One Piece: Fish-Man Karate & Its Users Explained!

Fans of One Piece will know that Oda has introduced us to a variety of new and different concepts over the years. This includes elements from the lore that are completely original and based on some real-life concepts. From weapons to various concepts, the world of One Piece is full of interesting concepts, and we will explain one of them in this article. The concept we are going to talk about is Fish-Man Karate, as you are going to find out what exactly Fish-Man Karate is, how it is learned, and who the known users of this technique are.
Fish-Man Karate is a special martial arts style developed by the Fish-Men and mainly practiced by them and the Mermen. And while it can be used both on land and underwater, Fish-Man Karate is most effective underwater, as it can use the water and its flows to deal some devastatingly powerful attacks that can seriously injure the target. And while the Fish-Men and Mermen most commonly use this technique, it is not exclusive to them as even humans and members of other races can actually practice them and use them. A lot of users have developed individual techniques within Fish-Man Karate.
The rest of this article will further expand on the answer given above, as we will tell you everything you need to know about Fish-Man Karate. You’ll find out its origins, the story behind Fish-Man Karate, who can use it, and how they learned it. Despite the name, Fish-Man Karate is not exclusive to Fish-Men, and, as you will see, it can be learned by other characters as well. If you’re not fully up-to-date with the story of One Piece, this article might contain some spoilers here.
Fish-Man Karate is complex, but it is not exclusive to Fish-Men
The Fish-Men are an important race in One Piece and undoubtedly an important part of the lore. Among other things, their civilization is also responsible for developing several specific fighting techniques, among which the Fish-Man Karate is the most famous one.
Fish-Man Karate is a martial art that is practiced by some gifted members of the Fish-Man race. Although very dangerous on land, Fish-Man Karate has a number of highly devastating underwater techniques designed to benefit the Fish-Man’s strength and speed while underwater.
This fighting style highlights a Fish-Man’s great power and underwater mobility. This martial art can be learned on Fish-Man Island, especially in an on-site Dojo.
According to Jinbe, the essence of this art is to control all the water that is directly in the vicinity; from the water in the atmosphere to the water in our bodies, shock waves even pass through them. He claimed that all living beings, even a Rubber Man like Luffy, are connected to water. Although Fish-Man and Mermen mainly practice this martial art, it is not exclusive to these races, as Koala can practice it despite being human, as can Nico Robin.
The other two techniques, Fish-Man Jujutsu and Merman Jujutsu, are separate, and we won’t be explaining them in full detail here, but we might go back to them in separate articles.
Known users of Fish-Man Karate
In this section, we will tell you a bit about the known users of Fish-Man Karate and their techniques. Some users did not develop individual techniques, so we’ll just list them without any additional explanations. They are:
Jinbe
Jinbe has a great command of Fish-Man Karate, with which he can deliver extremely powerful blows capable of wiping out entire groups of enemies. Jinbe manages to cause massive damage even on the surface, as he can manipulate the water present in the air and in the bodies of enemies, managing to injure them without even physical contact.
He also managed to knock down a gigantic Fish-Man with one kick. The individual techniques that he developed include Karakusagawara Seiken, Gosenmaigawara Seiken, Yarinami and Murasame, Samehada Shotei, Samegawara Seiken, Uchimizu, Nanasenmaigawara Mawashigeri, Fish-Man Karate Ogi: Buraikan, Soshark, Fish-Man Karate Ogi: Onigawara Seiken, and the non-canon Shizurase.
Kuroobi
Kuroobi is a 40th-level Fish-Man Karate fighter, which means that he is exceptionally skilled with these abilities. With this martial art, he has, in fact, managed to violently hit Sanji numerous times, although most of their battle took place underwater, a place where Kuroobi is greatly advantaged.
The individual techniques that he developed include Hyakumaigawara Seiken, Wanto Giri, Itomaki Kumite, Kaisoku: Harakudashigeri, Ka Ka Kakato Otoshi, Kachiage Haisoku, Jodan Bakusho, Appakushi Chokka Koro, and Senmaigawara Seiken.
Capote
Capote knows Fish-Man Karate; he manages to generate a shock wave with one move that opens the sea in two, damaging the opposing boat. He seems to be quite skilled in this martial arts, although it is difficult to compare him to others as we haven’t seen too many of his abilities. The individual techniques that he has managed to develop are Kaimen Wari and the Two Fish Engine.
Nico Robin
Nico Robin is not a skilled Fish-Man Karate user, but Koala taught her to incorporate this martial art into her move set, which made Nico Robin the first Devil Fruit user to know Fish-Man Karate. She has also managed to develop a technique of her own called Fish-Man Karate: Giganteum.
Hody Jones
Hody Jones learned the basics of Fish-Man Karate during his time in the Neptune Army. His skill level is not very high, but he could still deliver very powerful blows thanks to the Energy Steroids. The individual techniques that he has developed include Soshark, Yabusame, Uchimizu, and Umidaiko. As you can see, some of them are identical to Jinbe’s techniques.
Hack
Hack’s abilities were confirmed in Corrida Collisseum, where it was confirmed that he was a level 100 practitioner of Fish-Man Karate, which proves that he was quite skilled. Still, we did not see him use much of his skills in the series. The only known technique that he has developed is the Yonsenmaigawara Seiken.
Koala
Koala is so skilled in Fish-Man Karate that she became assistant master of that martial art in the Revolutionary Army. She also taught Nico Robin how to incorporate Fish-Man Karate into her skillset. Among the individual techniques that she has used are Gedan-giri, Samegawara Seiken, Samehada Shotei, and the Kakumei Gun Gyojin Karate Shihandai.
Aladine
Aladine’s skill level with Fish-Man Karate is also unknown, but he is quite special because he uses this martial art despite actually being a Merman; as you can assume, this is not that common of a phenomenon. He is able to use the Umidaiko technique, and has, in the anime only, also used the Uchimizu technique.
Sebastian
Sebastian can use some Fish-Man karate moves, such as throwing water drops at such speed that they look like projectiles. His overall skill level is unknown, though. Among the individual techniques that he can use are O Uchimizu and O Yabusame, which are larger versions of the original techniques with the same name.
Tansui
Tansui is a lesser-known member of the Macro Pirates, and although he is, by all accounts, capable of using Fish-Man Karate, his prowess with this martial art has never been shown, as he was defeated before he could actually use his abilities.
Dandy
Dandy is not a manga or anime character, but he has appeared in a stage play as a member of Buggy’s crew. It is not known whether he has any individual techniques of his own.
S-Shark
S-Shark has only recently been introduced to the manga as a clone of Jinbe, and it remains to be seen whether he can simply copy Jinbe’s moves or come up with his own ones.