Scott Adkins’ character in the Undisputed franchise, Yuri Boyka, is a master of many different martial arts forms – we take a look at each one. Yuri Boyka of the Undisputed franchise boasts that he is The Most Complete Fighter in the World, but what martial arts disciplines has he used in the movies? While the Undisputed series of martial arts films has brought various characters to compete in the ring, Scott Adkins’ MMA fighter Yuri Boyka is unquestionably the star of the franchise. Boyka has fought many challenging enemies throughout the series, and throughout, his drive to build his fighting skills to their peak has consistently been his defining trait. Viewers were first introduced to Boyka in Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing when former heavyweight boxing champion George “Iceman” Chambers (Michael Jai White) is railroaded into a Russian prison to set up a fight with Boyka. In Undisputed 3:
Redemption, Boyka would graduate to the franchise’s full protagonist and retained that role in the follow-up Boyka: Undisputed. In his fights with everyone from Chambers to Marko Zaror’s Dolor in Undisputed 3, Boyka shows that he isn’t just a highly formidable martial artist but also an extremely eclectic one.
As a competitor in MMA or mixed martial arts, Boyka naturally would need to be to be prepared for whatever kind of attack his opponent might throw at him, in addition to living up to his self-proclaimed title of The Most Complete Fighter in the World. Boyka actor Scott Adkins himself is well-versed in various martial arts disciplines, enabling him to bring Boyka’s vast skillset to life. Here are the different martial arts forms that Boyka uses throughout the Undisputed series.
Tae Kwon Do
Like Undisputed franchise savior Scott Adkins himself, one of Boyka’s most immediately visible strengths lies in his kicking skills, with Tae Kwon Do being synonymous with kicking in the martial arts world. Originating in Korea and descending from the Korean martial art of Taek Kyon, Tae Kwon Do would become an Olympic sport at the turn of the century. Boyka is a superb Tae Kwon Do practitioner with a complete mastery over the practically infinite variations of singular kicks and kicking combinations masters of Tae Kwon Do are famous for.RELATED:
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Wushu
A modernized competitive version of traditional Chinese kung fu, Wushu is geared more towards artistic forms demonstration in contemporary times and is another strength Scott Adkins channels as Boyka. Wushu practitioners put impressive aerial flair in executing different Chinese fist and weapons forms, with Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and Wu Jing being some of the world’s most famous Wushu practitioners. Boyka compliments his background in more grounded martial arts with his expertise in modern Wushu, often turning what could be a more standard kick into a 540 or 720 variation. As The Most Complete Fighter in the World, Boyka refuses to let gravity act as a barrier to what he can do, and his Wushu background enables him to truly soar high when he needs to.
Karate
With karate used as a blanket term for many different Okinawan and Japanese martial arts, there are countless schools of karate, including but not limited to Shotokan, Shito-ryu, Goju-ryu, Kyokushin, and many others. Scott Adkins’ frequent collaborator Isaac Florentine is also himself a life-long karateka. Karate primarily focuses on punching and kicking techniques from rooted, stable stances, and karate practitioners tend to attack the opponent with very linear, straightforward strikes. As the Undisputed series’ mainstay director, Florentine injected elements of karate training into Undisputed 2 specifically by having Boyka train with a karate punching post known as a makiwara. Boyka can launch amazing aerial attacks, but he’s just as good at putting his opponents down with basic kicks and reverse punches from his karate training.
Muay Thai
Known in the martial arts world as “the art of the eight limbs,” Muay Thai is famous for turning a practitioner’s fists, feet, elbows, and knees into deadly weapons. Muay Thai training is also known for conditioning fighters to absorb severe punishment, with their shins especially feared after the calcification Muay Thai’s kicking training has on them. As Boyka’s Undisputed 2 knee injury was healing, he continued to show Muay Thai as a significant part of his skill set with his elbows and flying knee strikes in Undisputed 3 and later in Boyka: Undisputed.
Sambo
As a native of Eastern Europe, Boyka has spent his entire life surrounded by practitioners of the Russian martial art of Sambo. A descendant of the art of Japanese Judo, Sambo is geared towards grappling with a great emphasis on throws. As with many grappling arts, Sambo practitioners learn to use the momentum of an opponent’s assault and translate it into a throw, putting the enemy down where submission techniques can then be applied. From Boyka’s start as the Undisputed series’ villain to becoming its hero, his Sambo training has served him well in tight situations, with Boyka just as skilled at throwing his opponents as he is at knocking them out.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The pre-eminent grappling art of MMA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is all about taking the opponent off of their feet and onto the ground. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specializes in various grappling techniques such as takedowns, armbars, chokes, and submission maneuvers, with the ground as the domain where practitioners thrive. Boyka has shown himself to be an excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu exponent with his mastery of submitting his opponents with armbars and triangle chokes when they least expect it. Boyka may often leave the ground behind him throughout the Undisputed series, but he’s more than comfortable in taking the fight there and ending it with a restraint from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well.
Throughout Boyka’s role in the Undisputed franchise, he has shown that there’s virtually no aspect of fighting in which he doesn’t excel. Even with the numerous forms of martial arts, Boyka has demonstrated his abilities in; there are likely numerous others he’s skilled in, as well. Although he might’ve let his pride prematurely get ahead of him in his in Undisputed 2 in his fight with Chambers, it left him with a lesson in humility as he recovered from a knee injury in Undisputed 3. With the wide range of martial arts Boyka has shown clear skill in, if any fictional character can lay a claim to being The Most Complete Fighter in the World, it truly is Yuri Boyka of the Undisputed series.