surfing youtube for the last hour or so, watching fight video and stuff like that (i am that cool...) and i found a rather...disputable, lets say...video about how traditional martial arts are all fake. now the uploader is approving all the comments, so i cannot get through to tell the world that he's full of crap, so i figured i would rant here. if you don't want to hear me ranting about how Taekwondo really does work, then don't bother reading cause that's pretty much the whole post.

the video in question is here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7F-R8U-QLQ&feature=related
i also have to point out that he is using footage from an old movie to make a serious point about a martial art and is, based on choreographed footage from the sixties, making assumptions and accusations about the efficacy of martial arts. this is naturally pissing me off, i am currently raging pretty hard.

in order to say this properly, basic physics is necessary, specifically, Newton's three laws.
1. the velocity of an body remains constant unless acted upon by an external force.
2. F=ma, force = mass * acceleration.
3. The mutual forces of action and reaction in two bodies are equal, opposite, and colinear.

in other words, an object stays in motion or at rest unless a force is applied which is not countered, force depends directly and proportionally upon mass and acceleration, and for every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. i push the wall, it pushes me back.


first order of business. jumping kicks. they are not practical and do not fit into fights in many situations, but occasionally the moment fits, such as here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo2nrQ2IWts


after the crappy music and repetition and the annoying laughter, you see the kick does in fact work. i can guarantee this with this kick in particular, as i have effectively used it in the past.  however, as with my martial art, or with pretty much anything, it does not work if used incorrectly. this goes for all jumping kicks. many of these kicks fail because the physics-ignorant martial artist used it on a target with a much greater mass than he (Newton's second law), which had much more inertia and requires much more force to move than is generated by the kick. this is not the right time to use the kick, yet some people apparently do not understand this, so once more: do not expect to effectively use many jumping kicks against a much larger opponent. in specific cases, such as a jumping back kick to the face (as in the above video) they are appropriate and work, but in most others, they do not. furthermore, the object of a jumping kick can be not only to damage your opponent, but to use their speed against them. if i jump into the air and plant my foot on a charging opponent, his speed is now moving me backwards, making the charge useless and much more energy consuming as he is now pushing two bodies in lieu of one.

in most cases, a standing kick is more effective as the supporting foot is obviously planted on the ground, hence the name, and the kicker is likely leaning forward, allowing any force applied from Newton's third law to be absorbed by this leg.

high kicks are also not practical in martial arts as the force of the motion of the rising foot can partially lift the supporting foot from the ground, resulting in a less secure base to absorb the counter force from the third law of motion. they can be used effectively, as with all kicks, if used properly, as is done here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wbmG9_k82Y&feature=player_embedded


now my rage has more or less passed, and i am satisfied. the uploader may (probably) never see this blog, but my message is voiced, and i am satisfied. a final message to sum it all up: physics proves that this works. anecdotes about morons misusing martial arts mean little, and when used properly, martial arts are very effective, even traditional ones.