Set to premiere in 2022, the Disney+ show Moon Knight will see Oscar Isaac test his combat skills as he portrays the expert martial artist superhero. Isaacs’s character, Moon Knight, has super strength in which he draws his powers from the moon and is also a former Boxer, Marine and an expert in hand-to-hand combat.
A recent Instagram post shows Isaac practising a series of brutal action sequences that display both his martial arts skills and the violence of the series. The video depicts Isaac fighting multiple attackers using a variety of martial arts techniques including joint locks, knife fighting and strikes to subdue his opponents.
A bejegyzés megtekintése az Instagramon
To the untrained eye the video looks like a frenzy of violence and brutality, but, in reality, martial artists train for years to perfect their art.
Let’s take a look at the martial arts and techniques used by Isaac in further detail
In the video, Isaac uses a variety of techniques from martial arts around the world. The majority of the footage consists of knife fighting, with Isaac blocking and disarming his opponents before following up with his own knife attacks. The moves used are a hybrid blend of techniques from Krav Manga, Filipino Boxing, Boxing, Karate and Jiu-Jitsu.
Isaac is also shown on the boxing pads evading shots and slipping punches before returning brutal strikes of his own. He impresses us further when he shows off his flexibility and agility by making a spinning capoeira kick look easy.
The most impressive display of martial arts is when Isaac throws up a perfect flying armbar, a technique used in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Whilst this technique is not practical in a hand-to-hand combat situation, it certainly makes for exciting cinematography.
The majority of scenes from the footage show a fusion of martial arts related closely to Krav Manga. Krav Maga is a fighting system developed by the Israeli military and is known for its focus on real-life combat situations and brutality. The fighting style derived from martial arts techniques sourced from Boxing, Judo, Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, and Karate.
What’s clear from the footage is the brutality of Moon Knight. Moon Knight brings an element of violence not often seen in Disney superhero movies.
But how does Moon Knight compare against other popular superheroes? Let’s take Batman for example. Batman uses his aikido to disarm and subdue his opponents and avoids using violence unless necessary. On the other hand, Moon Knight takes the violence to another level by slashing, stabbing and choking his attackers. It’s clear he takes no prisoners as Isaac is shown licking a knife after stabbing his opponent.
Whilst tackling multiple opponents and fighting with knives makes for awesome TV, in reality, it doesn’t work in the street or cage. Live combat is a fluid situation, with multiple variables and decisions to make within a split second. If you throw a knife and multiple attackers into the equation, you’re talking about a life and death situation.
What’s clear is from the Instagram video is Isaacs’s passion, dedication and technical ability as a martial artist. His movements look fluid and he is performing techniques to the level of a professional martial artist. If Isaac had chosen to lace up the gloves in his younger years, he certainly had the potential to achieve great things as a martial artist.
