History Main / GoodOldFisticuffs

* ''VideoGame/MissionImpossibleKonami'': Agent Grant prefers to use his fists, compared to the other agents that use either a rifle or a boomerang. Every weapon [[GunsAreUseless does the same amount of damage anyways]], with the only difference being range. There's no fancy martial arts used either, Grant just swings a haymaker with one button press capable of taking out two enemies at once if they're close enough together.

* This is Joker's fighting style in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuyuE5wK5Iw He even does a little dance.]] Against Batman, however, he gets floored in a few punches and then resorts to calling out 15 {{Mooks}}, a [[TheBrute Brute]] with one arm who wields a sledgehammer, and of course, a [[GiantMook Titan]]... and then ''still'' loses. [[spoiler:The only reason why he isn't actually defeated is due to a DiabolusExMachina helicopter strike that buries Batman.]] [[CombatPragmatist The Joker decides to go with a knife from then on]]. Although... [[spoiler:it's actually Clayface, not Joker, and thus basically threw the fight,because he's nearly [[NoSell impossible to damage]] conventionally in his final boss fight without Freeze Grenades]].

* ''VideoGame/HardEdge'' has Burns Byford, a local detective who eventually joins the player's party and fights his opponents with nothing more than his fists and his brute strength.
* ''VideoGame/HauntedHalloween85'': [[PlayerCharacter Donny]]'s weapons throughout the game are his own two fists.

* Liquid Snake from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' shows off his pugilist skills during a bout against Solid Snake. And he's not afraid to fight dirty.

** It's his fighting style in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' too. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuyuE5wK5Iw He even does a little dance.]] Against Batman, however, he gets floored in a few punches and then resorts to calling out 15 {{Mooks}}, a [[TheBrute Brute]] with one arm who wields a sledgehammer, and of course, a [[GiantMook Titan]].
** And then STILL loses. [[spoiler: The only reason why he isn't actually defeated is due to a DiabolusExMachina helicopter strike that buries Batman.]] [[CombatPragmatist The Joker decides to go with a knife from then on.]]
*** Although... [[spoiler: it's actually Clayface, not Joker, and thus, basically threw the fight, because he's nearly [[NoSell impossible to damage]] conventionally in his final boss fight without Freeze Grenades.]]

* The [[SuperSoldier D-Codes and Orions]] in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' and its sequel just jump around punching things. Creating super soldiers to punch out zombies one-by-one seems like the most expensive yet inefficient solution to a ZombieApocalypse, but it makes a bit more sense when they go up against the tougher monsters since their hooks do more damage than ''tank rounds''.

-->'''Brick''': They were no match for my secret "Punch you in the face until you die" fighting style!

* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 gladiator sim ''VideoGame/ColosseumRoadToFreedom'' allows four main fighting styles: [[JackOfAllStats One Sword]], [[DualWielding Two Swords]], [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Shield]] and Striker, which is this trope. Fighting without weapons gives you fast attacks and a lot of cool-looking moves that make you look more like a pro-wrestler than a gladiator, but the damage is abysmal and you have no ability to block or parry attacks (though you can still dodge). Striker is kind of CoolButInefficient because you need very good reflexes and careful use of skills to make it effective -- most people only fight with their fists because they were disarmed and punching is a last resort, but a small crazy elite actually use it as a main fighting style.

* In ''Film/LethalWeapon4'', Creator/JetLi uses his polished wushu style to badly brutalize both Riggs and Murtaugh until they ultimately defeat him with their less flashy fighting styles and ultimately [[spoiler:a Kalashnikov automatic rifle]]. Riggs was portrayed as an elite martial artist in the first film's more realistic fight scenes, but by the fourth movie he too was "getting too old for this shit."

** On Discworld, members of the Guild of Assassins are taught to be deadly, silent, killers who are capable of killing stylishly with fifty different weapons. But they are constrained by rules. And, because it is not thought of as being gentlemanly, the one form of fighting they are not taught and discouraged from learning is unarmed combat of ''any'' sort. A gentleman does not brawl in the gutter. This suits their unkillable target Sam Vimes, who has never claimed to be a gentleman and has spent thirty years brawling in the gutter.

* Creator/ConanOBrien jokes that he fights like this on his show.

