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Author Topic: Klukor - the Kryptonian Martial Art  (Read 39337 times)
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JulianPerez
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« on: August 19, 2005, 06:19:40 AM »

This forum, by the way, is wonderful, because here I can confirm obscure, half-forgotten memories by savvier people that have more comics than I do.

What was Klukor, the Kryptonian Martial Art?

I know there WAS one and it had that name. What did it look like?

Did any significant characters know this style (Superman, Supergirl, etc.)?

Were its origins ever explained? Was there anything terribly special about it?
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Captain Kal
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« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2005, 06:52:00 AM »

It's spelled "Klurkor".

It is indeed a Kryptonian martial art as you stated, though less responsible writers originally called it a Kryptonian form of Karate.

Pre Crisis Lois Lane learned it while on a visit to Kandor.  That suggests at least some Kandorians are versed in it.

I saw nothing to suggest it was any better than an Earth-based martial art like Kung Fu.  Of course, Lois probably couldn't be considered a master so the evidence I saw may not count here for real comparisons.  Lois seemed pretty unbeatable against unpowered opponents when she wasn't taken unawares, but she never faced any serious combatants nor powered foes.  She had a certain Bodyguard of Steel for those occasions. Wink

FYI, in Waid's new LSH book, at least two Naltorian presci-cops have added Klurkor to their martial arts skills.  As a side note, the Rokynians have been referenced several times in Waid's Legion, too (Rokyn was the name the Pre Crisis Kandorians gave to their new planet instead of New Krypton; 'Ro' is the possessive form of the god Rao and 'Kyn' means gift in ancient Kryptonese so it means "Gift of Rao".)

Also FYI, Faora Hu-Ul was the master of the Kryptonian martial art of Horu-Kanu. She was so accomplished at it that Kryptonian police could not face her on the ground and were forced to shoot her down from the air.  Given that evidence, Horu-Kanu seems significantly more devastating than any known Earth martial art. (OTOH, she could've been the Kryptonian equivalent of the LSH Karate Kid, but I somehow doubt that given her other showings.)
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Captain Kal

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JulianPerez
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« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2005, 01:30:10 PM »

Thanks for the info, CaptainKal.

Somehow I expected something a little more exotic, under the "everything from Krypton is more impressive than on Earth" law. They can't just have Dinosaurs; oh no, they've got to have dinosaurs that SHOW YOUR THOUGHTS. On Earth, volcanoes kill people; on Krypton, they shoot out gold. ...You know, I'm *glad* Krypton's destroyed! Otherwise, it would be like having a snooty neighbor with a better looking wife than you who owns a lawnmower you can ride on. And with that whole Kryptonian "greater capacity for good" business, they'd probably be really, really nice to you all the time, which really makes it worse, doesn't it?  Cheesy

Here's a thought: have any non-Kandorians known Klurkor, apart from the aforementioned future precops (paging Phillip K. Dick...)? Because the name "Klurkor" sounds like "Kandor;" it may be likely that Klurkor may be a regional, Kandor-specific Martial Art. This would make sense; usually Martial Arts remain closely tied to the place that creates them (except for things like Karate that housewives in Nebraska learn).

I'm not an expert BY ANY MEANS in Martial Arts history, but my understanding of the development of weaponless Martial Arts from watching the History Channel, is that Martial Arts styles usually develop in situations of social oppression where there is resistance. Karate for instance, was developed by Okinawan peasants that were not allowed to carry weapons. It might be interesting to know the story - in Kryptonian history, of the development of Klurkor.

Knowing Kryptonian history, it was probably an "El" that invented it, too...  :lol:
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Gary
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« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2005, 03:44:23 PM »

Quote from: "JulianPerez"
Somehow I expected something a little more exotic, under the "everything from Krypton is more impressive than on Earth" law. They can't just have Dinosaurs; oh no, they've got to have dinosaurs that SHOW YOUR THOUGHTS. On Earth, volcanoes kill people; on Krypton, they shoot out gold. ...You know, I'm *glad* Krypton's destroyed! Otherwise, it would be like having a snooty neighbor with a better looking wife than you who owns a lawnmower you can ride on. And with that whole Kryptonian "greater capacity for good" business, they'd probably be really, really nice to you all the time, which really makes it worse, doesn't it?  Cheesy


Yeah, it'd be like living next door to this guy:


Sorry, couldn't resist. Smiley
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Captain Kal
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« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2005, 03:49:14 PM »

It would be nice if Klurkor had some exotic, special skills and effectiveness to jibe with other Kryptonian superiority.  The problem with that is the only known character that routinely used it was Lois Lane, and her theme was to be the eternal damsel-in-distress.  It just wouldn't do to have Lois so capable that she never needed to be rescued anymore by Superman.

The only out here, in my mind, is the mere days or weeks at most that Lois had to learn Klurkor were enough to make her able to stand-up to most normal human foes without martial arts training.  I don't know of any fighting discipline that yields such high results in such a short training period.  Arguably, a true expert/master at Klurkor with years or a lifetime of training would be far above any Earth martial artist if we extrapolate from that.

The truly superior Kryptonian martial arts were exemplified by Horu-Kanu and the Dwalu warriors (who could take on a super-powered Kryptonian even without their own powers activated or not).
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Captain Kal

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lonewolf23k
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« Reply #5 on: August 19, 2005, 10:48:16 PM »

It's doubtful that Krypton had a single martial art, when Earth alone has nearly thousands of different martial art styles, each with it's own unique forms and special techniques.  If there's such a thing as Kryptonian Karate, then there are probably Kryptonian forms of Judo, Kendo, Boxing, Wrestling, Tai-chi...  

...And let's not even go into Kung Fu, which even on Earth has hundreds of variations..
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MatterEaterLad
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« Reply #6 on: August 20, 2005, 02:32:07 AM »

Actually, since they have nails rather than claws, it seems that "thought beasts" were mammals rather than dinosaurs, on the line of titanotheres...

I still wonder why their thoughts were from a third person perspective, but its comics and I won't embowel the writers for it...
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VRLowKey
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« Reply #7 on: August 20, 2005, 04:49:17 AM »

I vaguely recall that Klurkor was supposed to take advantage of the advanced strength and agility that Kryptonians had beyond the powers under a yellow sun.  Lois Lane was supposed to have learned enough to use, although I would think the main advantage over, say, a Kung Fu brown-belt would be surprise, since the moves wouldn't look like anything from Earth.
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