Key Highlights:
- Complete guide covering Kung Lao’s Fatalities, Animality, and Brutalities in Mortal Kombat 1.
- Platform-specific inputs with Input Distance and Execution Difficulty ratings for Fatalities and Animality.
- Brutality requirements include Fighter Mastery ranks, final-hit conditions, hidden variations, and Seasonal Store Brutalities. Features mastery tips, platform controls, and video guide.
Quick Links:
Raised in the village of Fengjian, Kung Lao dreams of achieving something greater than a life spent working the fields. He eventually becomes one of Earthrealm’s champions, combining Shaolin martial arts with his signature razor-rimmed hat.
Kung Lao has two character-specific Fatalities, the Ti-Gore Animality, The Klassic, five Brutalities unlocked through Fighter Mastery and two additional Seasonal Store Brutalities. This Mortal Kombat 1 guide covers every current finisher alongside its platform inputs, working distances, Final Hits and activation conditions.
How to Perform Kung Lao’s First Fatality in MK1 (Lao’d And Clear)
Input Distance: Jump Distance to Full Screen
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️⬅️🅾️
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️⬅️🅑
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️⬅️🅐
Kung Lao sends his razor-rimmed hat slicing through his opponent’s shoulders and knees. The returning hat removes their head before Kung Lao catches it and uses the blade to split the remaining body apart.
Lao’d And Clear is commonly labelled as a Mid Fatality, but its actual working range extends from Jump Distance all the way to Full Screen.
From trying out the finisher myself, I found there is no advantage to moving closer once Kung Lao reaches Jump Distance. If the final round ends with a large gap between both fighters, Lao’d And Clear can be performed without closing that distance.
How to Perform Kung Lao’s Second Fatality in MK1 (Slapped Together)
Input Distance: Close to Sweep Distance
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬅️⬇️⬇️🅧
- Xbox: ⬅️⬇️⬇️🅐
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️⬇️⬇️🅑
Kung Lao throws his hat into the air before flipping over his opponent while restraining their arms. The falling blade slices vertically through the victim, allowing Kung Lao to separate the two halves and slam them together.
Slapped Together uses the opposite positioning profile to Lao’d And Clear. It begins at Close Range but remains active out to Sweep Distance, giving players more room than the simple Close label found in several move databases suggests.
I found the easiest way to remember Kung Lao’s Fatality positioning is to separate them completely: Lao’d And Clear is the long-range option, while Slapped Together is the close-range option.
Important: Kung Lao can also perform the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Winter Fatalities if they are unlocked on the player’s account. These seasonal Fatalities are not unique to Kung Lao and can be performed by other playable fighters.
How to Perform Kung Lao’s Animality in MK1 (Ti-Gore)
Input Distance: Sweep Distance to Full Screen
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ➡️⬅️⬇️🔺
- Xbox: ➡️⬅️⬇️🅨
- Nintendo Switch: ➡️⬅️⬇️🅧
Kung Lao discards his hat and transforms into a tiger. The animal bites into his opponent’s face, throws them to the ground and attacks again before ripping the victim’s spine from their body.
Ti-Gore works from Sweep Distance through to Full Screen, making the Animality another unusually forgiving Kung Lao finisher when the opponent falls far away.
The tiger is not Kung Lao’s original Animality. In Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy, he instead became a cheetah for the Ragin’ Cheetah Animality. Ti-Gore therefore revisits his history with feline Animalities while changing the actual animal transformation.
For the animal transformation used by every other playable fighter, see our complete Mortal Kombat 1 Animality guide.
All Kung Lao Brutalities in Mortal Kombat 1
Kung Lao has The Klassic and five character-specific Brutalities unlocked through Fighter Mastery. Spin Cycle, Hats Off, Grind Away, Not Holding Back and Magic Hat unlock at Mastery Ranks 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 respectively.
Two additional Brutalities, Over There and Classic Cut, were added through the Seasonal Store and sit outside Kung Lao’s Fighter Mastery progression.
