USS Enterprise-D crewmembers practicing Mok'bara
Martial arts were athletic disciplines related to combat for the purpose of recreation or self-defense.
The gymnasium on board the Constitution-class and the Galaxy-class starship had martial arts areas. (TOS: "Charlie X"; TNG: "Clues", "Second Chances")
Jadzia Dax was an expert in Klingon martial arts. (DS9: "Facets")
Tuvok had extensive training in the martial arts of many Alpha Quadrant cultures. He knew of over ninety-four ways of killing someone using only a finger, a hand, or a foot. (VOY: "Meld")
Types[]
- Calisthenics
- Gik'tal (fake)
- Mok'bara
The writers' second draft script of ENT: "Breaking the Ice" referred to a Vulcan martial art called Sha'mura, though that discipline is not referenced in canon.
- Other
Techniques[]
- Human
- Norcadian
- Vulcan
Background information[]
Kirk's "judo cut" or "space karate chop"
The training of Starfleet personnel in the martial arts was first displayed in Star Trek: The Original Series, where Human crewmembers would often use martial arts to subdue opponents. This became a plot device known as the "space karate chop", "space judo cut", or (more humorously) "Kirk Fu", where an adversary could be rendered unconscious by a single blow to the base of the neck. Designed as a quick means to eliminate enemies (and avoid lengthy fight scenes), producers later admitted the concept as unrealistic, thus leading to more realistic combat scenes in later television series and films. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story)
As evidenced by the final draft script of ENT: "Hatchery", a Vulcan martial arts maneuver was at one point to have been used in that episode, by T'Pol against a particular MACO. The martial arts move was clearly discarded in favor of stunning the MACO with a phase-pistol.
According to his personnel file in the non-canon video game Star Trek: Starship Creator, Barnaby is a third degree black belt in the art of Tae Kwon Do and lists Earth martial arts among his interests.