Unarmed combat, martial arts, or hand-to-hand combat was a type of fighting employed in close quarters and in which no weapons were used. Most species practiced this kind of combat, and a number of sentient species and cultures also developed it into different martial arts proper. A person who practiced martial arts was known as a martial artist, and an expert was called a martial arts master.
A Nautolan knocks out a stormtrooper in full armor with a Force-enhanced punch.
The Echani martial art was an unarmed combat discipline known to be taught to military special forces throughout the galaxy. The Jedi also supplemented their skills in lightsaber combat with unarmed combat training. Furthermore, some Force organizations like the Followers of Palawa created their own martial art, the Teräs Käsi. The stout, reptilian-humanoid Noghri, also invented their own martial art called "Stava," which was named after the fierce carnivorous predator of their homeworld. In technologically advanced civilizations, the need to train soldiers in hand-to-hand and melee combat was a result of research breakthroughs in blaster-deflection, such as the personal energy shields. Warlike people such as the Mandalorians trained in a variety of fighting techniques, including unarmed combat; they were known to develop shields which resisted physical attacks.