- different fighting styles in gakuran range from Common Basic to Legendary options.
- Boxing is the strongest general pick for short builds and parry-focused combat.
- Muay Thai rewards aggressive players with posture pressure, bleed, and clash potential.
- Wrestling and Kurei favor taller builds, but require careful heavy-attack timing.
- Rerolls change your style, and rare results are not guaranteed on every attempt.
different fighting styles in gakuran: Roster Overview
Gakuran’s combat system lets your Japanese high school character specialize in different martial arts. Each style changes the rhythm of neutral attacks, heavy attacks, parries, guard pressure, movement, and crowd control.
The current reference set includes the launch styles listed by Eurogamer plus the newer Kurei style discussed in later gameplay coverage. Because balance and animation behavior can change, treat exact perk values as a snapshot for 2026 rather than permanent rules.
Video Highlights:
- Compares every featured style by rarity, perks, animations, and combat value.
- Explains why Boxing performs especially well on shorter builds.
- Shows how Muay Thai applies posture and bleed pressure during aggressive exchanges.
- Covers the newer Kurei style and its short-range heavy attack.
| Style | Rarity | Main combat identity | Recommended build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Common | Faster heavy cooldown, posture recovery, counter pressure | Short |
| Karate | Uncommon | Heavy ragdoll, parry recovery, guard bleed | Flexible |
| Muay Thai | Uncommon | Posture damage, bleed, M1 clash pressure | Tall |
| Slugger | Uncommon | Higher outgoing damage with increased damage taken | Experienced players |
| Boxing | Epic | Safe heavy attack, chip damage, parry pressure | Short |
| Hakari | Epic | Momentum-powered heavy attack burst | Short or medium |
| Capoeira | Legendary | Mobility, guard-break damage, repositioning | Flexible |
| Wrestling | Legendary | Grab hyper armor, knockdowns, crowd control | Tall |
| Kurei | Legendary | Headbutt slam, anti-parry window, low-health damage | Tall or aggressive |
Boxing
Best all-round combat pick. Its heavy attack uses strong protection and forces opponents to dodge or respond carefully.
Muay Thai
Best aggressive Uncommon style. It combines posture damage, guard bleed, and a chance to enter a grapple when attacks clash.
Wrestling
Best control-oriented Legendary style. Successful grabs gain hyper armor and can stun nearby enemies after a knockdown.
Kurei
Newest featured option. Its heavy headbutt can ragdoll an opponent and prevent parrying briefly after impact.
Do not choose a style by rarity alone. Boxing and Muay Thai can be more practical than Legendary styles when their mechanics match your build and habits.
Best Styles and Practical Rankings
Rarity describes availability, not necessarily overall performance. The most useful style depends on whether you win exchanges through parries, movement, pressure, grabs, or heavy-attack mix-ups.
Boxing stands out as the safest recommendation for most players. Its heavy attack has interruption protection, while the opening punch cannot be parried. The second punch can still be parried, so opponents have a defensive decision instead of a simple reaction.
Muay Thai is the strongest Uncommon choice for players who want to stay active. Every hit can contribute posture damage, and its guard bleed gives blocked attacks meaningful value. The clash-to-grapple chance also creates pressure when both players commit to M1 attacks.
Hakari has a more specific but powerful condition. After landing a full M1 combo, its Momentum perk makes the next heavy attack deal substantially more damage. This makes Hakari excellent for players who can confirm complete strings before committing to a finisher.
