History Main / ReluctantWarrior

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' Nod quits the Leafmen because he doesn't play well as part of a team, preferring doing things his way.

A lot of [[TechnicalPacifist heroes fight for peace]], [[ThePowerOfLove love]], [[TrueCompanions friendship]], justice, and all that sort of stuff. Occasionally they believe in [[GodzillaThreshold violence as a last resort]] and as DirtyBusiness, following the path of the MartialPacifist and falling back on their prodigious martial training only as the very last resort while avoiding unnecessary deaths. The Reluctant Warrior isn't quite so blessed, he lacks the ImprobableAimingSkills that could make his [[CouldHaveBeenMessy dealing with them bloodlessly possible]]. What's more, he will find himself constantly facing enemies who mean to hurt or kill him and his friends, and who are savvy enough to not hold a VillainBall and [[SelfDisposingVillain dispose of themselves]].

* ''Franchise/KamenRider'' has this as a recurring theme. Many Kamen Riders would rather not fight. Some actively detest fighting, while others would rather just stay out of it for one reason or another. However, when it comes down to it, they fight because if they know that if they don't, then innocent people will be hurt.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Both Dr. Simon Tam and Shepherd Book. River also qualifies. She may be a horrifically brutal and efficient killing machine, but she doesn't ''[[IJustWantToBeNormal want]]'' to be one, and is terrified of her abilities.

* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' has Andromeda Shun, who after four seasons and at least three movies refuses to give up on the idea of non-violently settling problems, and talking to his enemies in the hopes of reasoning with them. He has the unfortunate tendency to combine this noble character with MartyrWithoutACause and almost ''giving away his life'' on a few occasions... but when push comes to shove and the enemy proves they are a monster, he ''will'' fight and kill them if need be. To his credit, he's caused at least one HeelFaceTurn among his opponents, and [[spoiler: held back and ''throttled'' a [[DemonicPossession body stealing god]] through sheer love of peace]].

** This also comes up in his, Suzaku's and Lelouch's behavior in the series - Tohdoh supporting Zero's order to withdraw in Stage 17, Lelouch's way of dealing with the remade [[spoiler: SAZ under Viceroy Nunnally]] in Turn 8, and Suzaku's philosophy in general, though it can be said that he takes it too far. [[spoiler: Then again, it's also his goal to ''get himself killed''...]]

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'': Kira Yamato starts out as a Reluctant Warrior, who tries to spare his enemies, but ends of killing a ''lot'' of them. He's eventually able to upgrade to TechnicalPacifist, much to the improvement of his mental health. Athrun may qualify in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny''.

* In ''Manga/{{Freezing}}'', Kathy Lockhearte is a sweet, rather meek girl who wants to one day become a novelist and raise a loving family. Too bad for her that she naturally possesses the potential to become the one of the most powerful [[ActionGirl Pandoras]] on the planet, and her {{Jerkass}} father constantly pressured her into becoming the "world's savior" more for to boost his own political career than to actually, well, save the world.

** Speaking of Spock, in'' Bread and Circuses'' he and Mc Coy are thrown into a DeathMatch against gladiator-style warriors in a new planet. While the alien opponent is coming at him with a sword, Spock constantly plays defensive, choosing to dodge the blows while insisting that he "does not want to injure" him, leading to the watching crowd concluding that "the pointy eared barbarian" is about to get killed. However, when he notices that the much less action-oriented Mc Coy is in danger, Spock deals with his opponent in the space of a second and darts over to save his frenemy.

* The ''Karate Kid'' example above is very much TruthInTelevision at least among traditional, "serious" practitioners or teachers of Eastern martial arts. Those are primarily present in the respective countries of origin, because in the West, these martial arts are most often treated as sports or mere self-defense mechanisms, focusing only on the combat. However, Eastern martial arts usually come with an entire philosophy attached and many, if not most, of those who practice their respective art traditionally will adhere to core points of these philosophies. Especially in Shotokan karate, the core philosophy is that actual combat should always be the very last resort and de-escalation through "diplomacy", or, worst case, non-violent intimidation and other non-violent means should '''always''' be tried first. Only when there is no way to avoid a fight at all should the "martial" part come into play. This is part of the self-view of the karate practitioner since the underlying philosophy teaches virtues such as humility, calmness, respect, etc. Many other traditional martial arts are similar, but this component is mostly lacking in their Westernized forms or in MMA.

