The 9 coolest kicks in Jean-Claude Van Damme’s action movies

Jean-Claude Van Damme is one of the most iconic martial arts and action movie stars in the world, thanks in large part to his incredible footwork during his many action scenes. The Belgian martial artist and actor has become synonymous with bombastic hand-to-hand combat over the course of Van Damme’s impressive filmography, with each new credit to his name showcasing some new fighting form or technique that nearly revolutionized the industry. For the most part, his most memorable moves have all been kicks.

As a real-life former kickboxer, Van Damme is able to combine his valuable combat experience with his trademark hip flexibility to pull off some eye-popping strikes with his legs in his films. His fighting style is so unique and memorable that it even inspired the moveset of a famous video game character, Johnny Cage, which Van Damme has yet to play in any of the Mortal Kombat films. In the films in which he has appeared, however, Vam Damme has always been able to treat audiences with some new ingenious trick that only he could pull off convincingly on a film set.

9

The Triple Roundhouse Kick

Cyborg (1989)

One of the most impressive things about Jean-Claude Van Damme’s kicks is his ability to fire so many off them in such short succession. When using the triple roundhouse kick, Van Damme is able to target the same exact spot on his opponent with pinpoint accuracy despite rotating his entire body to generate as much force as possible. in cyborg, To make things even more impressive, Van Damm’s character takes an unreal amount of punishment before pulling off the complicated maneuver.

One of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s better sci-fi movies, Cyborg Set to star as Gibson Rickenbacker, a mercenary who signs up to fight a deviously tough gang leader named Fender. In the two’s sweaty, glistening final fight, Van Damme lets off a rare triple roundhouse kick right to Fender’s head, doing damage to even the brutish warlord. It’s a good thing Fender was a big, slow target, or else Van Damme’s Gibson might have had more trouble landing the attack.

8

The ducking leg sweep

Hard Target (1993)

Admittedly, the leg sweep may not be Jean-Claude Van Damme’s most revolutionary or flashy style of kick that he used in his many films. yet, There is a certain simple elegance to the stroke when it is applied in Hard target. Here, Van Damme plays yet another mercenary, a drifting Cajun vagrant in New Orleans who protects a young woman against a gang of violent criminals, using some fancy footwork in the process.

In the first fight scene that introduces the two co-leads to one another, Van Damme demonstrates some of ​​​​his most practical and graceful martial arts kicks against the raging street gang. When one of the gangsters tries to throw a powerful kick of his own directly to Van Damme’s head, he effortlessly cuts, at the same time spinning his feet along the ground to literally sweep the snake off his feet. This results in a hard landing for Van Damme’s opponent, dealing just as much emotional damage as physical damage.

7

The flying kick

Death Warrant (1990)

Admittedly, Jean-Claude Van Damme is far from the first famous movie martial artist to popularize the flying kick, with one of Bruce Lee’s staple moves being the infamous Dragon Kick. Still, it’s not like Lee has a monopoly on straightforward flying side kicks that deliver devastating power, and Jean-Claude Van Damme was happy to prove a bit of his own in movies like Death warrant.

Death warrant Van Damme takes on the role of a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on a quest to catch the killer of his partner, a bloodthirsty serial maniac known as Sandman. One of Van Damme’s most memorable and powerful opponents ever, Van Damme’s character had to pull out all the stops to defeat him, including a healthy dose of the classic flying kick. This ends the killing blow of the fight, as the power behind the strike sends Sandman careening backwards into a raging fire.

6

The rapid kick combo

No Retreat, No Surrender (1985)

It’s easy to see when Jean-Claude Van Damme draws heavily from his real-life experience as a kickboxer in his movies. This is doubly true for his movies that are more sports or martial arts themed, such as No retreat, no surrender. Here, Van Damme plays a young martial artist with an ardent crush on Bruce Lee, honoring the unarmed combat legend with his own performance in the ring.

At the end of the film, Van Damme’s Jason calls on all his athletes to show off a particularly clever technique in which he blocks with his hands while kicking rapidly with his feet. While standing on one leg, Van Damme is able to unleash a devastating barrage of kicks, all the while holding the opponent’s own striking limb in place with his hands. Movements like this prove why kicking is so effective, Free your hands up to block while striking with furious force and speed.