| Rank | Style | Strength | Limitation | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Boxing | Safe heavy, chip damage, strong parry mix-up | Requires timing and spacing | General duels |
| A | Muay Thai | Posture damage, bleed, grapple clashes | Works better with aggressive pressure | Tall-build offense |
| A | Hakari | High-damage Momentum heavy | Needs a full M1 combo first | Confirmed combos |
| A | Wrestling | Grab hyper armor and crowd control | Timing-sensitive and less flashy | Tall-build control |
| B | Capoeira | Mobility and multi-target knockback | Short ragdoll limits follow-ups | Repositioning and groups |
| B | Kurei | Anti-parry slam and low-health bonus | Short range and long cooldown concerns | High-risk pressure |
| C | Basic | Reliable recovery and counter benefits | Limited animation and damage ceiling | Early progression |
| C | Karate | Solid heavy and parry recovery | Less distinctive than other Uncommon styles | Transitional use |
| D | Slugger | Extra outgoing damage | Increased damage taken can compound quickly | Skilled risk takers |
Slugger’s damage tradeoff is punishing when you lose neutral exchanges. The extra damage taken can outweigh its offensive bonus if your defense is inconsistent.
How rarity affects your decision
The available reference material places Basic in Common, Karate, Muay Thai, and Slugger in the Uncommon group, Boxing and Hakari in Epic, and Capoeira and Wrestling in Legendary. The newer Kurei style is also presented as Legendary in the later comparison.
| Rarity | Listed styles | Practical expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Common | Basic | Accessible starter option with dependable utility |
| Uncommon | Karate, Muay Thai, Slugger | Mixed choices; Muay Thai offers the clearest offensive identity |
| Epic | Boxing, Hakari | Strong competitive options with distinct combo requirements |
| Legendary | Capoeira, Wrestling, Kurei | Rare styles with specialized movement, control, or heavy attacks |
For most players, the priority should be mechanical fit first, rarity second. A style you understand will usually outperform a rare style whose range, timing, or perk condition you cannot activate consistently.
How to Choose and Reroll Your Style
Your fighting style changes when you reroll. There is no guarantee that the next result will be stronger, so set a target before spending available rerolls. This prevents replacing a useful style with an option that looks rarer but performs worse for your character.
Use the following process when deciding whether to keep your current result.
Identify Your Build
Check whether your character is short, medium, or tall. Boxing is especially suited to shorter builds, Muay Thai and Wrestling favor taller builds, and Hakari is comfortable on short or medium builds.
Choose Your Combat Plan
Decide whether you want parry pressure, aggressive M1 strings, movement, grabs, or crowd control. Keep a style when its main perk supports the way you already win exchanges.
Test the Heavy Attack
Practice the heavy attack before rerolling again. Pay attention to range, cooldown, interrupt protection, ragdoll duration, and whether the attack can be parried.
Check the Defensive Cost
Some styles create value only when you accept risk. Slugger increases damage dealt but also increases damage taken, while Kurei lacks the hyper armor that makes Wrestling safer after a grab.
Set a Stop Point
Keep a useful result if it fits your build. Continue rerolling only when the potential upgrade clearly supports your preferred matchup and you have enough rerolls to accept an unfavorable result.
| Decision question | Keep the style when... | Consider rerolling when... |
|---|---|---|
| Does it fit your build? | Its range and movement suit your height | Your heavy attack repeatedly misses |
| Can you activate the perk? | You can meet its timing or combo condition | The perk rarely triggers in real fights |
| Is the risk manageable? | You can defend after committing | The downside causes frequent losses |
| Does it match your role? | Its control or pressure supports your plan | You want mobility but use a stationary style |
| Is the next reroll worth it? | You already have a reliable option | You have a clear target and sufficient rerolls |
Treat a reroll as a trade, not an automatic upgrade. Record what your current style does well, then compare the next result against that role before committing.
Build and Matchup Tips
The different fighting styles in Gakuran are separated by more than damage. Their animations and attack properties influence how safely you can start an exchange, recover after a blocked hit, and punish an opponent’s mistake.
Short builds
Short builds benefit from styles that help them stay close and force defensive decisions. Boxing is the clearest recommendation because its heavy attack creates a two-hit sequence with unusual parry timing. Hakari is another strong choice when you can reliably complete an M1 string before using Momentum.
Tall builds
Tall builds get more value from styles that control space or turn pressure into knockdowns. Muay Thai’s posture damage and Wrestling’s grab tools both support direct engagement. Wrestling is especially useful when you can time grabs accurately and convert knockdowns into continued pressure.
