Performance martial arts

Summary: This is a guide to help people understand what they're seeing when they see "martial arts".

Performance martial arts, or martial arts for show, is a classification of martial arts often seen, but rarely discussed. While it can be coupled with competitive martial arts, it is an entirely separate class since there is no fighting involved.

In some cases it has little or no martial application. Some of it does, some of it doesn't. Just always keep in mind that it is largely designed for show, not for practical application.

Honestly, there isn't a ton of well-put-together information about this - that's why I'm writing this. Some of it is done for testing purposes, some for demonstration, some for visual effect, some for all of the above.

Some things that fall into this category:

• Stage combat
• Breaking
• Tricking
• 'Extreme martial arts'
• Most film and television

I want to focus on 'martial arts' that are purely done for show. This is what you will see in most movies and on stage. The kind that you would see on America's Got Talent. This is what many people see and exemplify as martial arts. Most of this comes from a combination of gymnastics, dance, tricking, parkour and things of that nature in combination with elements that seem like martial arts. It is usually very physically and visually impressive. Most of the time it has little to no practical application.

So if you ever meet a 'martial artist' whose focus is this sort of stuff, keep in mind that their skills probably have little to do with the goals of fighting. That's not to say that they can't know about real martial applications - they might, but just be aware. Most people who see someone do a flip or something fancy think "oh geez that guy could kick anyones ass". Don't be fooled. It's a trap.

Also note that people are given black belts for performance-based styles. Yet another example of how meaningless a black belt really is.

Keep in mind that I'm not saying performance martial arts isn't a legitimate field.. after all, I work in it doing fight choreography and stunts. There's certainly a place for it. Just remember though, it's just like everything else you see on film and TV - it's not real. It's done for entertainment, for art and for fun.

No classification, no distinction

There's a serious problem in the martial arts world with classification. So many things fall under the umbrella of "martial arts": performance martial arts, mixed martial arts and competitive fighting, street fighting, self defense, war, fitness, meditation. Some of it hardly has anything martial about it. Hope this sheds some light on the issue.