List of fighting styles in Fist of the North Star

The following is a list of fictional fighting styles in the manga and anime series Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. Many of the characters from the Fist of the North Star manga are trained in numerous fictional styles throughout the course of the series. All styles appear in the original manga unless otherwise noted.

Contents

Major styles

Hokuto Shinken

Further information: Hokuto Shinken

Hokuto Shinken (北斗神拳?, lit. "Divine Fist of the North Dipper", aka the "Divine Fist of the North Star") is the titular martial art of the Fist of the North Star series used by Kenshiro and his three adopted brothers. It is a 1,800 year-old (2,000 years in the original anime series) Chinese fighting style that utilizes the body's 708 tsubos of the keiraku hikō (経絡秘孔?, "secret channeling points") to cause destruction from within. It is said that the average person only uses 30% of their body's strength, whereas those trained in Hokuto Shinken are taught to tap into the remaining 70% in order to perform their destructive techniques. The history of Hokuto Shinken gradually unfolds throughout the course of the manga's storyline and its later prequel, Fist of the Blue Sky.

Nanto Seiken

Further information: Nanto Seiken

Nanto Seiken (南斗聖拳?, lit. "Sacred Fist of the South Dipper", aka the "Sacred Fist of the South Star" or "Southern Cross") is the main rival style of Hokuto Shinken in the series. The Nanto style is regard as the polar opposite of the Hokuto style; whereas Hokuto Shinken destroys its opponents from within through the use of tsubo, the masters of Nanto Seiken use slicing and stabbing techniques to destroy the enemy from the outside. Unlike Hokuto Shinken, which has only one style and one legitimate successor, the Nanto school has over 108 sects, the six primary masters being the Nanto Roku Seiken (南斗六聖拳?, lit. "Six Sacred Fists of the South Dipper"), who correspond to the six stars of the Nanto constellation. Many of the Nanto Seiken styles are named after birds.

Taizanji Kenpō

The Taizanji Kenpō (泰山寺拳法?, "Taishan Temple Martial Arts") was the original rival style of Hokuto Shinken in the two pilot episodes of Hokuto no Ken drawn and written by Tetsuo Hara. In the present day setting of the pilot episodes, the Taishan Temple is an organization of assassins that disguises themselves to the public as a regular martial arts school, working primarily as assassins for powerful political figures. Eventually, they carried much influence over the world's governments, extending their hands to Japan. When Hokuto no Ken was picked up as a series, this storyline was discarded and Nanto Seiken (and later Hokuto Ryūken) took on the role of Hokuto Shinken's primary rival style, reducing the Taishan style to a minor one used primarily by small fry characters except for Ryuuga's Tenrou Ken style, which Kenshiro uses later after gain Muso Tensei. According to the 1986 publication Hokuto no Ken Special: All About the Man, the school's name is derived the Chinese epithet "Mount Tai & Big Dipper" (泰山北斗 Taizan Hokuto?), since they were the original enemies of the Hokuto Shinken style.

Nanto Goshasei

The five members of the Nanto Goshasei (南斗五車星?, "Five Chariot Stars of the South Dipper") are each trained in their own unique fighting styles. Not much is elaborated on the origins of the Goshasei, other than the fact that Jyuza's style is a self-taught fist. The Goshasei are not counted among the 108 sects of Nanto Seiken.

Gento Kōken

Gento Kōken (元斗皇拳?, "Origin Dipper Emperor Fist", also known as the "Imperial Fist of the Source Star") is a style created to protect the Tentei (天帝?, "Heavenly Empress"), a position held by Lin's twin sister Lui at the time of the series. Their symbol is the Tenteisei (天帝星?, "Celestial Emperor Star"), also known as the Taikyoku-sei (大極星?, Polaris). The Gento style focuses on use of ki energy, projected outside the body as shining light. The Gento masters use their ki to launch powerful energy blasts or alter the temperature of their surroundings. They can boil an adversary from the inside out or cut him in half using ki like a blade. A skilled Gento master can even remove the pressure points from his body, boiling his own cells.

In the original manga, the successor of Gento Kōken is Falco the Gold, although his protegee Solia of the Purple Light also practices this style. In the anime series, Shoki of the Red Light, another General under the command of the Tentei practices this style, as well two anime original characters, Boltz of the Blue Light and Taiga of the Green Light.

Hokuto Ryūken

Hokuto Ryūken (北斗琉拳?, "North Star Sparkling Stone Fist" or "North Star Lapis Lazuli Fist") is another rival style of Hokuto Shinken introduced during the latter half of the manga. Hokuto Ryūken is a branch of the original Hokuto family that was formed alongside Hokuto Shinken in the Land of Asura. The Hokuto Ryūken style utilizes 1,109 points of the keiraku hakō (経絡破孔?, the "destructive channeling points") in contrast to the 708 keiraku hikō points of the Shinken style. The exact differences between the Ryūken style's hakō points and the Shinken style's hikō points are never fully explained. The users of Hokuto Ryūken are taught to fight with their "demonic aura" (魔闘気 matōki?), driving them insane with madness. In the TV series, it is revealed that Hokuto Ryūken was founded by Ryūō of the Hokuto Sōke bloodline, the ancestor of Kaioh, Raoh and Toki. Hokuto Ryūken is also featured in Fist of the Blue Sky, where it is revealed that it was once known as Hokuto Ryūkaken (北斗劉家拳?, "North Star Liu Family Fist"), one of the three subordinate branches of Hokuto Shinken.

Other styles

In order of appearance.

Franchise
Chapters • Episodes • Characters (Kenshiro · Raoh) • Martial arts (Hokuto Shinken · Nanto Seiken)
Films and OVAs
Related works
Video games