Vegeta’s Fighting Stance & the Martial Arts He Uses – Explained!

Vegeta is known as one of the strongest characters in the Dragon Ball franchise. He’s one of the most powerful and talented fighters in the whole series. Initially introduced as a villain in the series, he would soon become one of Son Goku’s most trusted and loyal allies, even getting married to Bulma. His arc is a truly intriguing one, and his character development has been the topic of numerous discussions; this article is going to contribute to these discussions. In this article, we are going to explain Vegeta’s fighting stance in the series, as well as the martial arts he uses in the series.

In Dragon Ball, Vegeta uses a hybrid martial arts fighting style that combines karate and kickboxing, which is combined with his unique Saiyan styles and abilities. As for his, fighting stance, Vegeta utilizes a unique fighting stance that is not really related to any known stance, which can be explained by the fact that he was taught how to fight by the Saiyans and not Earthlings.

This article will focus on Vegeta’s fighting stance and the martial arts he uses. We are going to explain how Toriyama developed this style, as well as what the martial arts in question are; we know that anime fans don’t necessarily know a lot about exotic martial arts, which is why we are going to explain everything to you in this article.

How was Vegeta’s fighting style created?

Akira Toriyama, a manga artist who created Dragon Ball, grew up to be a major fan of Jackie Chan films. Toriyama chose to incorporate Chan’s fighting techniques into his own martial arts manga after seeing his movie hero battle, but this is what influenced Goku’s style more than Vegeta’s. StilToriyama’s affection for Chan is not merely hearsay; it is widely recognized. He got to know him, Chan gave him a quick interview, and Chan was even mentioned in the anime. In particular, Master Roshi, Goku’s teacher, signs up for the first Tenkaichi Budōkai under the name Jackie Chun, a clear allusion to Jackie Chan, although using a fictitious name.

In one of the episodes, Master Roshi, played by Jackie Chun, engaged in a “drunken style” fight as a nod to Chan’s movie Drunken Master. However, Chan is not the only martial artist that has influenced the fighting techniques in the series. Akira Toriyama is known as a big fan of kung fu, so it makes sense that he gave his main character a fighting style and stance similar to the one used by the greatest kung fu master of all time and only – Bruce Lee. All of these influences apply to Vegeta, especially because he uses a hybrid martial arts style. Still, we will now see which martial arts his fighting best resembles.

What martial arts does Vegeta use?

As we have said, Vegeta’s fighting style is a hybrid one, a combination of karate and kickboxing with a lot of original ideas that can be attributed to the fact that he is actually a Saiyan, so his fighting style is not directly influenced by the martial arts of Earth. We are now going to go over each of these two styles:

Karate

Karate-dō, usually known simply as karate, is a martial art originating from the island of Okinawa, in the Kingdom of Ryūkyū, whose islands were acquired by Japan in 1879 under the name of “Okinawa Prefecture.” Following frequent cultural and commercial interactions between the residents of the archipelago and Chinese navigators, it was created by combining indigenous fighting techniques, known as te, and Chinese quanfa.

Following World War II, Okinawa became a significant US military base, and karate gained popularity among the troops stationed there. While the practice of Okinawan kobudo, which involves the use of traditional weapons, is closely tied to karate practice, and some schools incorporate karate practice with weapons, this martial art primarily entails fighting with bare hands and without the help of weapons.

Both the athletic form and the traditional version, which is more closely related to the original precepts and self-defense, are today used throughout the world. Only men learned and performed it in the past, but with time, women have started to engage in this discipline.

As far as Vegeta is concerned in this aspect, karate is best observed in his kicks. Vegeta is absolutely great with kicks and is known for being exceptionally strong in this aspect; he might even be stronger than Goku in this category. As seen used by Vegeta, such kicks are mostly employed in karate and sometimes taekwondo, two martial arts that originated in Japan and Korea, respectively.

We can confidently say that Vegeta’s kicking is more influenced by karate and taekwondo than traditional Chinese martial arts or those from Indochina because head kicks are highly essential in them because they provide the highest points, and chest kicks are typically allowed.

Kickboxing

Kickboxing is a Western martial art that combines punching with feet and hands, like martial arts (karate or taekwondo) with conventional boxing. The individual schools and sports associations have different regulations as to whether the opponent may be held or which hit areas are allowed on the opponent. Low kicks are always taboo, but kicks on the thighs (low kicks) are allowed in some associations.

The use of hand twists and kicks (techniques with which the opponent is thrown off balance) is also regulated differently depending on the association. Common to all associations is the ban on hitting opponents on the back and on opponents who are lying on the ground, as well as throwing the competitor. Wearing protective equipment (boxing gloves, foot and shin guards, bandages, groin guards for men or chest guards for women, and a mouthguard) is mandatory.

Kickboxing as a competitive discipline dates back to 1974, when it was called “All Style Karate,” “Sport Karate” or “Contact Karate.” This year, the founders of the WAKO (World Association of Kickboxing Organizations), Mike Anderson, Georg F. Brückner, and others agreed on the traditional Far Eastern fighting methods such as Taekwondo, Karate, Kung Fu, etc., to a sporting competition with uniform rules to make and compete against other combat systems. Although kickboxing is a modern western martial art, the training and competition share many similarities with traditional boxing, savate, and muay Thai.

Since Vegeta has a unique approach to fighting, we can also confirm that his offensive approach utilizes many kickboxing elements, both in his punches and kicks, but also his blocks. Kickboxing is very fluid in that aspect, it is very complex, and it is a hybrid style as well, so if we add to this the fact that Vegeta’s style is definitely influenced by his Saiyan ancestry, it makes absolute sense that such a combination of punches and kicks would, in Vegeta’s case, be close to kickboxing as a martial arts form.

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