“Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick”
~ Bruce Lee
Martial Arts movies have done wonders for inspiring people of all backgrounds to take to the dojo, don uniforms and learn martial arts in hopes of being close to the badassness of Steven Seagal, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, and Jet Lee. In the early 1960’s, for the first time in American history, Hollywood began turning the tide of what was originally thought to be a savage and foreign defensive practice through jaw-dropping spectacles featured in enchanting films. From epic fight scenes with bodies sailing rooftop to rooftop in a graceful mockery of physics, to the sparkling clashing of swords in forbidden palaces, our minds have been bedazzled early on thanks to talented cinematographers.
Exposure
The Chinese Boxer 1969 film directed by Jimmy Wang and Vengeance directed by Chang Cheh in 1970 were the first films of the resurgent kung fu genre that ushered a new era of martial arts and racial inclusion in an all too prejudiced and racist time. The new wave of kung fu films reached international audiences thanks to Bruce Lee’s first feature-length film, The Big Boss, in 1971. In the 1980’s The Karate Kid sent the message to youngsters to stand up to the bullies creating a boom in the martial arts industry and a newfound cultural fascination with the new wave of immigrants that were pouring in during the mid-1960’s and their martial arts. For the first time, non-western culture was traveling fast on the road to being appreciated, studied and respected through Asian martial arts and later non-Asian arts. While these movies have inspired us to sweep the leg, catch flies with chopsticks, break boards and find our eye of the tiger, there is just one deeply concerning problem with these inspiring films: Hollywood is different from reality. Here’s why and how martial fantasy is a major issue for martial artists and movie fans today.
Everyone Wants To Be A Badass- No One Wants To Put In The Effort
Since exciting martial arts movies have increased in creation and popularity, everyone has decided they want to be just 
like the characters in the films. From Jackie Chan and his insane ability to climb up buildings, Steven Seagal’s ability to introduce anyone to the hardwood floor, and Jet Li’s flawless, graceful and powerful movements where he is able to take down several opponents at once would have anyone showing up to a classroom and telling the teacher to just “shut up and take my money!” to turn them anywhere near the likeness of these martial icons. There is nothing wrong with having a role model or a goal. What is wrong is going to a martial arts class and instantly expecting to be turned into the next Bruce Lee in a matter of weeks with no real commitment or discipline on the students part. A lot of instructors or masters in the arts have spent years of their time, health, hard-earned money, and hours at home practicing to get where they are. They’ve faced ridicule for following their passions so intensely, have suffered injuries, and made sacrifices to be where they are. Though most are humble about the sacrifices they made, it is a sacrifice each student should try to live up to, respect, and honor. This can be done by showing up on time, being consistent, dedicated and teachable, and willing to make sacrifices.
Movies (as well as the age of instant everything) would have us expecting far more from our teachers, and far faster than what is reasonable. A lot of students show up for a couple of months, a year or two, and then get disgruntled with not being where they want to be with the pain, travel, and sacrifices involved with learning the art and leave before having given themselves a chance to learn.
For the teachers, they have lost more of their valuable time passing on important information to someone who just shirked it off as worthless because they aren’t a movie icon by their sixth month training Kung Fu. The instructor who had spent his entire life perfecting his art can entrust his time, dedication, and commitment to only a few trustworthy individuals now. Additionally, the dojo has become a paper tiger meant for the collection of tuition and the teaching of general knowledge to the classroom of students who may or may not show up again. The martial movie industry has popularized martial arts giving teachers opportunities for more, but less genuine students in the martial arts, therefore creating fewer masters. It is important to remember that the martial arts take time and discipline to master, not a couple of hours.
False Sense of Security
For most people, martial arts movies have influenced almost everything they know about martial arts, including dangerous myths that can turn a confrontation into a homicide investigation. These deadly myths are:
- Thinking fights are less physically and mentally impacting than they are.
- That attacks are going to be obvious and easy to identify.
- That your skills are better than they are because of how and which movies you’ve watched.
- That people will attack in a choreographed and easy to counter fashion.