Movement and group fights
Capoeira is designed around repositioning. Its dash cooldown reduction helps with movement, while its guard-break bonus improves the reward for catching a vulnerable opponent. Its heavy attack can knock multiple enemies away, making it useful for crowd control even when the short ragdoll limits combo extensions.
| Combat situation | Recommended styles | Why they work |
|---|---|---|
| Parry-heavy duel | Boxing, Basic | Both reward defensive timing and counter pressure |
| Aggressive M1 exchange | Muay Thai, Hakari | Posture pressure or Momentum increases the value of committed strings |
| Grab-focused offense | Wrestling, Muay Thai | Wrestling improves grabs directly; Muay Thai can create grapple clashes |
| Group encounter | Capoeira, Wrestling | Both can create knockdowns or nearby disruption |
| Low-health comeback | Kurei | Its total-damage bonus activates below 25% health |
| Learning fundamentals | Basic, Boxing | Basic is accessible, while Boxing teaches spacing and defensive reads |
Watch the opponent’s response after your first heavy attack. If they consistently dodge, delay your follow-up; if they rush after the opening hit, Boxing’s second punch can punish that expectation.
Kurei versus Wrestling
Kurei and Wrestling fill similar control-oriented roles, but they reward different decisions. Kurei’s headbutt can ragdoll enemies and block parries for a short period afterward. However, the heavy attack has short range, and its cooldown may be longer than other styles based on the available 2026 gameplay snapshot.
Wrestling is less dependent on a close-range surprise. Once the grab connects, its hyper armor prevents interruption and increases the grab’s damage. This makes Wrestling the more stable control choice, while Kurei is better for players comfortable taking risks at close range.
Basic and Karate
Basic should not be dismissed simply because it is Common. Faster posture recovery, counterattack damage after a perfect parry, guard chip damage, and a faster heavy cooldown give it a functional defensive identity.
Karate offers heavy-attack ragdolls, improved posture recovery after perfect parries, partial posture refunds on heavy hits, and guard bleed. It is a reasonable transitional style, although its animations and overall identity are less distinctive than Muay Thai, Boxing, or Hakari.
Style Mastery Checklist and FAQ
Use this checklist before committing to a final style. The goal is not merely to obtain a rare result, but to understand how the style changes your neutral game and punish windows.
Style Mastery Goals:
- Test the heavy attack against blocking, dodging, and parrying opponents
- Confirm whether the style matches your character’s height and preferred range
- Practice the main perk until its activation condition feels consistent
- Compare the style’s risk and reward before spending another reroll
- Keep a backup plan for crowd fights and unfavorable matchups
Q: What are the different fighting styles in Gakuran?
The current reference set includes Basic, Karate, Muay Thai, Slugger, Boxing, Hakari, Capoeira, Wrestling, and the newer Kurei style. Rarity and balance details may change as Gakuran receives updates.
Q: What is the best fighting style in Gakuran?
Boxing is the strongest general recommendation in the available 2026 snapshot. It offers a powerful heavy attack, chip damage, and strong pressure against opponents who rely on parries. Muay Thai, Hakari, and Wrestling can be better for specific builds and playstyles.
Q: Which style is best for a short build?
Boxing is the clearest choice for short builds, while Hakari also performs well on short or medium characters. Both styles reward close-range pressure, but Hakari requires a full M1 combo to maximize its Momentum heavy attack.
Q: Should I reroll a Legendary style?
Not automatically. Capoeira, Wrestling, and Kurei are rare, but their specialized mechanics may not fit every player. Keep a Legendary style when its movement, grab, or heavy-attack tools match your build and combat plan.
Start with Boxing if you want the most broadly useful option. Choose Muay Thai for aggressive pressure, Wrestling for controlled grabs, Capoeira for movement, or Kurei for high-risk close-range attacks.
For additional context on the launch roster and rarity structure, see the All fighting styles in Gakuran guide. Use the comparison above as a practical decision tool, and recheck perk behavior after major balance updates in 2026.