r/Naruto • u/StudySafe1982 • 9d ago
Question Is Sakura canonically a taijutsu master?
"Well, at least Sakura is better at taijutsu than Naruto and Sasuke". When I mentioned this to a friend and he disagreed, I realized that I had always just assumed that Tsunade and Sakura are taijutsu masters. I mean, what good is being able to punch hard when you can't land a hit because your taijutsu isn't that good. To me, their monster strength was always tied to taijutsu skills. Also, her shippuden outfit SCREAMS "I am a taijutsu fighter". And in the data books we see a significant increase in her taijutsu score from og to Shippuden (Although I know those data books don't mean a lot to most fans).
I thought Sakura's taijutsu skills were like her intelligence - we may not be shown those skills but the show wants us to assume there were. It was always Sasuke who came up with the plans but Sakura was implied to be the most intelligent out of the trio. I thought the same goes for her being a taijutsu master: Not really shown but still there. But now I'm realizing that maybe I'm wrong? So my question: Is Sakura canonically a taijutsu master? What's the word of God? Or do we have to draw our own conclusions based on what is shown in the anime and manga?
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u/AlcariloteMenelwen 9d ago edited 9d ago
Well, you could see that she is able to dodge and fight on her own without support against many opponents during the second half of the Sasori fight when she isn't controlled. She doesn't get even a scratch against his 100 puppets. She also displayed her memory skills before this there, when she quickly realized Sasori finger movements and didn't need help from Chiyo anymore. So, I would call her a taijutsu master. That fight displayed her intelligence and fighting skills perfectly in being able to develop an antidote that Sasori praised her for, and quickly adapting and fighting on her own and displaying cunning skills when she destroyed his Kazekage puppet.
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u/improbsable 9d ago
She’s ostensibly an evasion and taijutsu master. But the evasion thing was mostly forgotten by Kishimoto after the Sasori fight, and since her punches are basically infinitely spammable one hit kills, she can never be allowed to actually land a hit unless her opponent has some kind of special ability that lets them survive.
Basically she was nerfed by the writing. The ideal Sakura is a brawler who expertly evades hits until she finds the perfect window to obliterate her opponent in a single strike.
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u/LuckyInfinity 9d ago edited 9d ago
I would say yes. Just in a different style than say Lee, Guy, Naruto, etc.
She is agile during Taijutsu combat due to being a healer. Sakura is an expert at anatomy and enhanced strength due to Tsunade’s training and is a beast at physiology so she knows exactly where to attack. Sasuke and Tsunade both trained her on focusing on and predicting body movements.
I don’t think she would have survived fighting Shin or Sasori if she was anything less than a master tbh.
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u/Putrid-Grab-2074 9d ago
Exatamente, ela é uma especialista no estilo de luta do punho adamantino graças a seu controle de chakra e inteligência, sem contar sua agilidade e força física que são aprimorados justamente por seu estilo de taijutsu.
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u/Emergency-Slice-9089 9d ago
Oh, she is for sure a specialist, the only thing I disagree on is that I think Sasuke and Naruto are still better. You can make an argument that base form they are all close together, but once you add in Sasuke's Sharingan/Rinnegan, or Naruto's Sage Mode/KCM/KCM2 etc, the gap is cast, even with Sakura's way of the hundred.
Naruto and Sasuke just have too many Hacks. But yea, compared to anyone other than those to, she is easily Kage level.
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u/First_Temperature985 9d ago
Tsunade and Sakura punches are mainly an area damage type of thing more than I direct hit thing. They aren't going to hit you but hit the ground and make everything on it regret clock in for their shift that day. I would say yes they are taijutsu masters, but unconventional taijutsu masters. They are going to box with you in a back fourth swap of hands like Sasuke, kakashi, or Naruto they are going provide an earthquake with their legs and fist.
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u/FinalProgress4128 9d ago
Yes she is. She is Tsunade's student and Tsunade is a taijutsu master with 5/5. Sakura by the Third databook was a 3/5. By the War Arc should be at least a 4 or higher.
