The X-Men are a group of superheroes who definitely contain some of the most impressive powers in comics. From super strength brawlers who could rip tanks like aluminum foil to Omega level threats that can easily alter the fabric of reality, Marvel's heroic mutants aren't short on any abilities that can come in and save the day.
Yet with great powers at their whim, it's easy to forget that without their special abilities, there are quite a few X-Men who could still hold their own in terms of fighting in through some form of martial arts. In fact, besides mutant abilities, the X-Men also have some of Marvel's most impressive martial artists among their ranks.
10 Jubilee Is Trained By The Best
Jubilee often falls to the wayside when the X-Men are discussed by fans. And that's a shame because while she's an underrated member with one of the most interesting treks in the comics, she can also defend herself in unarmed combat.
Jubilee is an accomplished gymnast, and before she joined the the X-Men she learned how to street-fight to defend herself. But in terms of martial arts skills, she was trained by Wolverine (More on him later). It's not detailed what specific martial arts she learned under him but given her application of what she learned while once successfully fighting off some Hand Assassins or her deadly use of it while a Vampire, his tutelage definitely made her into a capable fighter.
9 Warpath Is Trained In Unarmed Combat
James Proudstar who fights with X-Men and X-Force as Warpath has superhuman strength and agility to help out his teammates. Marvel officially ranks his fighting skills at 5 our of 7 on their scale. And that's fair given that they're more skilled fighters on the roster. But even without his powers the X-Men would still be considered deadly.
Warpath also received training in unarmed combat thanks to Emma Frost. With weapons he knows how to use a staff, but he seem more skilled with bowie knives. In fact, fans can find him in action often along with at least one his vibranium bowie knives that were gifted to him from Storm in Uncanny X-Men #475.
8 Kitty Pryde Is Skilled In Krav Maga
Much like Jubilee, it appears that the reward for being Wolverine's unofficial sidekick is learning some martial arts. Thankfully, Kitty Pryde proved to be a great student and her phasing powers easily compliment the martial training Wolverine has given her.
The mutant knows ninjutsu arts, but when it comes to fast striking and expert defense, she's adept at Krav Maga, which Wolverine taught her in the early pages of Excalibur. Throughout the years, she's put her martial arts on display, whether training her fellow X-Men, facing evil threats, or sometimes working out her "differences" with Emma Frost.
7 Cyclops Is Strong With Akido And Judo
The X-Men field leader is equipped with powerful optics blasts from his eyes. With such a powerful ranged attack, this would makes fans believe that when it comes to close quarters fights, he's useless. This is wrong, as Cyclops also knows akido and judo and can even fight blind.
He's used this martial arts knowledge to some spectacular effect. For instance, he once was able to throw, strike, and subdue some thugs with his eyes closed. And he famously used his judo knowledge in Uncanny X-Men #127 as he judo threw Wolverine, while also effectively attacking and taking down Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Storm.
6 Storm Is Adept At Close Quarters Combat
Fans are used to seeing the powerful mutant decimate villains with her immense weather manipulation powers. So it's easy to forget that when it comes to hand-to-hand, Storm is a formidable martial artist. It's never explicitly noted what martial arts she knows, but what is revealed are her teachers.
She was trained as a kid to defend herself by master thief Achmed El Gibar. Throughout her life, she was also taught by Black Panther, Wolverine, and Master Ronin Yukio. Storm has displayed her martial arts abilities from time to time, whether in combat against the Morlocks' Leader Callisto or holding her own against Black Panther's elite martial arts skilled bodyguards, the Dora Milaje.
5 Nightcrawler Is An Expert Swordsman
Nightcrawler has helped out his teammates countless times thanks to his teleportation abilities, but he can also be counted on for his fighting skills. Marvel officially ranks his fighting skills their highest level, which makes sense given that besides teleportation, Nightcrawler is more of melee fighter.
Nightcrawler has dynamic acrobatic kicks and punches at his disposal. But it's with a sword where the mutant is unmatched. Nightcrawler is a master swordsman. His skills in fencing are at such a high level that if Krakoa was competing at the Olympics, he could easily take the gold medal for his team as well as set new world records.
4 Psylocke Is A Ninjutsu Master
There was a time when fans regarded Psylocke as one of the X-Men's deadliest martial artists to the point where it's surprising that Marvel ranks her fighting skills at a 6 instead of a 7. Not only has Betsy Braddock used her ninjutsu combat skills as a employee of the deadly Hand Assassins, but she's even managed to go toe-to-toe a few times against Wolverine.
In the past her use of psychic hand blades and katanas complimented her ninjutsu skills greatly. However, her recent changes in actual body and style have reflected her current fighting style to the point where she uses of psychic broadsword and shield. She feels less like Sekiro Shadows Die Twice and more like Demon's Souls but is still an impressive fighting force.
3 Laura Kinney Is A Deadly Martial Artist
Laura Kinney aka Wolverine or X-23 is the clone daughter of Logan. With that distinction, it's expected that the mutant is a dangerous martial artist and given her brutal fights in the comics, she definitely lives up to that. After all, Marvel officially ranks her fighting skills at 7, which is their highest level.
There isn't an official break down of what specific martial arts she knows, yet in issue #2 o thef X-23 series, it's revealed that she was trained in a variety of armed and unarmed martial arts while growing up in the Facility. Her martial arts knowledge may not be on the scale yet of Logan, but that's only due to her youth. In time she could be even more knowledgeable then him.
2 Gambit Is Excellent At Savete And Bojutsu
The Ragin' Cajun's specialty is of course his kinetic energy-charged throwing cards or really any throwable object he can get his hands on. Gambit is also a skilled master thief. But when it comes to fighting, the cunning mutant is no pushover as he's also skilled in savate and bojutsu.
Savate is a French martial arts that specializes in foot-kicking, although there are also some boxing elements. And bojutsu is the Japanese martial arts that specializes in bo-staff. Gambit employs his martial arts knowledge in some form or fashion frequently in the comics and has even used his skills to fight and arguably try to keep up with Wolverine during training.
1 Wolverine Knows Every Martial Arts On Earth
For as many X-Men that Wolverine has already taught, the mutant martial artist should probably consider opening his own training school. It might feel ironic to even list him at all since he usually just charges in claws first and relies more on his healing. But thanks to his long life-span, Wolverine is a martial arts master of virtually every single fighting art known to man from kung-fu to pressure points.
It's also been said in the comics that he knows a couple of alien martial arts, including some from the Shi'Ar Empire. He's even managed to fight against some of Marvel's other strongest martial artist including, Iron-Fist, Shang-Chi, and Captain America, and hold his own. Among his teammates, there's no stronger martial artist than the Berserker.