Questions tagged [entertainment]

For questions about the realism of martial arts as depicted in popular entertainment such as television, movies, graphic novels, etc.

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3 answers
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Does a knockout punch always carry the risk of killing the receiver?

As a hobby I wrote a short story where Character A wanted Character B unconscious for a few hours and to this end A punched B to the chin. A reader, who claimed she was a doctor, said this was a ...
gaazkam's user avatar
  • 421
4 votes
0 answers
199 views

Is the sword stance in Like a Dragon: Ishin where swordsmen place their palm flat against the hilt a style of Tennen Rishin-ryū?

In the video game Like A Dragon: Ishin, a major plot point is finding information about the Tennen Rishin style practiced by members of the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu period (1853-1867) in Japan....
Stevoisiak's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
75 views

How did the Nazi toy shop owner (acted by Kenneth Tigar) turn the knife on Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman)?

https://youtu.be/cT3QJ_hvIb4?t=317 hails from Episode 1 of Hunters (2020 TV series). How did the old Nazi man get the upper hand over Heidelbaum? I am rattled because whilst holding the knife at the ...
user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
130 views

Using the move from the matrix as a fighting technique

How practical is it to dodge punches by leaning back table top like similar to how Neo did in the first matrix movie during a boxing match and also counter from that position. It has always been one ...
Caleb Codes's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
154 views

Is the move in movies where the main either block another person’s punches by countering / blocking with their own arms or legs a real thing?

I’ve seen Kung fu (and other) fighting movies and one move that seems to be a staple is countering a punch by either slamming their forearm, hand, or shin area into the attacking opponent’s arm and ...
user11937382's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
73 views

Are the super fast fighters in movies edited to be fast or are they actually fast?

I'm wondering if those fighters in movies (like Daniel LaRusso) are actually fighting super fast and executing flying split kicks or if the movements are edited to be super fast before the movie comes ...
Theanonymousguest's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
47 views

Which martial arts actor emulates Bruce Lee's fighting style most faithfully?

The three depictions of Bruce Lee that I've seen are Jason Scott Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Danny Chan in the Ip Man films, and Mike Moh in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (although I'd rather ...
Jenny's user avatar
  • 956
-1 votes
3 answers
183 views

How can you withstand a female college student forcefully biting into your arm for 6 seconds?

Please watch https://youtu.be/ylB5EXnT3SA?t=174. This is from the TV series The Americans, Season 6 Episode 5. Paige starts biting — forcefully, it appears — into her dad's arm at 2:55 until 3.01. In ...
user avatar
-3 votes
1 answer
148 views

Can an adult male martial arts expert withstand elbowing into his abdomen into his left arm for 6 seconds?

https://youtu.be/ylB5EXnT3SA?t=182 Please see the context here. Paige starts elbowing her dad's abdomen, presumably at full force, for 12 seconds — at 3:02 until 3:14 when Philip Jennings releases ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
109 views

Is this lightsaber body-turning move in Star Wars from Kenjutsu?

It is well known that the original lightsaber duels in Star Wars were based on kendo, and the choreography became increasingly sophisticated, especially in the second trilogy. The technique I am ...
DukeZhou's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
151 views

What styles did Jet Li use in the "Once Upon a Time in China" films?

I ask because Wong Fei-hung is a legendary martial artist, portrayed by such kung fu movie stars as Kwan Tak-hing (known to you through his nemesis in those films, Mr. Han from Enter the Dragon;) But ...
DukeZhou's user avatar
  • 3,081
5 votes
1 answer
208 views

How authentic is the Wing Chun in the Ip Man films?

I ask b/c while the Shaw Era was the golden age of kung fu movies, the period from 2000 onward is definitely the renaissance. As a comparison, I recently re-watched Crouching Tiger, and noted that ...
DukeZhou's user avatar
  • 3,081
2 votes
1 answer
116 views

What is the dominant martial arts style in Bruce Lee's on-screen fighting?

It's today well known that Bruce Lee was a close student of Ip Man, widely considered one of the great teachers in the 20th Century. Although it's been many years since I studied Bruce Lee's films, ...
DukeZhou's user avatar
  • 3,081
5 votes
5 answers
3k views

Would women with large breasts be able to fight?

Soo... I don't have a big chest. But all the girls I've known with them complain about this or that pain :-/. It's normal to see ladies with remarkable structure going kung-fu crazy and being totally ...
boxxingBetty's user avatar
-5 votes
1 answer
109 views

How can just one punch subdue an opponent with a machete?

The screenshot beneath hails from a brief fight from the 2007 film Shake Hands with the Devil. As you can see, Maj Brent Beardsley (portrayed by James Gallanders who uploaded this video) is about to ...
user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
295 views

How accurate is the Pencak Silat in The Raid: Redemption?

The Gareth Evans-directed movie The Raid, alternatively titled The Raid: Redemption in the US, is about a young Indonesian cop who fights his way out of a criminal complex, relying strongly on his ...
Hashim Aziz's user avatar
-3 votes
5 answers
710 views

Sometimes while fighting, people stand still and let their enemy attack. Why?

I watched action movies, Bruce Lee's movies, Steven Seagal's movies and realize that while fighting, they (or their enemy) just stop punching and stand and sustain the other's attack. Why is that?
Quang Minh Nguyen's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
521 views

Is there a way to carry a knife in your teeth without hurting them, or is it just hollywood?

In just trying things out, I have put a knife in my teeth and clamped down while doing something with my hands and then picked the knife up again. I found no matter how easily they do it in the ...
mutt's user avatar
  • 1,110
6 votes
2 answers
916 views

Is there any Systema in John Wick 2?

The choreography was quite diverse, where Wick's style changed depending on his opponents' favored styles. The initial fight scenes involved the Russian Mafia, and the grappling had a different ...
DukeZhou's user avatar
  • 3,081
3 votes
2 answers
370 views

First fictional film to show Aikido

I was wondering what was the first fictional film to show more than one Aikido technique1. I am assuming that the 1988 Above The Law might be it but it there might be something else. 1 Let's assume ...
Sardathrion - against SE abuse's user avatar
8 votes
7 answers
1k views

What is this name of this kind of joint lock?

Can someone tell me the name of this joint lock? Here is a still of the final position: It seems to be an Aikido technique (is it?) . Thanks
Ariyan's user avatar
  • 181
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

how realistic is the martial arts portrayed in the movie Old Boy?

In fight scenes, the fighter usually defeats a swarm of opponents without getting hit or tired. The movie Old Boy didn't have that and in my opinion, was the most realistic fight scene ever. My ...
cameron's user avatar
  • 283