Poll: Does being brilliant at one martial art make you an expert?

[Anchupom]

Watch this video - as impressive as it is, does it qualify her to be a "Martial Arts Expert" (as said in the video description)
Source link if embedded video doesn't work - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN90Q7ztaIc&feature=player_detailpage#t=25s

I recognise this as Tai Kwondo (something I've always has a resentment for as I'm about as flexible as a 2x4) and I'm no expert but I'd say she's pretty damn good at it. But I don't think that the title Martial Arts Expert is justified here. In my eyes you have to be this good in at least 3 different styles of self defense to be called an expert.

What do you think Escapists? Answer the poll and if you can, expand below.
(That's what she said)

Please note: I've added some of the answers to reflect other people's views - I have a friend who does Karate and considers Tae-Kwondo to be a waste of time. The questions don't represent my opinion.
(For the record, I'm going for "No - Tae-Kwondo master though")

EDIT: And if we have any fetishists who find rubber legs attractive, please don't soil my good nature with your filth.
LOL JK go wild.

EDIT(II):
Apologies to those who found my ignorance insulting. I've changed my way of spelling "Tai Kwondo" to something at least viable: Tae-Kwondo

 

[Kryzantine]

Her power is quite a ways off. Simply put, her kicks are too high to actually do that much damage to an opponent. Also, she would be exposing herself way too much, and would be countered back to Rochester. So no, she's not a master, even at Taekwondo.

And if anyone complains that she shouldn't need that much power because she's a woman, I have seen both videos of fights in Korea and personally seen fights where women have not only demonstrated similar strength to men in taekwondo, they have beaten men several times. My sister sparred with her master often and occasionally beat him (he was on his 5th dan, I believe; she was still working her way to her 1st dan over the course of 2 years). Flexibility is not everything. Actually, taekwondo masters rarely have that kind of leg flexibility, or at least rarely use it in sparring. Footwork and positioning is far more important. You also need a bit of power too.

But as for the general question of the # of martial arts needed to be considered an expert, being an expert in one and knowing some things about a few other arts would get it in my book. A martial art itself utilizes every aspect of the body, and that's the real challenge to begin with. Once you have that down, it's very easy to learn other arts, because those are simply style differences.

 

[badgersprite]

Wise words on this matter: "I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once, but the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times." I think that applies.

Being a master at one martial art definitely qualifies someone as an expert more so than being mediocre or slightly above average at a handful of them. There are rare people who are brilliant at a wide array of martial arts, but many disciplines can literally take people their whole lives to learn to the point of reaching true mastery.

 

[Konaerix]

I do Tae-Kwon-DO, and I can do most of the things in the video (Im not that flexable though), but I have to say what she does is ment only to look impresive but wouldnt be any help in an actual fight. It's cool looking, feels awesome when you do it, and can be a great help when mixed with another fighting style (Mine is a mix of Judo and Tae-Kwon-Do), but by itself isn't enough to make you an expert in fighting.
(Also in a side note: Is that transformers movie music in the last 30 seconds?)

 

[TWRule]

This seems like a debate of semantics. If you are an expert in one martial art, you are an expert in that martial art. If 3, then 3. Obviously, by giving the title "Martial Arts Expert" they do not mean you are an expert in every conceivable martial art or even near that - only that you are an expert in at least one.

 

[HellsingerAngel]

From a purely grammaticaly standpoint, she definately is. She has mastered a martial art, and thus is a martial arts master.

From a technical standpoint her form is tight, but flashy. Her videos and moves are more suited for a cheerleader than a martial arts master. Leg flexibility is very prominent in taekwondo, if only because it uses kicks as the main source of attack. It stems from the fact that the style evolved to an anti-cavalry martial art, kicking riders off of their mounts. As unbelievable as that may seem, once you've seen some of the jumping triple/quadruple kicks higher dan master can pull off, even when the're only about 5'6", you'll see why the dude on the horse isn't at an advantage. That being said, her style is for show and not for practicality -- at least in those videos. I'm sure she has great skill in the martial arts but she certainly isn't using it to a great extent in what was presented there. However, real martial arts aren't truly appreciative unless infront of the proper audience, where as showmanship such as her's definately is. Kind of shallow, but whatcha gonna do?

