", Michael Westen (in one of his narrative spy tips) talks about the importance of knowing different fighting styles and remembering which one to use depending on your cover. In the episode he was posing as a Russian {{Mafiya}} mook and so had to use a fighting style called Sambo.

* In [[{{Marvel 2099}} Punisher 2099]] Jake is fighting a supervillain villain named Hot Wire, who can digitize himself to interact with electronic systems. Jake performs a PunchCatch on him, which he counters by turning his arm and ramming his elbow into Jake's face. Jake is shocked because it's a move he made up himself and there's only one other person he taught it too--his son, Dean Gallows.

->'''Alfred''': Well, perhaps our cowled friend can persuade him otherwise.
->'''Bruce''': It's not that easy, Alfred. He's after Batman as well.
->'''Alfred''': But why?
->'''Bruce''': He fought Bruce Wayne ''and'' Batman. Fighting styles are like fingerprints. Kyodai knows that we're the same man.

A lot of people hide their identities. A lot of those people do so because they're doing dangerous things. Like fighting.

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** [[spoiler:Eren lost the first Titan fight against Annie]] because he recognized her fighting style and was distracted [[spoiler:when he realized Annie was the Female Titan.]]

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* Played with in the Wachowskis' ''Film/SpeedRacer''. Speed suspects Racer X of being his LongLostRelative Rex, because Racer X drives in the same distinctive way Rex did.

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* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, the Expelliarmus Spell is this to Harry. Becomes a bit of a problem when he is supposed to be hiding behind several people disguised as him, because it help the Death Eaters to recognize their main target.

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* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing [[TheMovie Endless Waltz]]'': Heero recognizes he's fighting Trowa when he recognizes his tactic of [[MoreDakka excessively firing all of his weapons at him]].

Of course, stories are only interesting where there's risk and drama and junk. One way to introduce some drama is to let someone figure out the hooded vigilante's secret. If you don't want to have the hero lose a fight and get unmasked, or do something stupid at a crime scene, there are other options. One of those is to have an opponent face or observer the hero fighting both in and out of the mask, and from that realize that they're the same person.

--> '''Narrator!Michael:''' A fight is one of the quickest ways to tell if someone isn't who they say they are. If you say you are Russian but fight like an American, consider your cover blown, which means you better know Sambo, the mixed martial art of Russia. Of course, you also have to win the fight; a great cover ID doesn't help much if you're dead.

-->--''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', "Day of the Samurai"

!!

* ''ShingekiNoKyojin'': Annie's ruthlessly efficient fighting style is unique. Because of it, Armin [[spoiler:uses it as evidence that she is the Female Titan]], and after she taught it to Eren, he manages to pull one over Reiner in their fight.

'''Indices:''' CombatTropes, SkillsAndTrainingTropes (What You Know)

* In the HarryPotter series, the Expelliarmus Spell is this to Harry. Becomes a bit of a problem when he is supposed to be hiding behind several people disguised as him, because it help the Death Eaters to recognize their main target.

* In the ''{{Burn Notice}}'' episode "Comrades", Michael Westen (in one of his narrative spy tips) talks about the importance of knowing different fighting styles and remembering which one to use depending on your cover. In the episode he was posing as a Russian {{Mafiya}} mook and so had to use a fighting style called Sambo.

* In the ''{{Champions}}'' system, the ability to do this is called "Analyze Style."

* [[FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem Path of Radiance]]: Greil immediately identifies the completely anonymous Black Knight as one of his former students after exchanging blows and hearing his manner of speech. Ranulf identifies him after fighting him in costume and out of costume, and also acknowledges his scent. Ike after being told about his identity confirms it after clashing with him out of costume and claims it makes perfect sense in hindsight because their fighting style is identical.
* KingdomHeartsII: When Sora faces [[spoiler: "Ansem"]] completely concealed in an Organization Black cloak, he's able to guess that it's actually Riku based on fighting style and signature weapon.

* In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0852.html this]] ''OrderOfTheStick'' strip, Roy correctly guesses that the warrior the Order is fighting is ''not'' Thog, but is actually an imposter, by observing his fighting style. Amongst other things, the imposter relies on defence and counter-attack in contrast to Thog's offensive fighting style, and he also leads with his other foot.

* ''SymBionicTitan'' had a situation like this. One of the team's acquaintances had a fighting style distinctive to the royal guard of Galaluna.

* In the ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Night of the Ninja," the titular ninja figures out that Bruce Wayne is Batman after fighting him, because they both studied martial arts under the same master in the past and had fought before.

-->--''Day of the Samurai, '''{{WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries}}'''''

* In ''Film/SherlockHolmes A Game of Shadows'', Holmes and Watson deduce the identity of Moriarty's [[TheDragon Dragon]], [[ColdSniper Sebastian Moran]], thanks in part to Moran's ImprobableAimingSkills. Moran assassinates someone with a rifle shot at a 650 yard range in a 7-8mph wind; Watson claims there are only half a dozen marksmen in Europe with enough skill to shoot accurately under such conditions, and when Holmes finds a discarded cigarette at the scene of the crime, he recognises the blend as the same brand of Afghan tobacco that Watson smokes and concludes the killer must have served the British Army in Afghanistan.

* In ''Film/SherlockHolmes A Game of Shadows'', Holmes deduces the identity of Moriarty's [[TheDragon Dragon]], [[ColdSniper Sebastian Moran]], thanks in part to the latter's ImprobableAimingSkills. Moran can hit a target at a 650 yard range in a 7-8mph wind; there are only half a dozen marksmen in Europe with enough skill to shoot accurately under such conditions, and only one of those men served the British Army in Afghanistan and smokes the same brand of Afghan tobacco as Watson (Holmes finds a discarded cigarette at the scene of an assassination Moran carried out).