There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to martial arts and they’ve been around for a long time now since like it or not, martial arts and those that practice them are impressive when they get to a certain level, especially when they’re shown in the movies since the abilities that are displayed are pure awesome, even if they’re not that realistic. With all the wire-work that’s been done over the years and the flashy kicks and punches the people continue to employ in the movies and on TV it’s easy to see how a lot of people might be under the perception that martial arts are all about looking great and being able to kick some serious butt at the same time. The sad part is that this isn’t really the case. Martial arts are, by and large, used for defense and for competition to start with, and while self-defense is definitely a good thing to learn and the skills and discipline are important in other aspects of life, a lot of what goes on in movies that feature various martial arts isn’t real. The fact that these clips are using verified experts on the various subjects they cover is great since if you can’t believe someone that has been there and done it then there’s no way that you’re going to believe it anyway. And yes, one can look up each one of these experts and find out just how well-versed they are in the subject at hand.
From a karate standpoint, a lot of these movies obviously don’t get the martial art right in some way, but a couple of them do manage to nail the idea of it down pretty well in some respects. The whole thing is that in competition things look quite different in real life than they do in the movies and on TV. This is largely because for cinema the need for flash and flair is what draws people in and gets them to keep watching. It might be kind of a downer to hear her dissing on The Karate Kid, but she does admit that it’s a movie that gets talked about by her and those she trains with all the same. It’s not hard to get caught up in the movies since the moves usually do look pretty cool. Also, it’s fun to think that Mr. Miyagi knew everything about what he was doing and was the wise old mentor that was teaching Daniel more about being confident than being a danger to anyone. Plus, as influential as the crane kick became, just think about it. Anyone with a functioning brain stem wouldn’t be walking right into this kick, especially since it was a desperate move.
That’s one thing about movies when it comes to the martial arts, some of them are cheesy on purpose, while others are going for a more serious lean but still have to rely on that flair to get over with the audience since otherwise, they might not care. There are plenty of martial arts movies out there that don’t use this flair and they’re actually quite well done. The high-kicking and flips are a bit overdone, but at least they can serve a purpose if they’re on point and used at the right time. But seeing as how everything is getting compared to competition, there’s very little in this clip that looks realistic when compared to a match, even when it comes to Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid. Yes, it’s a little heartbreaking, but it’s also a wakeup call for some people while it’s vindication for others since there are plenty of us that have been looking at martial arts movies over the years and stating that there are simply some things that are not useful in a fight. In a street fight, even karate might not be as effective since a typical street fight is an ‘anything goes’ bout in which a person will typically use anything and everything in their environment to ensure that they’re the one standing at the end of the fight. Karate is quite often seen as a competitive sport by many, but when it comes to the movies it becomes something else quite often, and it will even combine with other martial arts as it’s mentioned that every style has adapted to and pulled elements from other styles in order to bolster itself.
Those that practice the martial arts know that the movies and TV shows are often full of garbage moves and techniques that are either real and rarely used in an actual fight or are so horribly botched that all a person can do is laugh as they realize that the fight choreographer doesn’t know what they’re doing, or the actors simply didn’t put in the work.
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