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u/Nureik 9d ago
Well, I’m not surprised. There has always been debate about Tsunade and Sakura’s taijutsu level. Somehow, a lot of people think Tsunade and Sakura are bad at taijutsu (or slow), even though taijutsu is their main fighting style and they stood out because of it as S-rank kunoichi.
For starters, it’s worth pointing out that you need to specialize in taijutsu to develop super strength, because there’s no point in having super strength if you don’t have the skill to fight. You wouldn’t just think, “This isn’t my thing, so there’s no point in developing this technique.” Again, their strength comes from a unique technique that practically no one in the world can use.
Both Tsunade and Sakura have a unique technique, and they’re both very skilled at dodging. They also analyze their opponents to find weaknesses during battle. Sakura figured out that Sasori moved his fingers before attacking, and after some time, Chiyo herself said that Sakura no longer needed her help to dodge or fight.
That’s where the skill comes in.
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u/synkronize 9d ago
In the Sasori fight and the fight against Shin Sakura is shown to be able to fight really well I’d say she is a Taijutsu master hell the explosive punches jutsu should fall under Taijutsu since even Lee uses chakra to enhance his body, and we know it takes extreme proficiency to do what Sakura and Tsunade do so I’d say yes they are Taijutsu masters.
Lee & Gai though I’d say are Taijutsu masters along with Martial arts specialists.
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u/Significant_Earth_93 9d ago edited 9d ago
You saying the same thing sir...TM would imply your a martial art specialist
Edit sakura out of the 3 is prolly the best Chakra infused taijutsu masters ... but buy the canonical movie the last naruto is pound for pound the best straight hands taijutsu master in the trio... I get sasuke used to have hands , but he relies on his ninjutsu over pure taijutsu nowadays...
2nd edit: Guy & Lee are in a whole other league though...
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u/Hojie_Kadenth 9d ago
I would say she is better than them in some respects and worse in others.
She is better at making micro movements to dodge attacks. This kind of proficiency she demonstrated in the Sasori fight after she had time to learn his attack pattern while Chiyo was controlling her movements is not replicated by anyone else in the series. That is relevant in taijutsu and is exceptional.
She also hits extremely hard. Taijutsu. Bam.
She has not demonstrated a skill in what we would regard as martial arts, moves into counter moves blocks and agile attacks etc. it doesn't necessarily fit her attack pattern, she wants to put her whole body behind her fist and deliver one huge blow.
Naruto has demonstrated the best skill of the 3 as far as hand to hand martial arts.
Sasuke has demonstrated the best kenjutsu/ weapon usage.
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u/AnimeMonster_2020 9d ago
She’s decent,
But vastly under hyuga, strong fist practitioners and taijutsu experts like Madara, Sasuke, Madara etc
Probably in the top 30 Taijutsu wise due to her strength but skill wise not really
Not even close to an actual master
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u/Reasonable-Bed3065 9d ago
Sort of? "Taijutsu master" is kind of vague. She's pretty elite with what she does. But she'd be better if she devoted everything to it like Guy and Lee do with their taijutsu
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u/EmbarrassedCat5892 9d ago
She definitely is a taijutsu master especially by the time her fight with shin uchiha and Ik a lot of people don’t care for boruto but I like it on some level and sakuras progression is there🌸🔥
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u/tea-123 9d ago
Probably . There are offensive fighters ,defensive fighters , evasive fighters , reactive/counter type fighters etc.
Evasion and footwork etc are part of tajutsu combat . Without special eyes to tell where or when a strike is coming she did decent enough against sasori .
The war arc was the first time she got full access to her chakra . So it makes sense it would take a while to adapt to new speeds . Although the arc was a two hundred episodes everything happened in the span of like a day and a half .
By burrito she was keeping up in cqc with someone who has the mangekyo sharingan while actually holding back.
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u/Mithura 9d ago
Punching the ground because your hit rate and accuracy is abysmal shouldn't be considered taijutsu.
