Hey The Sword Lynx, thanks for making this video! Great vid and great points. I do think aesthetics plays a big part in leg lifts and its a fantastic point. Theres a certain level of athleticism required to do things that others cant and then by all means you deserve to show it off. With regards to leg lift as a counterbalance as I see is used in Haidong Gumdo, I do wonder how much is needed if youre not swinging the sword through the air as youd likely not need the counterbalance when striking something, be it a sword or your target. Definitely athletic though and cool to see nonetheless.
In some ways the counter balance would help power a cut whether or not contact is made, but that does beg the question of if you need to counterbalance that much for a specific move, maybe don’t throw that move. I like it as a prototype to learn to feel out counterbalancing within your body, but in a fight I’m more likely to stay grounded.
If the force of the leg lift was more toward a target, I would then agree. All the leg lifts I’m thinking about have the knee coming more center. In Gumdo we do have kicks for that purpose, but they’re kicks and not leg lifts
