The recent behind-the-scenes details about the making of Dune: Part Two have martial arts fans buzzing with excitement. Director Denis Villeneuve revealed that one of the film’s epic action sequences, involving Paul Atreides riding a colossal sandworm, took a staggering 44 days to shoot and drew inspiration from the kinetic energy and dynamism of classic Chuck Jones Road Runner cartoons.
But what has truly captured the imagination of martial arts fans is the confirmation that the iconic “flying armbar” technique – over 10,000 years into the future of Frank Herbert’s Dune universe!
This gravity-defying martial arts move, where an opponent is taken airborne by their arm being torqued into an armlocked position, has been a staple of real-world combat sports from jujitsu to MMA for centuries.
“That move is so f*cking cool!” raved one Reddit user after the details emerged. “Good to see some techniques will still be passed down over 10 millennia on Arrakis.”
Another fan mused “As long as people have two arms and two legs, the flying armbar will always have a place.” A lighthearted comment played into the Dune lore by stating “Ah yes, 10,000 years after the Butlerian Jihad banned thinking machines – the flying armbar is the move of choice when fighting while high on spice on a desert planet!”
While the flying armbar may seem like an outrageous maneuver for an intergalactic epic, Villeneuve is clearly aiming to blend grit and realism into the fantasy by having his trained cast and stunt performers incorporate practical martial arts techniques, even if their execution is amplified for cinematic spectacle.
The flying armbar landing in a galaxy far, far away is just the latest example of how deeply martial arts have pervaded the cultural mainstream across genres.
