Why does TKD lend itself to "flashiness"?

[DWx]

Why is it that TKD is "good" for flashy demos and the like?

If you go into YouTube and search for various generic styles of MA like "karate", "kungfu" or "taekwondo" or even the term "martial arts" itself, there are 100s of videos where people have put TKD to music and created a demo vid but not that many where other martial arts are concerned. Is it because TKD has elements that are seen to be more spectacular than functional (540 kicks and the like)? The predominance of the legs? Comparable number of practitioners? Or do TKDers just like to show off?

[tallgeese]

The art does lend itself to these types of demos just based on the dynamic nature of its movements. Other arts, such as some small circle joint systems don't translate as well to this type of thing.

Don't stess too much though, there's this stuff out there in every system. I can't count the number of times I've watched some guy out of a Japaneese art slice a watermelon off someones head with a sword and such. It's all rather silly, no matter what art it comes out of.

I'm all for demos and stuff to get people into your doors if you're a comercial operation. But I think you should at least show people what they're getting into, not some over-hyped version of flashy movments.

[bushido_man96]

Tallgeese is right here, I think. The primary use of the legs in TKD does lend itself more to the flashiness for demos, and the popularity of the North and South Korean demo teams have helped to increase it.

You have to also consider styles like Capoeira and Wushu that lend themselves to a flashy nature, as well.

[The BB of C]

I think it's a little bit of both. I know if I could kick like that, I would definately make use of it in a fight. I also know I'd show off a whole lot.

[Ottman]

This is definitely something that comes up in every martial art (every art really). There are always those individuals who are more concerned with image than anything else.

The culture of Tae Kwon Do (particularly Korean Tae Kwon Do IMHO) seems to give this flashiness a bit more bravado than other styles do, but perhaps that's just my view of things as TKD is my root art and I'm most intimately familiar with it. In any case, TKDers seem very stubborn (to me) about making a clear distinction between demonstration and showiness, and practical self defense.

I myself am impressed by the athleticism of it all, but I fail to see how it fits into a system of self defense. However that's not to say that all martial arts are strictly for self defense (especially in our modern times), but I'll have to agree with tallgeese that what really gets under my skin about it are those who falsely claim that the flashy techniques they're hyping in demos are practical and essential moves to learn for self defense. I always have to ask them: "so if I have a 65 year old student with severe arthritis, I should be teaching them 540 kicks as an essential part of their defense training !?!?!?!?" Forgetting even the impracticality, or more particularly uncertainty, of anyone using a 540 kick in a self defense situation. Drives me crazy.

[humble monk]

Watch an MMA event and listen to crowd reaction to a solid cross that connects . Then listen to the reaction to a head kick that almost connects.

Practical or not, the kick is just more fun to watch.

[Ottman]

I'll agree with you there monk, but I also wouldn't necessarily call a head height kick flashy. Depends on which kick, and how you're performing it. I don't think I've seen many head kicks in UFC/Pride/etc. that I'd call flashy. (Most of them I'd call either devastating or sloppy, and even some of the sloppy ones result in knock outs). If you can stick a good high turn kick or front kick (etc.) in someone's face, not telegraph it, and keep your balance and control, I wouldn't call it flashy, especially if you knock them out. Knock outs are exciting and flashy in and of themselves, even if the technique used to get the knock out isn't, and for someone who knows how to kick properly, a knock out is easier with the feet than the hands, so I think the crowd is responding to the near knockout rather than the flashiness of the technique (just my opinion).

If you're sticking a couple of spins in there and then taking to the air (maybe a couple more spins while you're airborne) before you kick, then you're being showy for no good reason. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I see it all the time in TKD sparring matches. It's certainly not everyone doing it, but enough to realize that it's become a part of TKD curriculum in more than a few schools, and there doesn't seem to be a distinction made between good sparring technique and strategy, and using techniques that should be for demonstrations only.

Here's a converse to your example: have you ever heard the crowd's response to someone kicking their opponent out of the air (with a simple basic kick) when they're trying some overtly flashy, aerial maneuver?

[humble monk]

Good point. I think the head kick KO (sloppy or not) draws an OOOOH from the crowd, as if to say "I can't believe that worked", whereas the side kick that takes out the guy doing the 720 triple spin flying hook kick draws an AWWW, as if to say "You should have known that wouldn't work, but thanks for the effort."

[tenshinka]

Why Is TKD good for flashy demos?

Well KMA in general have many so called flashy techniques inherently...High jumping, spinning, flying kicks (from Native Korean Taekyun)...Frankly its just part of the art, and coincidentally people want to see it, and thats what makes it flashy

[crazyferret]

Why is it that TKD is "good" for flashy demos and the like?

If you go into YouTube and search for various generic styles of MA like "karate", "kungfu" or "taekwondo" or even the term "martial arts" itself, there are 100s of videos where people have put TKD to music and created a demo vid but not that many where other martial arts are concerned. Is it because TKD has elements that are seen to be more spectacular than functional (540 kicks and the like)? The predominance of the legs? Comparable number of practitioners? Or do TKDers just like to show off?

Flash sells.

Most people don't want to practice a real martial art, so they look to flashy products that don't require as much from them.