This isn't to speak badly of Taekwondo. I'm a 1st Dan myself in the art. I believe your friend is very pig-headed man/woman if they believe one of the most lethal and prominent kicking styles is "a waste of time". The stancework and balance you gain from taekwondo alone is a boon in any sparring perspective, something karate is poor at with its surefooted stances. The ability to move and fight at the same time is definately a plus, as well as being able to recover quickly from a prone position. These are techniques that are flawed with karate comared to taekwondo, because of its very fist oriented style as opposed to kick oriented. A hard style (one that uses striking force) that promotes fluidity (often a halmark of softer styles) is a mix that has made taekwondo a force until this day as a great style of combat. Simply put, being mobile and able to recover from a trip is a far better bet than trying to root yourself and guard an attack, especially when facing a far stronger opponent.

Overall, I'd say she's a martial arts master, because she's mastered a martial art. It's language, pure and simple. =)

 

[Anchupom]

From a purely grammaticaly standpoint, she definately is. She has mastered a martial art, and thus is a martial arts master.

Actually, from a purely grammatical point of view, she wouldn't be, as "arts" is plural. But I agree on the rest that you've said.
My friend has this whole idea that all he needs to do is get close and ruin any Tae-Kwondo practitioner's face. I'm under the impression that if it was that easy to overpower someone, it wouldn't have lasted as a martial art.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Yes, she is a martial arts master.

Sadly, she is a Taekwondo expert. Personally, I prefer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Every fight ends on the floor: might as well get down there as soon as possible and get it over with.

 

[nongentlegentleman]

Impressive but I think knowledge of style especially those other than your own makes an expert. The dedication to her training makes her a master of her style though.

 

[individual11]

Does being exceptional at one facet of art make you a master artist?
Probably.
I hope so, anyway.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

The Chun Li costume was a bit much though.

 

[zen5887]

Hoo boy.. Sometimes I would rather argue about Religion over Martial Arts..

Seeing as this is a promo video her calling herself (assuming she actually wrote it, it could very easily be done by her agent) a 'Martial Arts Expert' would be the same as a band calling themselves 'the biggest act in town.' She is certainly talented, you couldn't do those things without have a pretty fucking high level of skill.

Also, going off her affiliation with 3run, I would say that she is more Wushu than Taekwon do. I mean, Taekwon do isn't the only style with kicks like that.. And she does a lot of acrobatics/tricking.. Yeah.. Wushu.

Sadly, she is a Taekwondo expert. Personally, I prefer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Every fight ends on the floor: might as well get down there as soon as possible and get it over with.

Ugh..

Everyone trains in a Martial Art for different reasons, so assuming everyone does it for street defence is foolish. Even now that I'm doing Jiu Jitsu, I like to focus on the sport side, more than the street side.

And for the record Jiu Jitsu focuses on what to do when you get to the ground, not how to get there. And going to the ground in a street fight is a pretty shit idea anyway.. Just sayin'

 

[HellsingerAngel]

Actually, from a purely grammatical point of view, she wouldn't be, as "arts" is plural. But I agree on the rest that you've said.
My friend has this whole idea that all he needs to do is get close and ruin any Tae-Kwondo practitioner's face. I'm under the impression that if it was that easy to overpower someone, it wouldn't have lasted as a martial art.

Alright, if you wanna get into semantics, she does know multiple arts as both her staff technique and her kicking techniques are seperate arts. =P

As for your friend, he is quite correct in his plan. Get in close and you can wreck any taekwondo master with proper training in a rooted style like karate. Getting in close, well, that's the whole trick.

