Disregarding
Kirk's patented double-foot air stomp, the concept of
Space Karate is kind of interesting.
Removing
gravity from the equation would completely change the way two people would fight. It would change the
range, pace, rhythm, force, and direction of a conflict.
Without the ground to brace against, almost every technique mastered by any fighter, from
Mike Tyson to
Bruce Lee would be rendered almost useless.
Asian Martial arts are typically very rooted, with the fighter manipulating his center of gravity to generate force. Obviously, without
gravity to hold him down, this simply wouldn't work. Neither would the boxer's punches. A
boxer typically braces against the opposite leg from his striking hand. This adds torque to the blow on
Earth, but in a
micro-gravity environment, it would add an off-center axis around which the fighter would rotate, unable to brace himself, splitting the energy of his punch between himself and his opponent.
Kicking wouldn't work the same way, either. Again, it’s an issue of bracing. For
standing kicks, the
base leg's ability to hold its position is as important to the generation of force as the
kick itself.
Jump-kicks would get very interesting. You could conceivably jump as high as you would want, but again, when the kick strikes the target, as much energy will be returned to the kicking foot as will be delivered to the target. This would throw off he attacker's balance and timing, making it very difficult to land. He might even flip over.
Grappling in space would be the only instance when you would not have to contend with the basic
Newtonian Physics of punching someone and bouncing off. On the other hand, most
grappling systems are based off of
control,
position, and
leverage. These principals would remain, but without the ground (which
grapplers are typically rolling around on) the leverage-based techniques they are used to wouldn't work. Something like an
Aikido throw would very likely "throw" the
Aikido fighter, as well.
There are other possibilities, too. Movies show people in space fighting with big long leaps off bulkheads, making passes at each other in the air.
Bludgeoning weapons -- clubs, bats, etc. -- wouldn't work too well, what with the lever magnifying the force of the blow and you still not having any ground to brace off of. Weapons like
chain whips and
nunchuka would be plain ol' weird, maybe they'd act like
gyroscopes or something. Knives and edged weapons would still be effective, but how would you swing a
sword without a balanced stance?
I'm kind of just thinking out loud here. I saw the other post and it got me thinking. I'm not in space, and I've never fought there, so this is all rather armchair, but if anyone has any other thought, throw 'em up. In space, they won’t come down.