GURPS Martial Arts - Home

This kick consists of a swift, downward stamp with the
heel, using your entire body weight to give additional force to
the kick. It does more damage than a normal kick, but it can
only target an opponent who’s lying down or the foot or leg of
a standing foe.
Roll against Stamp Kick to hit. Damage is thrust+1, plus
your Brawling or Karate bonus. On a miss, you stomp the
ground and must make a DX roll to avoid ending up offbalance
and unable to retreat until your next turn.
Staying Seated
Average
Default: Riding.
Prerequisite: Riding; cannot exceed Riding+4.
This technique represents special training in the art of
staying on the back of a mount. Knights learn it to keep their
seat in combat; rodeo riders practice it to win competitions!
When rolling for any reason to avoid falling off your mount
(for instance, the rolls on p. B397), use Staying Seated instead
of Riding.
Sweep
Hard
Default: prerequisite skill-3.
Prerequisite: Appropriate Melee Weapon or unarmed combat
skill; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.
This technique lets you knock down an opponent in a single
attack rather than by grappling him and executing a takedown
or throw. It isn’t aimed at his center of mass with the
goal of pushing him away, like a Push Kick or shove. It’s an
attempt to “clothesline” his neck or head, knock his legs out
from under him, or otherwise unbalance him.
Roll against Sweep to hit. Hit location is a special effect –
don’t apply a penalty for it. Your target may defend normally.
If he fails, roll a Quick Contest: your Sweep or ST vs. his ST,
DX, Acrobatics, or best grappling skill. Use the highest value
in both cases. If he loses, he falls down.
Many combat skills can Sweep. You can try an armed version
with any two-handed weapon with reach 2+. This
defaults to Polearm, Spear, Staff, Two-Handed Axe/Mace,
Two-Handed Flail, or Two-Handed Sword, and has the
weapon’s usual reach. You can also Sweep with Judo, Karate,
or Sumo Wrestling. When you attack, specify a stiff arm to
the upper body (reach C, requires a free hand), a sweeping
kick (reach C, 1, uses a leg), or a pull in a clinch (reach C, only
when grappling). Those with Strikers, especially tails, can
learn Sweep (Brawling) and attack at their usual reach.
Regardless of the weapon used, Sweep is a slow, pushing
attack that doesn’t inflict damage.
Trip
Hard
Default: prerequisite skill Parry-1.
Prerequisite: Judo, Sumo Wrestling, or Wrestling; cannot
exceed prerequisite Parry.
Trip lets you cause a two-legged foe to stumble and miss
with a slam. It counts as a parry with the prerequisite skill.
Success means you avoid the slam and your attacker must
make a DX or Acrobatics roll at -5 or fall down!
Per p. B376, a charging fighter’s “effective weight” as a
weapon equals his ST. Since your weight limit with an
unarmed parry equals your Basic Lift, Trip fails automatically
if your foe’s effective weight exceeds your BL. At ST 8
and BL 13, you couldn’t stop a ST 14+ opponent. With ST 14
and BL 39, only ST 40+ giants would be a problem.
Shield DB doesn’t benefit Trip. You can’t retreat for a
bonus, either – or use a Slip or Sideslip (see Retreat Options,
pp. 123-124). You can Dive by assuming a crawling posture
across your foe’s path. Apply the usual modifier to your roll
and use 2¥BL to determine whom you can trip.
You can’t attack with Trip – use Sweep (see above) for
that. However, you can use Trip to intercept someone running
past you (not merely stepping) within a yard. On a battle
map, that’s through your hex or an adjacent hex. This
works like a regular Trip and counts as a parry.
Trip can use many body parts: arms, legs, a hip, etc. You
must Dive or use a free foot to intercept a runner who isn’t
trying to slam you.
Two-Handed Punch
Average
Default: Brawling-2.
Prerequisite: Brawling; cannot exceed Brawling skill.
This technique involves either knitting the fingers of two
hands together to strike or striking with two fists held
together. A common move in movies and on television, it’s
not terribly safe or effective in reality.
Roll against Two-Handed Punch to hit. Your opponent
defends normally, but if he successfully parries and inflicts
damage, both of your arms take full damage. If you take
damage from striking DR 3+, both hands take full damage.
Damage is thrust+1 crushing – or thrust at +1 per die, if better
– plus your Brawling bonus.
On a turn when you attempt a Two-Handed Punch, you
can only parry once with your hands. This does count as a
Cross Parry (p. 121) – the parry is more effective but you
only get one.
Uppercut
Average
Defaults: Boxing-1, Brawling-1, or Karate-1.
Prerequisite: Boxing, Brawling, or Karate; cannot exceed
prerequisite skill.
This is a short punch directed upward from a low stance.
It delivers a powerful blow to an opponent standing in close.
You can only use Uppercut against the upper body – skull,
eye, face, neck, torso, arm – of a standing foe. (Exception: If
his SM exceeds yours, you can target everything but his
feet.) Damage is thrust crushing plus skill bonuses. Your target
defends normally.
Uppercut is a very close-range punch. Many fighters
throw it after getting their adversary in a clinch with the
other arm. Grappling an opponent around the back of his
head and punching is illegal in modern sport boxing, but
very effective (see Grab and Smash!, p. 118).
TECHNIQUES 81