The Klassic
Unlock Requirement: Available by default
- PlayStation: ⬇️ + 🔺
- Xbox: ⬇️ + 🅨
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️ + 🅧
Final Hit: Uppercut
Additional Condition: Hold Back Punch during the Final Hit.
Kung Lao performs an Uppercut that removes his opponent’s head with the spine still attached.
The Klassic is available without progressing Kung Lao through Fighter Mastery and uses the standard universal Uppercut requirement.
Spin Cycle
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 3
- PlayStation: L1 or ⬜ + 🅧
- Xbox: LB or 🅧 + 🅐
- Nintendo Switch: L or 🅨 + 🅑
Final Hit: Countless Blows (Back Throw)
Additional Condition: Press Forward, Down, Back, Up immediately after initiating the Back Throw.
Kung Lao performs Countless Blows and moves around his opponent before slicing through their neck with his hat. He then spins rapidly and sends the severed head flying towards the screen.
The four directional inputs should begin immediately after the Throw starts. I would describe the sequence as effectively rotating the directional control clockwise from Forward through to Up.
NOTE: From the execution timings I checked, I found precision is more important than blindly entering the directions as fast as possible. Think of the input as one deliberate circular sequence:
Forward → Down → Back → Up
I recommend accurate directional inputs rather than frantic speed.
Brutality Variation: Instead of entering Forward, Down, Back, Up, hold Up + Back Punch immediately after initiating the Back Throw to trigger the universal MK11-style Screen Throw Brutality. The opponent is thrown towards the camera and cracks the screen.
Both finishers begin from Kung Lao’s Back Throw, so the follow-up input determines which Brutality activates.
Hats Off
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 5
- PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️🔺 + R2
- Xbox: ⬇️⬅️🅨 + RT
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️🅧 + ZR
Final Hit: Enhanced Kung-Kussion
Additional Condition: Rapidly press any Basic Attack button during the Final Hit. Requires at least one bar of Super Meter.
Kung Lao performs Enhanced Kung-Kussion before using his hat to slice through his opponent’s legs and drive the blade into the back of their head. He briefly begins posing without the hat before realising where it is and retrieving it from the victim.
Hats Off specifically requires Enhanced Kung-Kussion, so a regular Kung-Kussion cannot activate the Brutality even when it delivers the Final Hit. One bar of Super Meter must therefore be available before beginning the move.
The rapid attack-button requirement also continues during the animation. I highly recommend beginning the presses early and continuing until the move has clearly finished rather than stopping as soon as the opponent’s health reaches zero.
I found that makes Hats Off easier to approach as two checks: confirm the Super Meter first, then concentrate entirely on rapidly pressing the attack button once Enhanced Kung-Kussion connects.
Grind Away
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 7
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️⬜
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️🅧
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️🅨
Final Hit: Buzzsaw
Input Distance: At least Jump Distance
Additional Condition: Hold Front Punch during the Final Hit.
Kung Lao throws Buzzsaw into his opponent’s torso. The spinning hat becomes lodged in their chest and slices away both hands when the victim attempts to pull it free.
Grind Away has a strict minimum range that is easy to overlook. Kung Lao must be at least Jump Distance away when Buzzsaw delivers the Final Hit.
I would establish the spacing before attempting the projectile rather than trying to retreat and immediately enter the special move. Once Jump Distance is set, perform Back, Forward + Front Punch and simply continue holding Front Punch as Buzzsaw connects.
Not Holding Back
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 10
- PlayStation: 🔺, ⬜, 🔺, ⬜
- Xbox: 🅨, 🅧, 🅨, 🅧
- Nintendo Switch: 🅧, 🅨, 🅧, 🅨
Final Hit: Eight Trigram Palm
Additional Condition: Hold Forward during the Final Hit.
Kung Lao completes Eight Trigram Palm and releases a powerful chi blast through the front of his opponent’s torso, destroying much of their upper body.
