Well said. And it translates in writing too.

A lot of nonsense in fight scenes comes from theatricality over common sense. An elbow to the side of the head will end a fight better than, though not as showy as, a backflip kick that ended a sequence of absurd acrobatics.

/1 https://twitter.com/thebencheah/status/1199122260671356929

But realism in fight scenes, the kind that comes from training (in my case, over a decade of Taekwondo) is not merely a limiting factor. Realism may proscribe triple back-flip handstand kicks or whatever you want to use, but it adds more concrete possibilities.

/2

If you wanted to show a character's mastery of the martial art, simple hits better. A hooking block with the reverse hand to an attacking punch. You catch the punch by the wrist. You can use the free obverse hand to strike (as striker is overextended and cannot block)

/3

Or you can go for an arm lock, granting you control over the opponent. Not as showy as an acrobatic tumbling routine, but it displays a mastery of economy of motion that, if rendered properly, should speak more about the strength of the practitioner than a dozen flips.