Because of these conflicting impulses, straight heroes who are Reluctant Warriors will spend a lot of time agonizing over their choices and circumstances, but somehow manage to keep the {{Angst}} under control (well, until the villain tries to BreakThemByTalking about their [[NotSoDifferent similarities]]). An AntiHero or AntiVillain who is a Reluctant Warrior (it ''can'' happen) likely has some underlying good goal and means well -- for [[WellIntentionedExtremist loose]] [[NobleDemon definitions]] of [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans "well"]] -- and nonetheless laments but will not hesitate to use force.

* While some ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'' contestants [[VillainProtagonist revel in the chaos and destruction]] caused by the eponymous DeadlyGame and others [[UnscrupulousHero just don't mind]], there are few that participate because they feel it's their only option and otherwise don't want to fight:

* Cream the Rabbit of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' is a prime candidate. She's a gentle, caring young girl who hates violence and will try to resolve any conflict without it. When forced to fight, however, she and her pet Chao Cheese can seriously lay the smack-down on some robots. Somewhat averted in ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' where all of her special abilities [[WhiteMage revolve around healing and buffing the party.]] [[GameBreaker Though that doesn't keep her from being a horrifyingly powerful asset when paired up with a tank like Knuckles or Omega.]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': Solid Snake
--> "I'm no hero. Never was, never will be. Just an old killer, hired to do some wetwork."
* Flonne the LoveFreak in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea|HourOfDarkness}}'' not only annoys her demonic friends and teammates with her endless prattle about "Love" and "Peace" but is quite a powerful magician and caster and helps out in fights.
* ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' starts out as one. She may get less reluctant later in the game, depending on the player's actions. Ansaksie is definitely one, but Vateilika and Yukabacera may also count.

* ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'': Leo Stenbuck is initially extremely reluctant to fight even when [[spoiler: his entire colony is being destroyed around him]]. Only [[spoiler: near the end, when his 'girlfriend' has been shot, does he willingly continue fighting]], even though a way out was staring him right in the face.

* Kasumi from the ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' series. Always tries to avoid conflict until either she sees there's no other choice (it's even one of her pre-battle [[CatchPhrase Catch Phrases]]) or gets her BerserkButton pressed.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Through certain dialogue choices, Paragon Commander Shepard can come off as this.
** In the third game, Shepard can admit to feeling like their entire life has been enslaved by warfare and expresses the hope that after the Reapers are defeated, they can finally be free.
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', the Initiative as a whole adopts this philosophy. Standing orders during a FirstContact situation is to always try to look non-threatening and initiate dialog, and shoot only if fired upon. Even Tiran Kandros, a member of a long-established Turian military family refuses to authorize a mission to capture TheRemnant city Meridian because he doesn't want to antagonize the Kett.
* In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'', a game set during the dying days of the Wild West, John Marston becomes this. John was trying to give up his old life as a gang member in the Wild West by living on a ranch with his wife and son earning a humble living as a farmer. This plan is ruined when government agents kidnap his family and tell him that he will never see them again if he doesn't kill the members of his old gang. John complies and takes up his gun again for the sake of his family.
* In ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur V]]'', Pyrrha Alexandra is this to the extent that her default stance is ''leaning back with her shield pressed up against her''. She's quite the fighter if pushed, but she ''really'' doesn't want to.
* Hawke in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' with a diplomatic or sarcastic personality definitely can come off as this, just wanting to live a quiet life, provide for their family and not deal with all the insane politics in Kirkwall.
* Amagiri Kyuuju in ''VideoGame/{{Hakuouki}}'' always attempts to talk his would-be opponents into walking away, and enters combat only with great reluctance. Then he [[CurbStompBattle curbstomps]] you.