The truth about real-life confrontations is the fact that it can be very messy, very short, traumatizing, dirty, and life-threatening. It isn’t an easy, flowing feat as the movies often show. Your attacker does not stand there and wait for you to respond with the appropriate technique or flashy, flowery movements or choreographed responses. Often times you do not counter for counter his or her attacks with bold and brash self-confidence. Movements are rushed and clumsy. They are not flashy or pretty. You are being hurt, attacked in a moment when you were least expecting it as there is no such thing as a fair fight. Your opponent almost always has the high ground metaphorically speaking and you are left to play catch up no matter how many photos of your martial accomplishments are on your social media profile. In some situations your black belt won’t save you and running away is the best option. Sometimes choosing not to engage physically in a fight, (let’s say multiple opponents or one REALLY large bouncer) and living to see another day is still winning the fight. In addition to this, there is trauma to be accounted for, mentally and physically. PTSD is very real. It is the mind and body’s natural response to trauma and something never exhibited in a film after a major fight scene. No one walks away from a traumatic experience unscathed afterward. It is something that deeply affects your life, your sense of personal safety, and mental and emotional processes. It takes time to recover from trauma and leaving a traumatic experience unaffected is extremely rare.
The Great Equalizer
Another myth is: Martial arts training is “the great equalizer” meaning that martial arts will let any smaller or weaker person can take out larger and untrained opponents. Watch some martial arts films such as ‘Tai Chi Master’ or 1994’s ‘Wing Chun’ and you’ll see women taking on men, sometimes multiple at a time who are much larger than them with little effort thanks to years of training. While arts like Pencak Silat and Wing Chun and many other arts are great for smaller framed individuals, increasing their chances of survival and practicing on their strengths with techniques, it does not guarantee that small-statured martial artists will be able to take down an adrenaline-fueled, enraged ‘Andre The Giant’ intent on destroying them. Martial arts doesn’t guarantee anything. Only your abilities, skills, circumstances in the given situation, and your opportunities decide whether you will survive. Size differences are just one factor out of many that can determine whether you will come out of the fight alive.
There Are No Action Heroes In A Fight
A hard scenario for many survivors of violence to accept is the fact that getting out alive is still winning the fight. You didn’t corner Han in a hidden, mirrored room and break all the mirrors to locate and kill him. You didn’t single-handedly fend off the Kobra Kai kids, or spin-kick a man into another man like a ‘Texas Ranger’, but you did make it out alive That’s all that’s expected of you. Whether you were able to maim your opponents before getting out alive, or getting out alive wounded and traumatized but with your heart still beating, you won. Even if you simply ran, you won. Even if you got on your knees, begged for mercy and lived to get away and call the police, you won. In the end, there are no action heroes in real life or death situations. Only survivors who did what they could and had to do to survive.
A Trained Master Can Easily Defeat A Horde Of Attackers
A trained master knows never to engage with a horde of attackers. The trained master trains for such situations, but knows to avoid them at all costs. The trained master has one life and knows to be smart with how he risks it. He knows his abilities, as well as his limitations. He also knows that when multiple attackers are involved, they don’t wait for their chosen victim to dispatch each one of them at a time. They attack all at once.
Martial Mentality Is Different Than Physical Skill
Hurting others is often portrayed in the movies but doing so is not as easy in real life. It’s an easy concept to think about, but the reality is that intentionally hurting and looking forward to hurting others is not something that comes easy to the general population. Unless there’s an underlying mental illness that affects the sympathetic portion of the brain, you are going to have to train to be a mental warrior. It is not something you can learn to do by watching movies. You have to teach yourself and condition your mind that severely injuring someone and taking their life is something you can and may have to do in a life or death situation. You have to remember that your life matters. There are self-defense laws that protect this right, and that your skills and your decision to do the hardest thing, stands between you, death, and whatever perpetrator is trying to kill you or seriously injure you. Even if you are able to handle the attacker and possibly kill him or her, you are likely to be arrested, interrogated and be investigated for murder even if it all was just self-defense. That’s another reality rarely featured in films.
