GURPS Martial Arts - Home

Tae Kwon Do Ranks
Tae Kwon Do (see below) denotes rank using a
series of colored belts, just like the Japanese arts from
which it took its ranking system. It uses 10 gup ranks
and 10 dan ranks. Belt colors are: white (10th gup),
yellow (8th gup), green (6th gup), blue (4th gup), red
(2nd gup), and black (1st through 10th dan). Oddnumbered
gup ranks use a belt of the previous rank’s
color with a stripe of the next rank’s color; e.g., a 7th
gup wears a yellow belt with a green stripe.
Not all schools use this traditional ranking system.
Many have adopted a wide variety of belt colors
to denote different ranks, adding solid colors such as
purple and orange to denote odd-numbered gups.
Some add more intermediate stripes between belts to
allow for steady progress through small promotions.
There are no tales of “cinematic” sword-and-shield fighters.
The GM should certainly allow them, though, and a few
techniques are very appropriate for the style.
Modern reenactors – in particular the Society for Creative
Anachronism (SCA) – have worked hard to recreate this style.
Use the style as written, replacing combat skills with Combat
Sport skills. For live-steel reenactors, even this change is
unnecessary.
Skills: Broadsword; Shield; Wrestling.
Techniques: Counterattack (Broadsword); Feint
(Broadsword or Shield).
Cinematic Techniques: Dual-Weapon Attack (Broadsword
or Shield); Dual-Weapon Defense (Broadsword or Shield);
Flying Lunge (Broadsword).
Perks: Shield-Wall Training; Sure-Footed (Uneven).
Optional Traits
Advantages: Combat Reflexes; Enhanced Block; Enhanced
Dodge.
Disadvantages: Duty.
Skills: Acrobatics; Brawling; Knife.
TAE KWON DO
5 points
Tae Kwon Do (Korean for “hand-foot way”) traces its lineage
through several Korean martial arts back to 500 A.D. – or
earlier, by some accounts. Its official founding was in 1955,
however. While it’s descended from combative arts, it’s largely
a sport form, like modern Karate. Indeed, it borrowed
some kata (later removed and replaced with native forms)
and the use of colored belts from that art. There are schools
that teach Tae Kwon Do for self-defense rather than for competition,
though; these feature full-contact matches (with
padded armor) and intense training.
Tae Kwon Do emphasizes striking, especially the power,
speed, and utility of kicking. Stylists use all manners of kicks
– particularly high kicks aimed at the head, since these score
the most in competition. They even practice a kick thrown
after a 540º spin; treat this as the All-Out Attack version of
200 STYLES
Spinning Kick (pp. 79-80). Tae Kwon Do also teaches
punches – including spear-hand and ridge-hand strikes – but
considers them secondary. Schools that teach self-defense
versions of the art put punches on a more equal footing with
kicks.
In competitive Tae Kwon Do, punches score only if they
strike the chest. Kicks must hit the opponent at waist level or
higher. Spectacular high kicks rack up the most points and
offer the possibility of a knockout victory. Stylists also show
off breaking techniques to demonstrate strength. Instructors
and judges expect advanced practitioners to be able to break
boards or concrete with all punching and kicking techniques.
Tae Kwon Do is widespread – particularly in the U.S.,
where it was introduced a year after it was founded – and it’s
easy to find a teacher. Many “karate” schools actually teach a
form of Tae Kwon Do! Tae Kwon Do was a featured demonstration
sport at the 1988 Olympic Games and became a fullfledged
Olympic sport at the 2000 Games.
Skills: Jumping; Karate; Karate Sport; Savoir-Faire (Dojo).
Techniques: Axe Kick; Back Kick; Elbow Strike; Exotic
Hand Strike; Jump Kick; Kicking; Spinning Kick; Spinning
Punch; Sweep (Karate).
Cinematic Skills: Breaking Blow; Flying Leap; Power Blow.
Cinematic Techniques: Flying Jump Kick.
Perks: Rapid Retraction (Kicks); Technique Mastery (Any
kicking technique); Unusual Training (Breaking Blow, Only
vs. well-braced objects out of combat).
Optional Traits
Advantages: Fit.
Disadvantages: Overconfidence; Reputation (Aims kicks
high).
Skills: Acrobatics; Games (Tae Kwon Do).
T’AI CHI CHUAN
6 points
T’ai Chi Chuan – literally “supreme ultimate fist,” but in
fact named after the famous yin/yang diagram – is an art
intended for combat and self-defense. It seems to have originated
in 17th-century China, but it’s based on much older
principles. The GM could reasonably include T’ai Chi Chuan
in a historical game set centuries or even millennia before the
17th century. Modern gamers should know that while this
style is the ancestor of the T’ai Chi system practiced for health
and spiritual reasons today, the two aren’t identical; see T’ai
Chi (p. 201).
T’ai Chi Chuan is an internal art based on qigong breathing
techniques, chi flow, and balance. The practitioner creates
a “root,” or point of balance, and uses this to launch and resist
attacks. Punches often employ the palm or a loose fist; stylists
use the Hammer Fist technique extensively. Kicks are generally
low-line and regularly accompanied by a fake strike to
distract – a Deceptive Attack.
The primary basis of T’ai Chi Chuan practice is a single
form that contains all of the art’s techniques, done slowly and
with relaxation. In combat, the martial artist uses the same
methods at full force. T’ai Chi Chuan includes “push-hands”
practice. Practitioners stand face-to-face and try to push over
their opponent or draw him into pushing against a sudden