Could be tweaked.: Artistic License Martial Arts

I do think the guy is a good example of this trope. It's just the picture is a bit blurry, and the picture shows a silly kick, but the caption has to tell us it's actually effective. Could use another frame at least.

Here's a better idea - get a screencap of a fighter from a video game doing something that shouldn't even be physically possible that's not a Ki Attack or Kamehameha Hadouken. Chun-Li's upside-down spinning kick or one of Dhalsim's stretch attacks would work nicely.

edited 26th Oct '11 12:46:55 PM by Willbyr

Here's some options: Dhalsim punching◊, Guile's upside down kick◊, Chun-li's upside-down kick◊

I like the Dhalsim one but doesn't this trope have to be "realistic"?

It depends on how "realistic" you're talking about...the gist, from what I can tell, is martial arts moves that should be impossible or nearly so to do in Real Life.

Well, by realistic I mean theoretically possible to do in real life (no energy blasts or DBZ shit), but so outlandish and ridiculous that you'll never see it in a real martial arts fight.

I think Dhalsim might be stretching it (no pun intended), because he's not doing anything too fantastic, but obviously people in real life can't stretch their limbs.

The trope is not that. If it was, fireball blasts would not be listed as a Sub-Trope.

... But they're not.

As a comment on the other streetfighter pictures: they seem too crowded, it's hard to tell what's going on with the image that size.

I meant the fireball move that's named for both Dragon Ball and Street Fighter, that I can never remember how to spell. So impossible moves ARE part of the trope.

I like the Guile Mirror Match. How's it look?

I could live with that.

It's so hard to see what's going on. I prefer the Chun-Li.

But what about some screencaps from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Something where they fly through the air and land a kick 30 ft high could work. Or this: [1]◊

Here's some from the Matrix movies: [2]◊, [3]◊

And video games: Enter the Matrix [4]◊ (maybe not rediculous enough?), and an unspecified game [5]◊ from here: [6]

edited 19th Nov '11 9:37:47 PM by ArcadesSabboth

Here's Sanji doing a spin-kick...thing.

How about Captain Kirk's "axe handle" fighting move◊?

Chun-Li's looks like it's a capoeira move or part way through a flip. There are kicks in that martial art that look very similar.

Actually, Captain Kirk's axe chop is an uncommon, but not unheard of move in wrestling. It's not hard to pull off either.

Blanka firing himself like a cannon ball.◊

Cammy propelling herself forward by spinning like a drill◊ damn that Bike in the background making it harder to see...

Super Street Fighter IV version of Cammy's Spiral Arrow.◊

Cammy's Cannon Strike.◊ A twisting jump kick. Not.... IMPOSSIBLE for someone to pull off, but nobody would seriously consider trying it in a real fight.

That'd be pro wrestling, I assume, and not something you'd use in a "real" fight, though? So it'd still work as an example. (If I understand the trope, it's not just about "impossible" moves so much as "highly impractical" ones.)

edited 7th Jan '12 10:19:08 AM by suedenim

It's actually one of Haggar's attacks in Marvel Vs Capcom 3. His "Violent Ax" is an upward swing instead of Kirk's downward swing.... But Haggar was a former pro-wrestler, so it's fine for him.

Psylocke◊

Mirror Match Guile is the best so far by a wide margin. It's very clearly unpossible, and the mirrored aspect makes it more artistic.

The current is blurry and it's hard to see what's actually happening. The latter is the case for many suggestions as well, and singular attacks can occasionally look a weird if caught on camera. Psylocke doesn't seem to be attacking.

I like the Kirk picture the best. It's clear, it's iconic, and you'd have to be crazy to think that it would actually work in real life, especially with the ridiculous way Shatner is posing.

Wow, that's bad...that almost trumps the Guile pic.

edited 21st Jan '12 8:18:54 AM by Ghilz

Winner.