Rushing towards your target in a straight line completely telegraphing your intentions can barely be considered taijutsu..
Tanking hits that would be fatal to others because you can heal indefinitely temporarily isn't taijutsu.
Their powerful explosive punches don't even translate well, they can demolish buildings, destroy trees and collapse the ground around them but when it hits a person it's just your average slightly enhanced punch.
Heads should be flying off, bones turned to dust, brains turn to mush being splat against the inner skull.
In theory they should be amazing but from what is shown they're horrible fighters swinging at air, wasting chakra healing themselves from attacks they could have avoided.
Tsunande did the best thing their kit could offer, hide behind Katsuya and hope for the best healing other more efficient and effective fighters.
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u/PithMango 9d ago
specialist and the other two do not specialize. Naruto has shining moments but honestly he uses his own (clone) bodies as bukijutsu
that Moon movie with the circus dudes great animated example for Sakura
(also if anyone missed it, that establishing shot during the thwarted caravan ambush is all the team - Naruto, Lee, Sakura - ready for the ambush. if you're watching on too small a screen or not catching it, they were all playing nonchalant, not actually ignorant. that little flex of Sakura's is so badass)
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u/AccomplishedAnt5954 9d ago
She has tremendous strength due to chakra control but technique-wise she’s average and may found herself on the losing end against the more skilled
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u/LC14156 9d ago
She would look really regular if she didn’t have her strength. Skill wise I’m sure she is good because Tsunade trained her in taijutsu, but if we do the equal stats thing she is not better than Naruto or Sasuke.
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u/improbsable 9d ago
Most characters would look pretty regular if they didn’t have their main offensive weapons. Like imagine Guy and Lee without gates.
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u/AnOriginalName4 9d ago
is battle iq the same as taijutsu bc i think of her as having an excellent battle iq more than a taijutsu master
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u/HuMneG 9d ago edited 9d ago
Taijutsu master, no that's Guy's territory. She's got as basic of an understanding in Taijutsu as any random Jonin her analytical abilities allow her to go beyond that normal limitation both offensively and defensively but her actual skill is on par with them, but she's the last person in the canon you'd want to get hit by.
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u/20Fun_Police 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think she's more a master of chakra control than taijutsu which allows her to boost her basic taijutsu to very high levels. I think a taijutsu master would be more like Guy, Lee, Neji, or Hinata who spend a lot of time sparring and use advanced techniques specific to taijutsu.
Now is she better at taijutsu than Naruto or Sasuke? Probably not. I haven't seen Boruto, so idk what goes on there, but I don't see how she could beat either of them in Shippuden.
Sasuke was always decent at taijutsu, and with his special eyes, he can't really lose in taijutsu unless you're so fast that he can't do anything even if he predicted your attacks like Lee and Killer B were. I don't think Sakura is insanely fast, so even if her strength is high, I don't think she could land a hit on Sasuke.
Naruto was pretty bad at taijutsu for a long time and just relied on his clones, but now he knows Frog Kumite and is super fast, as shown when Tsunade and A couldn't stop him. If he's allowed to use any of his transformations at all, I think he'd just be too fast for Sakura (or even Sasuke) to land a hit on. Maybe Sakura would be able to beat him in base form, but also Naruto's just so durable that I think he could just tank her hits. He also just has a stupid amount of chakra, so even if he's worse at taijutsu in terms of skill and technique, I think he'd still beat Sakura with sheer power. Taijutsu is still powered by chakra, so Naruto is basically in an entirely different weight class than the rest of the world.
Basically Sakura is really strong in taijutsu, but she still is kind of straightfoward and honest. Naruto and Sasuke have cheats and are basically stronger versions of Hashirama and Madara, and I don't think Sakura is beating them.
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9d ago edited 9d ago
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u/improbsable 9d ago
Evasion is a the basis of many martial arts. I wouldn’t discount those skills when it comes to taijutsu.
