Gun Kata

I cannot resist but talk about Equilibrium. This film by Kurt Wimmer was released in 2002 but I just recently watched it. The premise is simple. After World War 3, mankind or at least the men in a nation called Libria has decided to get rid of the ''disease in the heart of man''. The disease of emotion.

A new arm of the law called the Grammaton Cleric, was created ''whose sole task it is to seek out and eradicate the true source of man's inhumanity to man. His ability...to feel.'' 'Sense offenders' are processed and incinerated. Contraband (anything that can incite feeling – books, paintings, music, games) are rated EC-10 for emotional content and disposed of. Librians are expected to dose themselves twice a day with a drug called Prozium which inhibits the senses and emotion.

But the element of the movie which draws me (apart from the talented and gorgeous Christian Bale) is the fighting. The movie is rated NC-16 for violence but for me, violence in a film, when choreographed and tastefully executed, without much blood and gore just inspires somehow and well, can be kind of a turn on. No, I'm not a sadist.

''Gun-kata is a close quarters gun-based martial art. It emphasizes kata, or body positioning and movement exercises. Each kata of Gun-kata is designed for maximum efficiency in both lethal force and defense. It is of course impossible to see an oncoming bullet and dodge it, but an advanced Gun-kata practitioner, known as a Tetragrammaton Cleric or Grammaton Cleric, can put himself in the least statistically possible place to be hit at each moment of a gun fight. Gun-kata is based on a scientific analysis of bullet trajectory and range based on the mathematical possible outcomes of a gunfight.''
(www.gunkatta.com)

''Through analysis of thousands of recorded gunfights, the Cleric has determined that the geometric distribution of antagonists in any gun battle is a statistically predictable element. The Gun Kata treats the gun as a total weapon, each fluid position representing a maximum kill zone, inflicting maximum damage on the maximum number of opponents while keeping the defender clear of the statistically traditional trajectories of return fire.By the rote mastery of this art, the Cleric's firing efficiency will rise by no less than 120%. The difference of a 63% increase to lethal proficiency makes the master of the Gun Katas an adversary not to be taken lightly.''
(DuPont in Equilibrium)

I was really impressed with the Gun-Kata but of course I can't really make much comparison since I'm not knowledgeable about other forms. The only other one that interested me was the Capoeira.

Check out a sketched fight from the official storyboard.

Didn't want to upload the picture of the modified Berettas or Desert Eagles that were used as the Clerics' sidearm. Don't want to be accused of any t******** activity.

Catch Equilibrium if you can. Liked the story-line, the historical references, the moralistic nature of it. Wish there will be a sequel.

Here's a georgeous music video that captured all the best elements.