Why ? Martial arts movies depict swordsmen flying through the air and walking on water?

Question

is it artistic license or what?

too many good answers for me to choose

Answer 1

This is a stylistic thing in the Asian culture. It doesn't have anything to do with them believing that people can actually fly, or anything like that.

It's kind of like how we have Xmen, Spiderman, Superman, etc. As an asian youth you are brought up with the same sort of comic book type of things and movies, but instead their powers are focused on Martial Arts.

Why? Well because Asia is considered the birth place for Martial Arts, so it is part of their heritage.

It is indeed artistic license, it is also part of a new breed of cinema by them. They have innovated a certain style with the wirework and everything and made it cater and fit specifically to them.

It has always been a part of Asian movies, both Chinese and Japanese. It is part of what draws the audience. Things like Zatoichi, and other powerful warriors are there Superman/Spiderman.

Look at Anime, Japanese Comics, and pretty much all Asian movies, that is part of the theme of their culture. Instead of getting their powers from a radioactive spiderbite, they have used years of skill honed into martial artists. It is simple a reflection of their heritage.

I don't think you will find any serious martial artist out there who will tell you he can walk on water, or fly through the air. But there are some who can do truly amazing feats because of years of training.

Those movies are an exageration of that, that are part of a stylized story and add a visual magnificense to them. Watch those movies and see the use of colors, and cinematography. It truly is really unique, and that is part of the reason why it is so popular, it is a super hero movie essentially with a distinctly different style of cinema and storytelling.

Only children think that ninjas are real, and that people can fly and walk on water with martial arts.

Answer 2

I watched part of a show about martial arts and movies a few months ago and here is what I remember. The heroes and villains in the myths and legends were larger than life, which is what made them more spectacular than regular people. Because of this they had the power to fly and other super human abilities. The movies you see to day are a reflection of the that style. You see the heroes doing impossible things (flying, kicking 7 people before touching the ground, etc.) and the villains doing the same. The heroes and the villains need the same abilities to keep the movie interesting. I think the movie industry has really over done it. This takes away from the martial artist's true ability or hides the flaws. One of the two. A LITTLE too much "wire fu". I don't recall anything about any masters being able to do that. It's only about giving people in the distant past something magical and superhuman to believe in.

Answer 3

Because it's a movie, why does the good guy in american movies always hit what they are aiming at and never run out of bullets? Why can James Bond jump a car from one building to another without ever being injured or damaging the car?

People relate martial artists as being able to do amazing physical feats so what better way to do this than to have them flying through the air or walking on water. It's a way to draw more of a crowd nothing more.

Answer 4

Well, it is artistic license expanding on a general feeling of the general population. Someone who trains constantly can do things that would seem humanly impossible to the regular population. Add to that the old rumor mill (think the telephone game from when you were young) and the next thing you know, someone went from being a really awesome jumper or climber, to becoming someone who must have flown up there.

A really good example would be to find a good climbing gym near you. Go in and find a really good climber and someone who has never climbed before. Look at what they are able to do and pull on, and you'll get the idea of "superhuman" feats.

That is my understanding of why somethings were originally protrayed the way they were in martial arts movies. Of course, once Hollywood gets hold of something, they bastardize it without any understanding.

Answer 5

most of the movies that you see about the fighters flying through the air is based on the legends surrounding thes characters, just as we have Star Wars which is a modern mythology.

although the character or person may've actually existed, they may have been excellent fighters, but not superhuman and actually had the abilities to perform these moves, because it's almost impossible to do such things today.

So yes, I would prob'ly say it's more of artistic licenseing, or for dramatic addition to the story. so that's why you see these things, it's mostly things that were added by the storyteller that heard the story passed down from one generation to the next adding their own flair to the story.

Answer 6

If this relates to the Chinese films I can answer it, but anything else and I'm not familiar enough with it.
Back during the Confucius era in china (Confucius was a prophet in china and led a time of enlightenment much like Buddha, but different) it was considered to be barbaric to practice martial arts. many laws were passed to ban the studies in many providence's throughout china. The theater was the only place martial artist could hide and disguise there studies as acrobats and performers. so many martial artist today (epically those in movies) give thanks to the theater by preforming the way that they did back in the day with heavy acrobatics and acts of unbelievable stunts (ie. swimming through trees and dancing on the water).

Answer 7

This may be a incorrect answer, however I seriously wonder if poor qualify of instructors are responsible for this.

I can easily see how this happen. I can see one gym teach style Y which work against average people. Other gym across town open and teach style Z which work against average people and tend to beat style Y due to better training and techique.

So style Y gym need to come up with a way to attract people and scare away students from style Z. So they start to make small claim such as "if you learn this style, one day you will be able to lift 500 lbs"

Once style Z start to lose student and found out about the claim. They come up with new claim such as "we now teach anicet secret, if you stay with us for 10 years, we'll teach you how to run faster than a cheetah plus you will live past 100"

Then style Y lost students. So they need something new. They start to tell everyone "hey we now discover anicent scroll that teach you how to fly and walk on water"

Then new gym that teach style X open in center of city. No one take it seriously becuase they have nothing to back them up, no ridicous claim, or anything. So the style X have little choice beside to claim that they now teach how to make your cock hard as steel, throw ball of chi, your body so hard that a sword cannot slice through it, and the list goes on.

Once gym Y and Z find out, they make even more wild claim.

I can easily see how this happened and find its way into Hollywood.


Anyway Gerlooser, let throw you into tigers pen and you can try fight them off with your toe nails, finger nails, and teeth. My moneys is on the tiger.

Answer 8

It's old asian legend that there are sacred chi training books which can teach a trainee the ultimate chi power. powers to hurt their enemies without touch, powers to use chi to make their body lighter like they can fly or walk on snow, powers to channel these chi into weapons that can break anything. Most asians understood these and heard of these stories. There are certain martial arts individuals that can leap to the rooftop of the house with just one bounce, fight ferocious animals like tigers and exert tremedous forces.

Answer 9

Artistic license-just like James Bond has a car that turns into a submarine.

Answer 10

It's entertainment. And it's just a story. (I assume you're talking about Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, for one.) They don't make any claim that people *can* actually do that, but it's cool to watch.