History Main / IntimidationDemonstration

** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Grievous pulls out all four of his lightsabers and begins spinning them and cutting up the floor as he moves towards Obi-Wan. However, Obi-Wan isn't fazed by this and makes short work of him.
** In the same movie, Yoda makes some flourishes with his lightsaber while [[TalkingIsAFreeAction challenging Palpatine to a fight]].
** Anakin also twirls his lightsaber around during a break in his duel with Obi-Wan. He can be seen doing the same thing during the arena battle in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''.

** ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'': Indy faced off against two swordsmen. They did some brief sword spinning as well. He tries to resolve the situation in the same way as before...except after reaching for his empty holster, he remembers he'd been relieved of his pistol earlier in the film.

** The famous scene in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' where Indiana faces the MasterSwordsman has the swordsman demonstrating just how skilled he is by throwing his scimitar from one hand to the other and then spinning it in his hands. Indy promptly puts an end to it by [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just shooting him]].
** There is a similar scene in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' where Indy faced off against two swordsmen. They did some brief sword spinning as well. He tries to resolve the situation in the same way as before...except after reaching for his empty holster, he remembers he'd been relieved of his pistol earlier in the film.

* ''Film/TankGirl''. At the beginning of Tank Girl and Keslee's fight, they are standing on a suspended catwalk. Keslee uses the spinning blades on his artificial arm to cut through two supporting cables to show Tank Girl how dangerous they are.

* ''Starblazer Adventures'', based on the 1980's British science fiction ComicBook. The Demoralizing Stance stunt allowed you to intimidate opponents by demonstrating your fighting techniques.

* ''Top Secret/SI''. The ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' magazine #178 article "A Swing and a Hit'' has various combat techniques. One of them is "Weapon Display", which allows an agent to twirl a weapon all around their body to try to impress an opponent. If the tactic works the opponent must stand and watch the display until it ends, and may not be able to attack or defend for another combat turn.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' [[MightMakesRight General Ironwood]] is constantly [[FlauntingYourFleets flaunting his fleets]] because he believes that an overt display of force will dissuade the villains from attacking anyone his armies protect. However, no one is impressed; Glynda thinks he's CompensatingForSomething, Qrow finds his idea laughable, and Ozpin points out that such a display will make the citizens nervous, which will in turn attract the Grimm. Meanwhile the villains are [[BatmanGambit counting on]] Ironwood to behave this way for their plans to work.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', this is why [[GeneralFailure General Ironwood]] is constantly [[FlauntingYourFleets flaunting his fleets]], believing that an obvert display of force will dissuade the villains from attacking kingdoms under said fleets protection. However, no one is impressed; Glynda Goodwitch thinks he's CompensatingForSomething, Qrow finds his idea laughable, and Ozpin points out that such a display will more likely raise tensions among the citizens. And the baddies ''are'' wily enough to work around the armies.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', this is why [[GeneralFailure General Ironwood]] is constantly [[FlauntingYourFleets flaunting his fleets]], believing that an obvert display of force will dissuade the villains from attacking kingdoms under said fleets protection. However, no one is impressed; Glynda Goodwitch thinks he's CompensatingForSomething, Qrow finds his idea laughably, and Ozpin points out that such a display will more likely raise tensions among the citizens. And the baddies ''are'' wily enough to work around the armies.

* Very common in animals, especially mammals, but sometimes birds as well. Males will face off against rival males to prove strength and fitness for the right to mate. Deer, antelopes, buffalo, elephants, humpback whales (rare nonphysical singing contest version), rams, lions, horses, and others all do it. And yes, it can go to the death for some species.
** There's also the mating variation, where the male tries his best to impress prospective mates with strength, various skills, displays, etc.

* In 1976, the US embarked on a mission with 813 men with aerial support in order to take out a tree in the DMZ between North and South Korea after two American soldiers were killed in an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_axe_murder_incident incident.]]
** This has essentially extended to the duty of an entire ''fleet'' of the United States Navy, which is permanently posted near the Korean Peninsula specifically to let North Korea know that they'd be dealing with the United States as well if North Korea resumes armed conflict with the South.
* In a broader sense, a political demonstration like a march through the street invokes the idea that there are many people who support such-and-such cause enough to stand out in public and disrupt the daily routine in order to communicate to government officials the scale of their discontent - destructive riots when organization and crowd control are lost are in a sense this attempt GoneHorriblyWrong (or [[GoneHorriblyRight Right]]). Similarly, police or paramilitary forces brought in to control it are always dressed in proper uniform and frequently sporting visible signs of heavier equipment like riot shields, police batons, or heavier-than-normal vehicles equipped with water cannons as a means to non-verbally communicate to the demonstration (or any bystanders) "Do not cause excessive trouble" and more implicitly "We are still in charge" - again, incidents of PoliceBrutality and other suppression of civil rights are this GoneHorriblyWrong (or [[GoneHorriblyRight Right]]).

** Attempted in ''Film/ANewHope'' when Governor Tarkin used Alderaan as a test for the Death Star's planet-destroying laser. It backfired horribly as the destruction of the old Republic's most peaceful planet caused galaxy-wide outrage rather than scarring worlds into submission, resulting in the rebellion gaining even more allies.

* In ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'', after the turtles barely escape from Tokka and Rahzar, the Shredder unleashes the pair on the city, telling them to '[[ObliviouslyEvil Go play]]'. After the pair go on a destructive rampage, the Shredder has a message delivered to the turtles through April: if they don't appear for a final showdown, he'll release Tokka and Rahzar into Central Park, and the innocent civilians that would be there.

* ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1990'' has Michaelangelo getting into a chuck-off with a fellow chucker among the Foot Clan.

* While Obi from ''Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair'' usually prefers to enter fights without his target even being aware of his presence beforehand once when he caught up to a pair of thieves and realized they were just kids he got in a tree ahead of and above them and called on them to surrender while threateningly spinning one of his throwing knives with his face framed in shadow. The tacit worked as they immediately gave up when Zen arrived, though Obi was annoyed they took him for a criminal.

When someone wants to show off how skilled they are with a weapon, martial arts, acrobatics, or just plain strength, they will do some sort of flashy movement to display their skills, such as juggling knives, twirling a sword, swinging their [[FightingWithChucks nunchucks]], [[PecFlex flexing their pecs]], [[BarehandedBarBending bending a metal pipe]], [[BrickBreak breaking a brick]], or kicking and punching while doing flips. This is very common in fighting games and martial arts movies, as characters will want to appear badass by doing some [[RuleOfCool unnecessary cool moves]] before they fight.

* ''Film/GameOfDeath'' has a scene where Creator/BruceLee and another man spend the majority of their battle expertly flailing their [[FightingWithChucks nunchucks]] around while yelling and staring intently. They get around to fighting, eventually.

* In ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'', each character is focused on for a few seconds before a round starts. While many characters simply taunt or toss their hair, some, such as Taki, Kilik, Hwang, and [[FightingWithChucks Maxi]] will use that brief moment to take out their weapon and twirl it about while letting out a {{Kiai}}.

* Parodied in the Gold/Silver era ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games. One gym leader tries to intimidate you when you challenge them by throwing and smashing a rock, only for the PlayerCharacter ([[SilentProtagonist based on what said gym leader says]]) to point out that has nothing to do with how good he is at Pokémon battles.