EDITS:

And for the record Jiu Jitsu focuses on what to do when you get to the ground, not how to get there. And going to the ground in a street fight is a pretty shit idea anyway.. Just sayin'

95% of fights end up on the ground, which is why ground styles are valued for self-defense.

I agree, however, that martial arts should never be seen as a tool for fighting, but rather a tool to prevent a fight. The mental discipline it teaches can easily give you enough options, grit and will power to walk away.

Also, the Wushu comment, it doesn't fit the profile. Yeah, she might know Wushu, but her footing, technique and style (aside from the over the head kick) are all taekwondo. Come to think of it, the punch in the commercial fighting that blob was very Northern Shaolin. Anyway, point is, she's 99% TKD.

 

[manaman]

I do Tae-Kwon-DO, and I can do most of the things in the video (Im not that flexable though), but I have to say what she does is ment only to look impresive but wouldnt be any help in an actual fight. It's cool looking, feels awesome when you do it, and can be a great help when mixed with another fighting style (Mine is a mix of Judo and Tae-Kwon-Do), but by itself isn't enough to make you an expert in fighting.
(Also in a side note: Is that transformers movie music in the last 30 seconds?)

That it was supposed to look impressive and not be purely function was the impression that I got from the video, because that's exactly what it is, showboating. Entertainment first.

As for being an expert, well I don't think Martial Art Expert is intended to imply that a person is an expert in all things Martial Arts, that's silly, and not possible. It's meant to imply that the person is an expert martial artist.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I know I wouldn't want to fight her.

I'm not sure. I remember being told once that once you hit 20,000 hours of practice at something you would be considered genius level. And anyone who's that good at martial arts has probably put 20,000 hours of practice in and more. That's enough for me, I'd call her a martial arts master easily.

Bruce Lee wasn't it:

'I fear not the man who has practiced a thousand kicks once, I fear the man who has practiced one kick a thousand times.'

 

[chif-ii]

I'm torn on this. She's obviously very good at Tae-kwondo - to my completely untrained eye, she is an expert in that martial art. Question is, is she a martial arts expert?

 

[Anchupom]

Alright, if you wanna get into semantics, she does know multiple arts as both her staff technique and her kicking techniques are seperate arts. =P

As for your friend, he is quite correct in his plan. Get in close and you can wreck any taekwondo master with proper training in a rooted style like karate. Getting in close, well, that's the whole trick.

Ah, now we're getting into the nitty gritty. I thought Tae-Kwondo included both staff and kicks, so I count it as one.

 

[DefunctTheory]

And for the record Jiu Jitsu focuses on what to do when you get to the ground, not how to get there. And going to the ground in a street fight is a pretty shit idea anyway.. Just sayin'

Really? Could have swore that I was taught at least 8 takedowns in one day.

Then again, I was taught 'Gracie/Army' Jiu Jitsu, which also incorporates throat gouging and stabbing the be-jesus out of people. So who am I to talk?

Jiu Jitsu's main principle is teaching people how to fight outside of their weight class, which is why its perfect for street fighting. Chances are, the guy picking a fight with you is going to be considerably larger than you. Give him a broken ankle and wrist for his trouble. At the end of the day, every martial art has its focus points. Its all up to person size, skill, and preference.

I have short arms and hamstrings you could string a piano with, so ground fighting is where I can fight without being out reached or out maneuvered.

TL;DR: Didn't mean to say her martial arts was inferior, only that it didn't interest me that much because there is no way in hell I will ever be able to fight like that. I'm lucky if I can get my knees to my chest standing straight up without snapping a hamstring.

 

[Anchupom]

Hoo boy.. Sometimes I would rather argue about Religion over Martial Arts.

I agree with this sentiment, in retrospect.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

I feel that she uses that mostly for show instead of fighting. So, no, I wouldn't consider her an expert in Martial Arts in General. I mean, if she can only do that for entertainment, then its not really a martial art, but rather good choreography. Honestly, though it is still very impressive, as are most experts in a given martial art. Just look at some videos of people using Capoeria. Some of the masters of that martial art can really put on a show.