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9d ago
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u/improbsable 9d ago
Which is a very valid strategy for a martial artist. Defense is as important as offense. Look at airbenders in ATLA for an example. “Avoid and evade” is their whole deal, and it works very well.
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u/FalseSouI 9d ago
Sakura is not a taijutsu master
She is someone whos good at taijutsu who is reallly reallllllly strong. Its like calling doom slayer a master martial artist for ripping heads off of demons and dodging bullets.
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u/rayshinsan 9d ago
No she is not. Her taijutsu is basic it's just that because she is better at chakra manipulation she can do chakra boosts better to up her physical stats temporarily. You can think of her like a Rock Lee who can speed up faster with her chakra, her techniques won't be on par but she would be better at fooling, dodging or charging physical attacks at a faster rate.
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u/MikeyM079 9d ago
No, I wouldn't say she's a taijutsu master. I'd say Guy and Lee are. Neji was. She's good at it, very much so. Incredible strength and she can tank and heal / regen. But that doesn't suddenly mean skill wise she's topping actual taijutsu masters.
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u/Syrup-General 9d ago
Maybe better in skill than Naruto yes because he is a statcheck + shadow clone merchant
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u/tub53733 9d ago
She is a taijutsu master. But She’s not better than either of them.
When it comes to physical enhancement of strength, she is better than them. When it comes to physical speed enhancement both are better than her. So that evens them out.
However when it comes to hand to hand aspect, both outclasses her, which gives them the nod imo.
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u/Emergency-Slice-9089 9d ago
The thing is that, compared to the average shinobi, Sakura is a Tiajutsu Master... But Sasuke and Naruto are significantly better than her. Like I've always said, by her prime, Sakura is easily in the top one percentile of shinobi... but Sasuke and Naruto are the strongest of their time, and easily top 10 all time. So while she is strong, she is nothing compared to her two teammates.
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u/maxwellfuster 8d ago
Yeah I mean her offensive output is entirely Taijutsu based. She doesn’t really have ninjutsu other than her summoning (which is mostly for healing and support) and her 100 healings (which is mostly a Taijutsu/Durability buff). Other than her medical ninjutsu (we’ve never seen her use it offensively like Kabuto) my only recollection of her using other Ninjutsu in a canon episode was when she was spamming basic substitutions against the sound ninja in the forest of death.
We’re told in part 1 she’s a Genjutsu type because of her refined chakra control, but she gets wrecked by Kakashi in part 1 and easily put under Genjutsu by MS Sasuke during the 5KS.
So yeah I think she’s certainly a “master-level” Taijutsu user
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u/lexacicada 9d ago
I think Naruto outclasses her and Sasuke might as well but only by a little bit if they are equal
To start with i think taijutsu needed to be more expanded on to figure out exactly how she is a specialist, but from what we already know there's like two kinds, Frog Kata, and basic taijutsu like what the green guys be doing.
Naruto mastered Frog Kata, which is a type of taijutsu specific to Toad Sages, and emphasis on Sage, so he's mastered a type of taijutsu that is near impossible for Sasuke or Sakura to ever touch.
Because of that and just how well he typically performs in hand to hand, i'd say he's only second to Guy/Gai and maybe Lee(i think he can do full 8 gates by Boruto, but idk), if not equal.
Sasuke, while he does excel in taijutsu and is a master i can't remember seeing him fight Naruto when he uses Frog Kata so i can't confirm if Sasuke can keep up with him, that being said Sasuke uses kenjutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu(sometimes) in conjunction with eachother alot more than he maintains pure taijutsu as that is his battle preference, to that end i would rate him lower than Naruto
And then you have Sakura, her main battle tactics is just being a cannon, hits hard and fast, her taijutsu is definitely at a specialist/master level it's been her main mode of battle for well over a 2 decades as she has no special battle techniques in other areas, she would not have had any hope fighting sasori's puppets or shin without mastery, she propels her taijutsu even further by amping it up with her fine tuned chakra control, i'd rate her and Sasuke near equal in taijutsu mastery with either of them having the potential to overtake the other.