* Eliwood from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'': "I’ve no love for war. If I concentrate on the foe before me, I’m fine. If I picture families, innocents caught up in our foolish politics? If I imagine them… All I can do is pray for a way to solve things peacefully."
* Bernadetta in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' also doesn't find much joy in combat, as her line after her first kill indicates. However, she still fights if ordered, and if hurt, she ''will'' return the favor.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has a few examples:
** For example, Absol abhors violence and doesn't like Mega Evolving according to its ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra Sun]]'' entry.
** Wimpod would also try to get out of a battle whenever possible.
** Sabrina mentions that she dislikes fighting but will fight if she must. Note, Sabrina is a ''gym leader''. By ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' she's apparently quit being a trainer in exchange for being an actress.
* From ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterZ'', Android 21[[spoiler:'s Good form. Being a scientist and certainly not as tomboyish as someone like Android 18, she has a tough time getting used to being needed to fight, even moreso than Gohan. Which is ironic because she's actually the strongest character in the entire story. She'll be the first to admit however that not wanting to fight doesn't override the ''need'' to fight, especially with the world and her friends on the line.]]
* Kabbu from ''VideoGame/BugFables'' hates violence and prefers to avoid it whenever he can, and would rather talk down his opponents by reasoning with them ([[AnimalNemesis The Beast]] being the sole exception). However, if there's no other alternative, he ''will'' fight back and mop the floor with anyone who dares to oppose him and his team.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': So how's the teaching job going, Negi? As the series progresses, he's getting less and less reluctant, getting [[SuperpoweredEvilSide dangerously close]] to the edge.

* Shizuo Heiwajima from ''{{LightNovel/Durarara}}'' takes this trope to its logical extreme: he's a vocal violence-hating pacifist who happens to have SuperStrength and a ''very'' [[HairTriggerTemper severe rage disorder]] that leads him to respond to the mildest irritation with - you guessed it - violence. [[IAmAMonster He is fully aware of]] [[HypocrisyNod the hypocrisy of that statement.]]

* ''Film/TheKarateKid.''

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' Nod quits the Leafmen because he doesn't play well as part of a team, preferring doing things his way.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Eliwood from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem]]'': "I’ve no love for war. If I concentrate on the foe before me, I’m fine. If I picture families, innocents caught up in our foolish politics? If I imagine them… All I can do is pray for a way to solve things peacefully."

* Shirou in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' starts with the goal of only stopping Master's who are being actively disruptive and is absurdly forgiving of the likes of Shinji or Ilya. He tries diplomacy whenever practical, even with Kotomine and Caster. Unfortunately, when these efforts invariably fail, his only means of fighting back or even self-defense involves putting swords in people's faces. Really, that's a very effective method of self-defense.

* Post-World War 2 Germany as a whole. After the shock of what JustFollowingOrders can lead to, the new German constitution gave every German citizen the right to refuse military service, to prevent instrumentalization of German people by the occupying powers. In the face of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, the creation of a [[UsefulNotes/WeAreNotTheWehrmacht new German army]] was highly controversial and required a legal loophole to reintroduce conscription, despite violating the consitution. It wasn't until the Yugoslav Wars in the '90s, when genocide was happening right next to [=EU=] borders, that German aircraft engaged in combat action, and even that was extremely controversial. Caught in the frenzy of late 2001, Germany supported the invasion of Afghanistan with equipment and technical specialists and later took control of the mostly pacified Northeast in a mission to "provide security for the population and projects for the development of local security forces". A landmark was reached in 2009 when the Minister of Defense first admitted that German troops in Afghanistan were dealing with "conditions similar to war", which was criticized by many other politicians, who went to great lengths to reassure that [[ImplausibleDeniability German troops were not involved in any war]]. At the same time, Germany has the world's 7th largest defense budget and is the world's 3rd largest weapons exporter after the US and Russia. While Germany hates to use military force, it's [[BecauseImGoodAtIt really good at]] [[GermanicEfficiency making weapons.]][[note]]Good at making weapons? How about good at making '''anything'''.[[/note]]

