.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=1140&h=570&dpr=1.5)
The designs in the world of Pokémon take influence from the world around us. There are Grass-type Pokémon influenced by plant life like Exeggutor and Jumpluff, Steel-type influenced by man made tools like Klingklang and Aegislash, and a whole bunch of Ghost-types that are possessed versions of everyday objects.
When it comes to Fighting-types, instead of being influenced by a physical object or living thing, they are influenced by a martial art. Some more obvious ones are Sawk and Throh, given they're wearing martial arts uniforms, but there are a whole bunch of Fighting-types that use a well known fighting style to take down their opponents.
10 HARIYAMA - SUMO WRESTLING
With a massive pool of HP and attack and not much else, Hariyama embodies the martial art of Sumo Wrestling. This big, bulky Pokémon can take a hit and dole out huge damage by thrusting its gigantic hands at its opponents. Sumo wrestlers deliver powerful palm thrusts to their opponents to try and knock them out of the ring. According to the Pokédex, Hariyama's arm thrusts are strong enough to send a 10-tonne truck flying
As well as its attacks, Hariyama's bulky build closely resembles a sumo wrestler. The skirt it wears around its waist is similar to the mawashi, worn by sumo wrestlers in the ring.
9 BLAZIKEN - TAE-KWON-DO
With its wide array of powerful and high flying kicking attacks, Blaziken closely resembles a Tae-Kwon-Do fighter. Tae-Kwon-Do is sometimes referred to as 'foot boxing', due to the huge variety of kicking attacks it uses. Blaziken is known for its incredible leg strength, so it only makes sense that it uses a martial art to utilize that.
On top of the powerful kicking techniques of Tae-Kwon-Do, Blaziken gets the added advantage of enveloping its feet in flames to deliver its signature love, Blaze Kick.
8 SAWK - KARATE
With one look at the Gi it wears, it's obvious that Sawk uses Karate to best its opponents. Its one of the only Pokémon that wears human clothes, but don't let that distract you from the fact that Sawk has some serious power in its fists.
As you'd expect from a Pokémon that practices Karate, Sawk's primary focus is on attack power, with a base stat of 125. Although its other stats are mediocre, you don't want your Pokémon on the receiving end of an attack from Sawk. These Pokémon live in seclusion in the mountains, where they trains day-in and day-out to become stronger.
7 MEDICHAM - SHAOLIN KUNG-FU
Although Shaolin Kung-Fu is composed of many different styles of fighting, the core reason Medicham is a practitioner of this martial art is due to its focus on meditation. Shaolin Kung-Fu has two types of what is known as Qigong meditation: internal and external.
Qigong meditation may not give practitioners a sixth sense like Medicham's meditation does. However, it's great representation of the balance Medicham has between meditation and deadly combat skills, especially since Medicham has the Pure Power ability, which doubles its attack stat.
6 MACHAMP - PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING
Throw Machamp in the WWE, and it would no doubt come out as the champion. It already has a championship belt and on top of that, its spandex underwear is the preferred clothing choice for many professional wrestlers. Due to its four arms, its said to be able to launch 1000 punches in just two seconds.
What really solidifies Machamp as a professional wrestler is the ability No Guard, which makes both Machamp's and the opposing Pokémon's attacks always hit. Which makes sense, because you never really see a professional wrestler block anything.
5 THROH - JUDO
Just like Sawk, this Fighting-type from Black & White has a name that represents the martial art it uses. Throh and Judo go hand-in-hand. The name and design may be a little uninspired, but Judo is known for its deadly throwing techniques and so, this Pokémon was named Throh.
Throh is driven by a will to throw larger opponents, which apparently it will always try to do. It is the only Pokémon capable of learning the move Storm Throw, which is an attack that always deals a critical hit unless the target has an ability or item that protects it from critical hits.
4 HITMONTOP - CAPOEIRA
You could make the argument that Hitmontop is a break dancer instead of a martial artist, but Capoeria combines the best of both worlds. Capoeria is an Afro-Brazilian martial art developed at the beginning of the 16th century that combines elements of dance and acrobatics with attacks.
A lot of the martial art revolves around inverted kicks, kicks that go from the ground up, which makes sense since Hitmontop spins on its head to deliver attacks. Its signature attack Triple Kick hits enemies three times in succession.
3 HITMONCHAN - BOXING
Obviously, the Pokémon with boxing gloves on its hands uses boxing. One of the original 151, Hitmonchan is a human head away from basically being Muhammad Ali. Hitmonchan delivers lightning fast punches that can drill through concrete and in true boxing fashion, requires a break after three minutes of fighting.
One strange thing about Hitmonchan is that its highest stat is its special defense. Its descriptions talk about its speed and attack which makes it strange that they have stats of 76 and 105, respectively.
2 MIENSHAO - WING CHUN
It could be argued that Mienshao is based off a number of different Kung-Fu styles, Wing Chun is the most fitting given this Pokémon's description. Wing Chun is a style of Chinese Kung Fu that translates into 'beautiful springtime'. It requires the user to master quick arm movements to defeat their opponent.
Mienshao wields the fur on the end of its arms like whips that moves so quickly they can't be seen by the naked eye. According to the Pokédex, it performs combo attacks that once started, no one can stop.
1 HITMONLEE - MUAY THAI
The final entry on this list is the counterpart to Hitmonchan. Where Hitmonchan is all about fists and arms, Hitmonlee is all about feet and legs, which makes it a practitioner of Muay Thai. It has extremely flexible and powerful legs that are able to stretch to twice their length to strike its enemies.
Although other Pokémon can now use them, Hitmonlee used to be the sole user of Jump Kick, High Jump Kick, Rolling Kick and Mega Kick.