NOTE: Do not begin holding Forward before starting the Kombo. Holding the direction too early can alter Kung Lao’s opening attack and prevent Eight Trigram Palm from coming out correctly. My advice would be entering the first Back Punch and then beginning to hold Forward while completing the remaining Front Punch, Back Punch, Front Punch sequence.
From trying out the finisher myself, I found this is much easier to remember as:
Back Punch → hold Forward → Front Punch → Back Punch → Front Punch
rather than trying to perform the four-button Kombo and add Forward only at the very end.
Magic Hat
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 15
- PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️🅾️
- Xbox: ⬇️⬅️🅑
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️🅐
Final Hit: Soaring Monk
Additional Condition: Hold Up during the Final Hit. Use the grounded version of Soaring Monk.
Kung Lao performs Soaring Monk and launches his opponent’s head away from their body. After landing, he removes his hat and produces the missing head from inside it like a magician revealing the end of a trick.
Magic Hat specifically uses the grounded Soaring Monk. Performing an aerial variation is not interchangeable with the required finishing move.
The execution itself is otherwise simple. Enter Down, Back + Back Kick from the ground and continue holding Up as Soaring Monk delivers the Final Hit.
Seasonal Store Brutalities
Kung Lao received two additional Brutalities through the Khaos Reigns-era Seasonal Store. Over There and Classic Cut are separate from Fighter Mastery progression and remain usable once acquired. Seasonal Store Brutalities from this rollout were sold for 6,000 Seasonal Kredits.
Over There
Unlock Requirement: Seasonal Store
- PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️⬜
- Xbox: ⬇️⬅️🅧
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️🅨
Final Hit: Hat Toss
Input Distance: At least Jump Distance
Additional Condition: Hold Back during the Final Hit.
Kung Lao throws his hat towards the opponent, but the weapon seemingly disappears after making contact. It then attacks from behind, severing an arm, a leg and finally the victim’s head.
Over There requires at least Jump Distance, so it follows the same basic spacing principle as Grind Away. The difference is the finishing move: Over There uses Hat Toss, while Grind Away uses Buzzsaw.
The animation is also a direct visual callback to Kung Lao’s classic Hat Trick Fatality from Mortal Kombat 3, where his hat repeatedly attacks the opponent before returning.
I found the easiest way to separate the two long-range Brutalities is therefore:
Buzzsaw + hold Front Punch = Grind Away
Hat Toss + hold Back = Over There
Both require Jump Distance, but their finishing inputs and held conditions are completely different.
Classic Cut
Unlock Requirement: Seasonal Store
- PlayStation: ⬜, 🔺, ⬜
- Xbox: 🅧, 🅨, 🅧
- Nintendo Switch: 🅨, 🅧, 🅨
Final Hit: Swollen Throat
Additional Condition: Hold Back Punch during the Final Hit.
Kung Lao completes the Swollen Throat Kombo and finishes the opponent with a hat swing that removes their head.
Classic Cut is considerably simpler than Over There because it has no distance, meter or special-move requirement. Enter Front Punch, Back Punch, Front Punch and continue holding Back Punch as the final attack connects.
Kung Lao Fatalities, Animality, and Brutalities Video Guide
CJR Gaming’s June 2026 Definitive Edition showcase contains Kung Lao’s complete current finisher collection in one video, including The Klassic, all seven character-specific Brutalities, Lao’d And Clear, Slapped Together, Ti-Gore and the three universal Seasonal Fatalities.
The video is particularly useful for comparing the Jump Distance requirements of Grind Away and Over There, seeing the circular input timing for Spin Cycle, and confirming how quickly the held direction must transition during Not Holding Back.
In Mortal Kombat 1’s New Era, Kung Lao grows up alongside Raiden in Fengjian before both are drawn into Liu Kang’s defence of Earthrealm. You can explore our Raiden and Liu Kang finisher guides for their Fatalities, Animalities, and Brutalities.