A lot of [[TechnicalPacifist heroes fight for peace]], [[ThePowerOfLove love]], [[TrueCompanions friendship]], justice and all that sort of stuff. Occasionally they believe in [[GodzillaThreshold violence as a last resort]] and as DirtyBusiness, following the path of the MartialPacifist and falling back on their prodigious martial training only as the very last resort while avoiding unnecessary deaths. The Reluctant Warrior isn't quite so blessed, he lacks the ImprobableAimingSkills that could make his [[CouldHaveBeenMessy dealing with them bloodlessly possible]]. What's more, he will find himself constantly facing enemies who mean to hurt or kill him and his friends, and who are savvy enough to not hold a VillainBall and [[SelfDisposingVillain dispose of themselves]].

* Goku from ''Manga/DragonBall'' grew up to be this (especially the horrible judge of character part) seeing as how he loves to fight but never sets out to kill, even when he is forced to. He actually has the lowest body count in the series, of the ''important'' characters at least. As a child he wasn't too concerned about having a large body count. An example is the time he went on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge and destroyed the entire Red Ribbon Army when he was a kid (though they DID piss him off really badly by killing Upa's dad, among other deeds) and also the killing of Demon King Piccolo and his minions. And of course, he kills plenty of people in the movies, though those aren't canon.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Shinji Ikari. At first, he pilots so that [[BandageBabe Rei]] wouldn't have to. Then, he pilots because he want [[WellDoneSonGuy recognition]] from his estranged father. After [[WhamEpisode Bardiel]], [[MortonsFork he quits because he's afraid of hurting innocents but shortly afterwards, he pilots again because if he doesn't, people will get hurt anyway]]. Therefore, he has no choice but to sit in that fucking cockpit he hates like no tomorrow.

* Simon from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' starts out as one of these. He's only content with working as a miner and isn't happy with Kamina sending him on adventures. Then [[spoiler:Kamina dies, leaving him to fend for himself]], and by the end he's piloting a mecha capable of punching another mecha into an alternate dimension, where it explodes. Which it does.

* ''Literature/OverTheWineDarkSea'': Menedemos and Sostratos; while they constantly have to defend themselves against pirates, warlords, and assorted blackguards they prefer to avoid a fight. In their case it is less from idealism and more because it interferes with their [[MoneyDearBoy primary mission]]

* ''Franchise/KamenRider'' has this as a recurring theme. Many Kamen Riders would rather not fight. Some actively detest fighting, while other would rather just stay out of it for one reason or another. However, when it comes down to it, they fight because if they know that if they don't, then innocent people will be hurt.

* Cream the Rabbit of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' is a prime candidate. She's a gentle, caring young girl who hates violence and will try to resolve any conflict without it. When forced to fight however, she and her pet Chao Cheese can seriously lay the smack-down on some robots. Somewhat averted in ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' where all of her special abilities [[WhiteMage revolve around healing and buffing the party.]] [[GameBreaker Though that doesn't keep her from being a horrifyingly powerful asset when paired up with a tank like Knuckles or Omega.]]

* Flonne the LoveFreak in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea|HourOfDarkness}}'' not only annoys her demonic friends and teammates with her endless prattle about "Love" and "Peace", but is quite a powerful magician and caster and helps out in fights.

* ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'': Leo Stenbuck is intially extremely reluctant to fight even when [[spoiler: his entire colony is being destroyed around him]]. Only [[spoiler: near the end, when his 'girlfriend' has been shot, does he willingly continue fighting]], even though a way out was staring him right in the face.

** In ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', the Initiative as a whole adopts this philosophy. Standing orders during a FirstContact situation is to always try to look non threatening and initiate dialog, and shoot only if fired upon. Even Tiran Kandros, a member of a long established Turian military family refuses to authorize a mission to capture TheRemnant city Meridian because he doesn't want to antagonize the Kett.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Asgore is this. He is described as a "big fuzzy pushover" who hates violence, [[spoiler: and if it weren't for [[WellIntentionedExtremist the promise he made to his subjects when in a fit of rage,]] he wouldn't have to fight you. When in battle, he can't even bring himself to look at you, instead looking at the ground. He feels a lot of regret for his actions, to the point that he destroys the Mercy button at the beggining of the fight not to stop you from running away, but because he thinks he doesn't deserve your mercy.]]