5

The hanging kangaroo kick

Double Impact (1991)

One particularly unique (if somewhat silly-looking) trick Jean-Claude Van Damme was fond of using in his action scenes was the hanging double-footed kangaroo kick. By using his hands to hang off of something, Van Damme is able to kick with both feet at once, doubling his pushing power while showing his penchant for acrobatics. Fittingly enough, one of his best uses of this technique is in Double ImpactOne of the multiple movies in which Van Damme plays two characters at once.

in Double ImpactVan Damme plays a set of twins who are polar-opposites personality-wise, and it’s rough-and-tumble Alex who gets the best action scenes. During a tense fight on a ship, Alex uses the hanging kangaroo bridge to knock two guns into the water at once, dangling off the ship’s mast before striking. The display is so impressive that a third thug simply voluntarily jumps overboard himself When Alex just grunts and gestures for him to do it, not wanting to fear the wrath of the powerful bridge.

4

The vertical double hopkick

Sudden Death (1995)

Jean-Claude Van Damme has repeatedly demonstrated that he doesn’t necessarily even need it to pull off something similar to the hanging kangaroo kick. Enter the vertical double hopkick, a closely related technique in which Van Damme simply jumps long enough to lash out with both legs before somehow getting under himself again to land. This way, he gets all the power of a dropkick without having to wind up on his back.

The most memorable use of this bridge happens in sudden impact, Which takes place in a bustling hockey stadium. Van Damme as a security guard has to contend with, of all things, a terrorist dressed in a penguin mascot suit, all in the claustrophobic confines of the stadium’s busy kitchen. The finishing blow occurs when Van Damme executes the hop kick brilliantlySend the cuddly combatant reeling with a strong toe.

3

The bottle kick

Street Fighter (1994)

While Van Damme never got around to portraying the fighting game character of Mortal Kombat Inspired by his movies, he played another fighting game character in 1994 Street Fighter. As Guile, Van Damme is an all-American soldier desperate to take revenge on the evil dictator M. Bison, brilliantly played by Raul Julia, after the tyrant killed his best friend. finally getting his chance to do so, Gayle tails Bison and finally unleashes his signature move of the games, the flash kick.

Just like in the video game series, Van Damme’s Guile crouches down to charge power before performing a powerful backflip, kicking his opponent in the face with the tip of his boot at the top of the flip. It’s hard to imagine anyone else but Van Damme incredible executing this over-the-top kick designed for use in a video game. Although it doesn’t come with Guile’s signature yellow energy Street FighterVan Damme’s version is as close as it gets to a real-life fighting game ability.

2

The hold kick

kickboxer (1989)

Ever the performer, Jean-Claude Van Damme understands that sometimes, glamor and style shows need to take precedence over practicality when it comes to movie fights. He shows his flexibility time and time again in movies, suddenly launching into the splits to punch an opponent in the groin or maintaining a straight line with his legs with each foot suspended above the air in a chair. However, it was not until kickboxer, Ironically one of Van Damme’s most down-to-earth movies, in which he found a way to incorporate his impressive hip mobility into his kicks.

In one sequence, Van Damme fires off a kick that sends his powerful opponent, Tong Po, soaring straight through a column of solid rock. Keeping his feet up in the air, Van Dam slowly turns on his heel, Keep the final position of the bridge higher and higher until it seems impossible. Then, just for fun, he kicks again to knock out a hapless onlooker, successfully taking out two enemies without setting foot back on the ground once.

1

The helicopter kick

Bloodsport (1988)

Despite having so many uniquely impressive kicks in his arsenal, it stands to reason that Jean-Claude Van Damme’s helicopter kick may be the pinnacle of his combat skills on foot. This particular kick combines the jump of a flying kick with the spin of a traditional roundhouse, generating wild amounts of power as his feet sail through the air. The best use of this kick is in one of the single greatest movie battles of Van Damme’s entire filmography, the final fight of Blood sports.

in blood sport, Van Damme’s character Frank participates in the Chaotic Committee, a no-holds-barred martial arts tournament in which anything goes and death is certainly on the table. His final opponent, the massive and intimidating Chong Li, put up a grueling fight, but Van Damme was able to finally land the finishing blow with an expertly executed helicopter kick. The bridge that helped form Van Dame‘s career, the helicopter ride may be the most impressive, literally and figuratively.