In the world of My Hero Academia, 80% of society possesses these superpowers known as quirks. People use them for differing purposes, ranging from good to evil to pragmatic self-interest. In a world such as this, the way a person fights has a major impact on their status as a super-powered hero or villain.
Although MHA does not explicitly focus on martial arts, implicit parallels can be drawn between the way certain characters choose to fight and various martial arts fighting styles. These characters showcase this the most, the way they fight mirroring real-world martial techniques and prowess.
10 Ingenium
The Class 1-A Rep
- Real Name: Tenya Ida
- Quirk: Engine
The student representative of Class 1-A is the authoritative Tenya Ida, who tends to karate chop in the air as he gives orders and advice. However, that is not why he finds himself on this list. It’s not about what he does with his hands, but what he does with his feet.
Ingenium’s quirk, Engine, is exactly what it sounds like. He has a literal engine built into him, protruding out of his calves and giving him superhuman speed. Practitioners of martial arts such as kickboxing and Muay Thai might recognize the types of kicks Tenya uses in his fights. Of course, real-world martial artists could only dream of having their roundhouse kicks powered by living engines.
9 Battle Fist
The Class 1-B Rep
- Real Name: Itsuka Kendo
- Quirk: Big Fist
With a hero name like Battle Fist, it’s not surprising that hand-to-hand combat is one of Kendo’s strengths. Kendo’s quirk, Big Fist, allows her to increase the size of her hands to great proportions. So it is also no surprise that many of her fighting moves revolve around striking and punching, making the best use of her giant hands that she can.
Battle Fist’s ultimate move is known as, ‘Double Jumbo Fist.’ She throws a punch with her hands at normal size, then activates her hand-enhancing quirk right before contact with her opponent for maximum impact. With her superpowered fists, Kendo can throw jabs and crosses with many times the power of a well-trained UFC striker.
8 Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight
The Story’s Deuteragonist
- Real Name: Katsuki Bakugo
- Quirk: Explosion
As the hot-headed rival of the show’s main character, Bakugo is one of the most willing characters in the series when it comes to a fight. The hilariously named Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight lives up to his title. He has a passionate desire to be the strongest hero ever, and will fight whoever he needs to in order to achieve this.
His quirk, Explosion, allows him to transform what to the rest of us would be just a gross sweaty palm, into explosions that can burst out of the hand. His apt use of his explosion allows for agility that has him jumping, flipping and evading certain attacks. His style might remind some viewers of the agility required in martial arts like Capoeira.
7 Deku
The Story’s Protagonist
- Real Name: Izuku Midoryia
- Quirk: One for All
This kid told us all that he would be the greatest hero. The main character. The formerly quirkless Deku. Whilst his quirk One For All gave him a whole host of abilities, such as super strength and speed, a lot of Deku’s abilities come from his status as a quirkless person at the start of the story.
Deku is highly analytical and is always learning new ways to get ahead, even without using his powers. This includes the use of martial arts in his repertoire. An example of this is in the famous scene where he bests Bakugo by mimicking a combat move he had learned earlier. He used a Judo technique to thwart his biggest rival at UA, in an impressive show of intelligence and skill.
6 Uravity
The Sweetheart Of 1-A
- Real Name: Ochako Uraraka
- Quirk: Zero Gravity
As Deku’s main love interest and one of the kindest people in Class 1-A, Uraraka’s Quirk is unique. With just a touch, she can make any object weightless and float it into the air until she chooses to release it. Another unique aspect about her, was she was one of the few student heroes to receive formal martial arts training during work experience.
During one of the many training arcs in My Hero Academia, Ochako Urararka was taught by Gunhead, also known as the ‘The Battle Hero,’ a rather fitting name. Uravity’s quirk does not allow for many offensive applications, so to learn a series of effective punches and throws was very useful in her development as a hero.
5 Toga
The Blood Fanatic
- Real Name: Himiko Toga
- Quirk: Transform
This unhinged villain consumes blood and falls in love far too easily. Toga’s quirk allows her to morph into whoever’s blood she consumes, which has created an obsession with blood and a desire to drink the blood of those she loves. Since her abilities require blood, Toga had to become an expert knife user. Sometimes she uses her skills to extract blood at times, but it’s mostly to keep up with other Quirk users who have more offensive abilities than she does.
Her aptitude for the knife, as well as her natural agility and overabundance of energy, makes Toga a fierce opponent in combat, even when facing those with greater raw power, such as Deku. Her evasive abilities and skills as a cutter make her one of the series’ most dangerous villains.
4 Stain
The Hero Killer
- Real Name: Chizome Akaguro
- Quirk: Bloodcurdle
Stain possesses similar bloodlust to Toga, but with a more interesting quirk and grander goals. Stain was a villain who acted as a serial killer for heroes, destroying those he thought were not worthy of the title of hero in his eyes, to cleanse the world of its fraud.
As another blade user, Stain’s quirk allows him to paralyze whoever’s blood he tastes. After cutting an opponent with his katana, he licks the blood of the victim off of its blade, forcing them to freeze. The way his quirk manifested led Stain to prioritize blade-based combat, turning him into a quick and efficient master swordsman.
3 All Might
The Symbol of Peace
- Real Name: Toshinori Yagi
- Quirk: One for All
All Might is the most famous of heroes in the My Hero Academia universe and, at one time, was the strongest of them all. He’s the hero who everyone looked up to, especially the main character Deku. Deku received the privilege of being All Might’s protégé when All Might gave him a strand of his hair and passed on the All for One quirk.
A lot of All Might’s signature moves mirror those of a professional boxer if they had immense superhuman abilities. With super-speed jabs and devastating uppercuts, it could be said that All Might was the most powerful boxer in his universe at his peak. It’s no coincidence that his technique is rated a 6/5 in the Ultra Archive Book.
2 Gunhead
The Battle Hero
- Real Name: Unknown
- Quirk: Gatling
This minor character is known for his cool design, as well as teaching Uraraka how to fight using ‘Gunhead Martial Arts.’ Gunhead’s Quirk Gatling has transformed his arms into guns themselves, allowing him to shoot claw bullets.
Action shooting has been considered a fighting style at times. However, his place on this list is not because of his bullet claws, but for his aforementioned Gunhead Martial Arts. Only a martial artist as skilled as him could teach Uraraka, one of the most powerful students in Class 1-A, how to be an effective martial artist herself in just a week.
1 Tailman
1A’s Martial Arts Hero
- Real Name: Mashirao Ojiro
- Quirk: Tail
Ojiro is a somewhat quiet background member of Class 1-A who does not often find himself in the spotlight. However, he is one of the few heroes to explicitly talk about and use martial arts prowess, and a rare case of that being a hero’s entire motif.
Ojiro is the martial arts hero, Tailman, who wears a karate gi as his official costume. As his name suggests, Tailman’s power is his large tail, which acts as a fifth limb. Though his tail itself is not very powerful, Ojiro’s vast knowledge of martial arts techniques turns this somewhat weak quirk into a highly effective one in battle. Possessing five limbs and a keen interest in karate, Ojiro proves to be the most well-versed martial artist of the My Hero Academia main cast.
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