* Shirou in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' starts with the goal of only stopping Master's who are being actively disruptive and is absurdly forgiving of the likes of Shinji or Ilya. He tries diplomacy whenever practical, even with Kotomine and Caster. Unfortunately, when these efforts invariably fail, his only means of fighting back or even self defense involves putting swords in people's faces. Really, that's a very effective method of self-defense.

* Post-World War 2 Germany as a whole. After the shock of what JustFollowingOrders can lead to, the new German constitution gave every German citizen the right to refuse military service, to prevent instrumentalization of German people by the occupying powers. In the face of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, the creation of a [[UsefulNotes/WeAreNotTheWehrmacht new German army]] was highly controversial and required a legal loophole to reintroduce conscription, despite violating the consitution. It wasn't until the Yugoslav Wars in the 90s, when genocide was happening right next to [=EU=] borders, that German aircraft engaged in combat action, and even that was extremely controversial. Caught in the frenzy of late 2001, Germany supported the invasion of Afghanistan with equipment and technical specialists and later took control of the mostly pacified Northeast in a mission to "provide security for the population and projects for the development of local security forces". A landmark was reached in 2009, when the Minister of Defense first admitted that German troops in Afghanistan were dealing with "conditions similar to war", which was criticized by many other politicians, who went to great lengths to reassure that [[ImplausibleDeniability German troops were not involved in any war]]. At the same time, Germany has the world's 7th largest defense budget and is the world's 3rd largest weapons exporter after the US and Russia. While Germany hates to use military force, it's [[BecauseImGoodAtIt really good at]] [[GermanicEfficiency making weapons.]][[note]]Good at making weapons? How about good at making '''anything'''.[[/note]]
* The ''Karate Kid'' example above is very much TruthInTelevision at least among traditional, "serious" practitioners or teachers of Eastern martial arts. Those are primarily present in the respective countries of origin, because in the West, these martial arts are most often treated as sports or mere self-defense mechanisms, focusing only on the combat. However, Eastern martial arts usually come with an entire philosophy attached and many, if not most, of those who practice their respective art traditionally will adhere to core points of these philosophies. Especially in Shotokan karate, the core philosophy is that actual combat should always be the very last resort and deescalation through "diplomacy", or, worst case, non-violent intimidation and other non-violent means should '''always''' be tried first. Only when there is no way to avoid a fight at all should the "martial" part come into play. This is part of the self-view of the karate practitioner, since the underlying philosophy teaches virtues such as humility, calmness, respect, etc. Many other traditional martial arts are similar, but this component is mostly lacking in their Westernized forms or in MMA.

** Daniel gains the willingness not to fight, as he learns from his mentor, but thanks to the plot violence ends up usually being the solution to his problems.

-->-- '''Mayagi''', ''Film/TheNextKarateKid''

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Piffany in ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'' is perhaps [[TastesLikeDiabetes nauseatingly]] [[NiceGuy nice]], but can and will fight alongside her teammates when faced with the forces of naughtiness.
* ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'': Julie, the [[TheHero heroic]] protagonist hates fighting, especially humans and other humanoid races. She got deeply annoyed when her friends celebrated her popping her 'kill cherry' in [[http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0099.html this comic page.]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', despite being one of the most powerful characters, Grace hates fighting and was brought to tears the one time she had to unleash her full strength on someone (despite that someone being the OmnicidalManiac [[AGodAmI God-wannabe]] who abused her for years). She's training to become a MartialPacifist so she has more options than "cower in corner" or "tear to shreds".
[[/folder]]

-->-- ''Mayagi, Film/TheNextKarateKid''

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* {{Superman}} tends to try talking things out before resorting to violence, even if it seems clear that the enemy cannot possibly be talked down. Being NighInvulnerable helps with this sort of philosophy.

