Are most martial arts movies unrealistic?

[Anonymous]

They always show two men fighting each other nonstoppable. They receive blows to the head, the kidney, stomach, etc and continue. Seriously?

I'm not a man but know some moves; enough to block a slap or block. So if I were to land a hard, solid strike on his diaphragm/solar plexus, a knee on the groin area or barefoot kick to the head... according to those movies, the person is going to continue as if nothing happened? My understanding is that those can either be fatal or enough to have someone gasping for air.

Are movies like those, where they continue fighting no matter how hard or fatal the blow is... is Hollywood fiction right?

Updates

+1 y

**enough to block a slap or punch
Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just comparing those exaggerated, prolonged fight to what a human in real life would feel after one of those blows?

[NamerOfStars]

Yes- but not to the extent you might be imagining. Part of learning to fight is learning how to minimize impacts, so even if you can't avoid them, you don't take the full force, or at least not exactly where it was aimed. Adrenaline, too, is a helluva thing; it can let you briefly ignore injuries that should put you down.

[Asker]

I got reminded of back then when I was in 7th grade. A fight was going to break between me and a 16-17 year-old girl stuck in 8th grade. She was going straight for a full punch right in the eyes. Even though I didn't know self-defense back then, I turned to one side and covered my face with my arm. A milder punch landed on the shoulder instead. So yes good point. I avoided a possible bloody nose or black eyes.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Depends on the actuall movie, many martial arts movies are purely choerographed for entertainment and not depicting any real martial arts.

Some are fairly "realistic", they don't actually hit or injure themselves, and most of them are somewhere in between.

However it is true, once you are on adrenaline, you can continue fighting without feeling pain.

[noemiii]

All movies are meant to be entertaining. It’s not about what’s realistic it’s about what’s entertaining to the masses. Same can be asked about why romance movies do unrealistic romance dynamics, car movies with explosions explode so much or literally any literal thing in media. People don’t watch movies to see real life they watch it to escape reality.

[Quackthulu2]

If you are looking for realism movies are never the place to go.

[Asker]

It's totally different when you're in a martial arts classes and have to do workout first vs perfect moves in movies and the opponent going on and on even if you landed a fatal blow, lol.

Yeah those scenes become so ridiculous that I end up laughing. I mean come on, those strikes I've just mentioned can be fatal to any human.

[Quackthulu2]

That’s true for any topic. The more you learn about it the more you realize just how bad movies really are at portraying it. Firing off like 100 rounds from a pistol before having to reload. People waking up from CPR. Hell, pulling a bullet out of somebody after they were shot, and that saving their life.

[Anonymous]

I think these fight scenes are designed to entertain and show off their skills and moves more than actually being realistic. If all the fight scenes were over in a few seconds, you wouldn’t have much of a martial arts movie! 😂 I practice Thai boxing and will admit that with the adrenaline, you can take some hits and continue the fight, only to feel the pain and bruising much later. The only strike that guarantees an immediate win is a full contact kick to the groin, which are only allowed in girl vs guy fights. Not being allowed to wear groin protection, these are always devastating fight enders! 😮‍💨 But you’re right, these fight scenes are not too realistic and definitely more for entertainment purposes.

[Asker]

I do agree with the groin kick being effect. What about a strike to the solar plexus? I've heard that one can be effective too.

[Asker]

Here is a demonstration of a strike to the solar plexus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MciLrVWcP8w

[Opinion Owner]

Yes, these can be very effective, and I have seen fights ended in this way, but sometimes one can make the 10 count and continue. Kicks to the groin in my experience are the most devastating, girls can be so brutal with these kicks, probably why most martial arts don’t allow them.

[jbasch]

Having been kicked in the groin and punched in the solar plexus, the latter will definitely stun me for a bit, but the former drops me 100% of the time.

[jbasch]

Well it sort of depends on the movie. In real life, I think people don't just shrug blows off indefinitely, but, in the heat of the moment, you can withstand a significant amount of pain. The exception in films is usually a kick to the balls, which is an instant TKO for guys... and that's pretty similar to real life lol

[Karate_Guy]

I agree that the fight scenes in most martial arts movies are unrealistic. Do you do martial arts?

[Asker]

I was taking Judo classes for a year but will resume at some point. I have to find another location though because my ex boyfriend was my sparring partner there.

[Karate_Guy]

That's awesome. Please DM me. :-)

[Asker]

I just did now

[BoopBoopBeep]

Not to mention they aren't out of breath after 20 minutes of nonstop combat

[Asker]

True lol.

[BoopBoopBeep]

I had an ex I used to spar with. even 3 minutes is a long time to be getting your ass whooped. I'd try to just outlast her since I figured it must be exhausting whooping up on me like that. Learned early in life that I don't care how strong you are but fuckinabucket i hate fighting fast people.

[Berethor]

Read the 'made of iron' trope, also in movies a fighter easily win while being outnumbered.

[Noodle_fan]

depend on the actors

i believe bruce lee was real martial artist

[manuzi]

All action movies (including fighting movies) are unrealistic.

[cloud9vortex1234]

Movies are meant to entertain. There not suppose to be right.

[Jamie05rhs]

Yes; they are fake.