The Physicality Of The Fight
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”~ Mike Tyson
In movies, they portray the main character as having god-like stamina able to endure a 10 to 30-minute fight scene without breaking a sweat. In real situations, your vision is tunneled and adrenaline is making your heart pound twice as hard as a natural, short-lasting energy boost. Your breathing is heavier to supply your muscles with oxygenated blood. You feel heavier and you are tripping over your own feet. Movements are sloppy as you cut yourself on your own knife. You are angry or terrified and the only skills you have available are your “gross motor skills”. The fight happens fast. It’s exhausting and despite the fact that it will only last between 3 and 8 seconds and you’re a trained martial artist, you’ll have used almost all of your energy within that time. That’s IF you don’t freeze as a shock response.
The Death Strike
Bruce Lee was able to knock out and kill his opponents with a single kick or punch in Enter The Dragon and The Big Boss. While Bruce Lee was a legendary fighter on and off the screen, most of us are unable to live up to this martial prowess. The reality is one hit, kick, or punch is not going to end the fight. Even if you are the next Bruce Lee, a reliance on the “one punch, one kill” scenario is unwise and unrealistic. Never underestimate your opponent.
There Are No Elite Fighting Styles Or Secret Scrolls That Are Going To Save You
This might really put some gi’s in a bunch and have some angry martial artists knocking on my front door, but what really works are simple and straightforward techniques. There are no particularly worse or better styles to learn for self-defense as they all help, are good to learn, and develop different skills. But it is important to remember you are relying on your gross motor skills in a life or death situation. No gymnastics, cartwheels, fancy disarms that are near impossible to pull off, or showy moves that might work in kata demonstrations and points matches are going to save you. The less complicated the art, the more applicable and simple, the better. “Simplicity is the key to brilliance.”
The Bottom Line
Martial arts movies are not reality. They are not combat, and they do not intend to teach technique. It is choreographed fantasy that plenty of misguided people are eager to imitate on camera, on social media, and sometimes on the street which can be deadly. That is not to say that expressing oneself, making videos, etcetera, is wrong, especially for the martial artist. It’s only to say that there are plenty of untrained people attempting to teach and apply these flowery techniques on camera and in real-life situations without having ever taken a class by a qualified instructor and stuck to it. People who shouldn’t have a false sense of security because they are both seeking out and learning the flashy techniques featured in the movies, and are confident in starting and participating in deadly altercations. If your facing off in a dark alley making Bruce Lee noises, chances are the other guy is going to run you over. Don’t do this at home kids!.
“Progress comes to those who train and train; reliance on secret techniques will get you nowhere.” ~ Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido.
A Side Note
Different people train for different reasons. Some people aren’t training for self-defense. Some people are training for personal development, discipline, inner peace, and to gain back confidence. Sometimes people train for the preservation of arts, cultural expression, mental and physical health. Sometimes people simply for the feeling of accomplishment, and that’s okay too. While the self-defense aspect of martial arts is very important and highly suggested, we can’t insult and discount people who are not always interested in martial arts solely for the street. Whatever your reasons for training, they are valid and supported, and I mean no insult by the content of this article. Keep training, whatever your reasons! Have fun, but know the difference between reality and fantasy should worse come to worse. Thank you!
Let Us Know In The Comments What You Think Are Some More Dangerous Myths Popularized By Martial Cinema!
Photo Credits Courtesy Of Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Creative Commons Works.
- Martial Journal Spotlight: Timoti Pahi - April 28, 2020
- Martial Journal Spotlight: Jorge Emilio Prina - September 20, 2019
- The Dangers and Myths of Hollywood Martial Arts - July 22, 2019
Very important for people to remember. Martial movies are stories of extraordinary events that probably never happened and will never happen as seen on the screen. “Based on real events “ means it has changed to sell tickets. Ip Man movies are awesome, but hilariously historically inaccurate! You state the obvious, which one would hope that it’s unnecessary, but it seems necessary to say. Good job, thank you.