* ''Comicbook/WonderWoman'' ''will'' fight when if she has to, she comes from an island of warrior women after all. But She'll try to go for the peaceful approach first, or trickery or another creative solution if that won't work. As Gail Simone wrote it:
-->'''Wonder Woman''': We have a saying, my people. 'Don't kill if you can wound, don't wound if you can subdue, don't subdue if you can pacify, and don't raise your hand at all until you've extended it.'

* It is implied in ''FanFic/RacerAndTheGeek'' that most mercenaries only choose that line of work after exhausting all other options. However, coming to enjoy it is not unheard of.

[[folder:Film]]

-->'''Miller''' : "Well, right now I say to hell with the job! I've been on a hundred jobs and not one of them's altered the course of the war! I don't care about the war anymore, I care about Roy!"

--> '''Faramir:''' "War must be, while we fight for our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

--> '''Ashley Norman:''' Please. Don't hurt me!
--> '''Wonder Woman:''' Hurt you? Where I'm from we try never to hurt people.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

* Shirou in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' starts with the goal of only stopping Master's who are being actively disruptive and is absurdly forgiving of the likes of Shinji or Ilya. He tries diplomacy whenever practical, even with Kotomine and Caster. Unfortunately, when these efforts invariably fail, his only means of fighting back or even self defense involves putting swords in people's faces. Really, that's a very effective method of self-defense.

-->'''Asgore''': Truthfully... I do not want power. I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope...

[[folder: Real Life]]
* Post-World War 2 Germany as a whole. After the shock of what JustFollowingOrders can lead to, the new German constitution gave every German citizen the right to refuse military service, to prevent instrumentalization of German people by the occupying powers. In the face of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, the creation of a [[UsefulNotes/WeAreNotTheWehrmacht new German army]] was highly controversial and required a legal loophole to reintroduce conscription, despite violating the consitution. It wasn't until the Yugoslav Wars in the 90s, when genocide was happening right next to [=EU=] borders, that German aircraft engaged in combat action, and even that was extremely controversial. Caught in the frenzy of late 2001, Germany supported the invasion of Afghanistan with equipment and technical specialists and later took control of the mostly pacified Northeast in a mission to "provide security for the population and projects for the development of local security forces". A landmark was reached in 2009, when the Minister of Defense first admitted that German troops in Afghanistan were dealing with "conditions similar to war", which was criticized by many other politicians, who went to great lengths to reassure that [[ImplausibleDeniability German troops were not involved in any war]]. At the same time, Germany has the world's 7th largest defense budget and is the world's 3rd largest weapons exporter after the US and Russia. While Germany hates to use military force, it's [[BecauseImGoodAtIt really good at]] [[GermanicEfficiency making weapons.]][[note]]Good at making weapons? How about good at making '''anything'''.[[/note]]
* The ''Karate Kid'' example above is very much TruthInTelevision at least among traditional, "serious" practitioners or teachers of Eastern martial arts. Those are primarily present in the respective countries of origin, because in the West, these martial arts are most often treated as sports or mere self-defense mechanisms, focusing only on the combat. However, Eastern martial arts usually come with an entire philosophy attached and many, if not most, of those who practice their respective art traditionally will adhere to core points of these philosophies. Especially in Shotokan karate, the core philosophy is that actual combat should always be the very last resort and deescalation through "diplomacy", or, worst case, non-violent intimidation and other non-violent means should '''always''' be tried first. Only when there is no way to avoid a fight at all should the "martial" part come into play. This is part of the self-view of the karate practitioner, since the underlying philosophy teaches virtues such as humility, calmness, respect, etc. Many other traditional martial arts are similar, but this component is mostly lacking in their Westernized forms or in MMA.

* Daniel in ''Film/TheKarateKid.''
** Ditto his mentor, Mr. Miyagi. "Fighting ''always'' last resort."

* Eli from ''Film/TheBookOfEli''.

-->-- ''[[Film/TheNextKarateKid]]''

-->-- ''[[Film/TheKarateKid The Next Karate Kid]]''