* Chinese Martial Arts, believe it or not. Yeah, they may look all frou-frou and fancy, but when it comes to application, it's really about anything goes. Tiger Claw? Fancy name for "drive your palm into their nose/chin, and then your fingers into his eyes". Snake fist? Means poke'em in the eye. Monkey steals the peach? Nab the other guy's balls in your hand and ''squeeze like hell'' (one guess what the "peach" was referring to). Attacks to the groin, throat, and eyes are heavily emphasized, particularly in Southern Styles. Regardless of whatever the [=McDojos=] and fakers have turned perception of it outside China into, Kung Fu was always a self-defense thing.

** In general, militaries try to teach their recruits any type of hand-to-hand combat techniques that will end the fight as soon as possible, with their own soldiers surviving the fight being the obvious goal.

* To a certain degree, this is how karate came to be. In the 1400s, when the Japanese colonized Okinawa, the ruling sword-wielding samurai confiscated from the locals any metal tool that could be used as a weapon. To keep themselves safe, the Okinawans developed a martial art they called "empty hand," since the purpose was to fight unarmed against a possibly armed enemy, which eventually evolved into karate.
* Boxing, wrestling and other sports that originated in martial arts have rules to prevent unnecessary injuries, and judges to enforce them: no hitting below the belt, no kicking, etc. In an actual fight, sans judges and scoring, someone adhering to these kinds of rules would be at a severe disadvantage to someone who isn't.

* Averted in ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman''. Zack Mayo is a street rat who learned how to fight in back alleys. While he is by no means a bad fighter, when he squares off against a trained martial artist he goes down fast and hard.

%%* ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'': The climax is a good old fist fight between Kirk and Kruge. Parodied and lampshaded by the ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'' spoof, where Kruge notes the irony of a retro fight in the middle of an FX-laden sci-fi film.

* In the otherwise forgettable ''Film/TangoAndCash'', a criminal leads up to a fight with one of the protagonists with some fancy martial arts katas and shouts. The protagonist, unimpressed, punches him dead in the face and knocks him out with one shot. His comment is a gruffly mumbled, "I hate you karate guys."

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3rd and 3.5 edition a baseline fighter stood a fairly decent chance at beating an equal-level monk using only their bare hands, especially if allowed to use [[PowerFist armour with gauntlets]]. This simply came down to the fighter [[BoringButPractical being a focused class]] with high HitPoints and base attack bonus (which applies equally to every weapon in the game) while the monk is [[MasterOfNone more of a hybrid class]]. Feats added in splatbooks (the fighter gains feats at twice the rate of other classes) could further close this gap by letting the fighter deal unarmed damage as a monk of half their level.

** Second Edition has Solar Hero Style, essentially Good Old Fisticuffs the Supernatural Martial Art, eschewing the subtle metaphorical effects of other Supernatural Martial Arts in favor of just hitting things ''really hard''.
*** And this being ''Exalted'', it takes Good Old Fisticuffs SerialEscalation. There's one Charm that allows you to punch people ''through walls'', and one to punch them '''into Hell'''. This, unsurprisingly, hurts a great deal.

* The Brawler class of ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' give variety to a system where barehanded combat is often relegated to the BareFistedMonk. Brawlers can utilize their unarmed strikes as well as a monk can -- including the ability to use knees, elbows, headbutts, or other strikes beyond their fists -- with the added bonus of being able to [[ConfusionFu switch their feats and styles on the fly,]] making them extremely versatile.

* ''Film/BloodOnTheSun'' with Creator/JamesCagney vs. a judoka.
** It's not a straight example, he uses both street brawling and judo he was shown training in.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series, Kazuma Kiryu's fighting style can only be described as just street-brawling taken to the extreme, even as he adds in fancy maneuvers such as wrestling moves, training from ancient martial arts mastsers or environmental attacks. The various other protagonists are also not all that different, particularly Taiga Saejima, who backs up a straightforward style with raw inhuman strength.

** He learned from the best, apparently, as in a Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica comic just a few months later, Franchise/{{Batman}} does this same thing to ComicBook/KarateKid, [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes a super martial artist from the 31st century]] whose [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower fighting skills are so advanced he can fight Kryptonians despite being "only human."]] To the writer's credit, Batman doesn't win (merely stalemates his opponent until a superpowered ally can take him down), but he still lasts a lot longer than he had any business lasting.

* A storyline in the ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'' comic book had him fighting Cassandra Cain, formerly the second Batgirl, who had just revealed that she'd made a FaceHeelTurn. Robin manages to defeat Cassandra, who had received TrainingFromHell to learn how to predict opponents' moves by looking at them, by deliberately attacking her wildly with no style or forethought. Since Cassandra's "powers" should have been able to handle something like that easily, this is one of the many reasons this storyline became CanonDiscontinuity almost immediately.

* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': During the Universal Survival Arc's Tournament of Power, the martial arts savant Goku gets into a fight with his [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse6MajorCharacters Universe 6]] [[AlternateUniverse equivalent]] Caulifla. Caulifla shares Goku's quick-witted fighting nature but explicitly stated to be more of a street brawler. So while she got a couple of [[CombatPragmatist scruffy]] hits on him, she was initially no match for Goku's refined style and experience. It's only when Caulifla quickly adapts to mirror Goku's tactics that the two are able to fight as equal opponents.

* Whenever forced to fight hand-to-hand, inspector Ginko from ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'' uses this kind of style, and is good enough that even Diabolik, who is noted to have exceptional physical abilities and knows sophisticated martial arts, ends punched out most of the times-including that time Ginko was escaping from a gang's lair punching out any {{Mook}} he met and knocked out Diabolik (who was there for a heist) ''before noticing he wasn't a mook''.

** Green Lantern Kyle Rayner once fought Yellow Lantern Sinestro without any of them being allowed to use their power rings. Sinestro bragged about his unique fighting technique "Hammerfist" taught to him by Korugarian Grandmaster Tivas Kark. When asking Kyle who taught him to fight, the answer is delivered together with instant proof: Characters/{{Batman}}! See [[http://www.funnyjunk.com/Avengers+age+of+ultron/funny-pictures/5397889/ here]]

* Early stories ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': as detailed in [[http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/7/17/3164068/holy-mma-batman-martial-arts-dark-knight-part1 this article]], the Batman of early stories mainly fought as a boxer, and a vicious and skilled one at that (good enough to take on the ''number one contender for the heavyweight championship and [[CurbStompBattle win in a single round]]'' (note that here Batman was ''handicapped'' by the rules). [[note]]Batman being Batman even in those early stories, he was also a master in [[http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/7/19/3164241/holy-mma-batman-martial-arts-dark-knight-part2 Judo]] and knew a fair bit of [[http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/7/27/3171423/holy-mma-batman-martial-arts-dark-knight-part3 many other styles]].[[/note]] As the author of the article put it: "Now also imagine how your average street thug would fair against someone like Batman, who possessed the power of an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earnie_Shavers Ernie Shavers]] and the striking accuracy of an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Moore Archie Moore]]?"
* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]] in ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey''. When ComicBook/{{Huntress}} and ComicBook/LadyShiva square off in a fight to the death. Even though she never expects to actually ''win'', Huntress plans to at least ''injure'' Shiva by getting close and brawling with her instead of fighting at a proper distance with a refined style. Her logic is that, though Shiva has spent years dueling the most refined and skilled martial artists in the world, Huntress is a street fighter and understands how to get up close and personal in a fight. Huntress does manage a single knockdown on Shiva but gets beaten into hamburger to do so. Shiva remains unscathed.

* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'':
** In any given ''ComicBook/{{Green Lantern|1941}}'' story, Alan Scott's far more likely to throw a punch at a gangster than to use his ring to stop them.
** [[Characters/GLGreenLanternCorps Green Lantern]] Kyle Rayner once fought Yellow Lantern ComicBook/{{Sinestro}} without any of them being allowed to use their power rings. Sinestro bragged about his unique fighting technique "Hammerfist" taught to him by Korugarian Grandmaster Tivas Kark. When asking Kyle who taught him to fight, the answer is delivered together with instant proof: Characters/{{Batman}}! See [[http://www.funnyjunk.com/Avengers+age+of+ultron/funny-pictures/5397889/ here]]
* The comic ''HardGraft'' features a main character whose main purpose in life appears to be using Good Old Fisticuffs to beat people down.

* ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}" has the main Character Hibiki Tachibana. Despite having the relic. [[Myth/NorseMythology Gungnir]], unlike [[PosthumousCharacter Kanade]] and [[TeamMom Maria]]'s incarnations of the relic which actually use the spear, Hibiki's just appear as gauntlets and greaves on her hands and feet. She makes due by beating the snot out of her foes instead, with an Extra dosage of training with fellow her Good Old Fisticuffs wielder [[BadassNormal Genjuro Kazanari]] in both Real Martial Arts and [[IKnowMortalKombat imitating action movies]], turning her into basicall]y a Anime/PrettyCure on steroids. The spear like component of her relic does pop up as a [[ThisIsADrill Drill Arm]], though, as a special attack.

** In general, militaries try to teach their recruits any type of hand to hand combat techniques that will end the fight as soon as possible, with their own soldiers surviving the fight.