History Main / SheFu

* The Angels in ''Anime/KidouTenshiAngelicLayer''; possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the fact that they are [[TheKidWithTheRemoteControl mind-controlled]] robots and most operators appear to be adolescent girls that may or may not have [[IKnowMortalKombat seen]] too much She Fu on TV.

* ''Series/BirdsOfPrey'' was chock-full of She-Fu.

This can overlap with DanceBattler, given that several real-life styles of dance employ motions and movements similar to kicks and acrobatic martial arts moves, and also because [[DaintyLittleBalletDancers dancing is traditionally a feminine thing]]. It can also overlap with WaifFu, as she-fu practitioners are often shown inflicting physics-defying damage with even the most delicate-looking of their attacks, and KickChick, as kicks and anything that [[ShesGotLegs shows their legs in plenty]] are traditionally fanservicey. Finally, when the acrobatics are used in conjunction with the environment, it can cross into CombatParkour.

* Danielle the CatGirl from ''Literature/MindGames'' does this without even trying due to her literally superhuman {{Dexterity}}.

* Currently, the image for this page is a shot of ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity''. Her acrobatic fighting style definitely qualifies.

This can overlap with DanceBattler, given that several real life styles of dance employ motions and movements similar to kicks and acrobatic martial arts moves, and also because [[DaintyLittleBalletDancers dancing is traditionally a feminine thing]]. It can also overlap with WaifFu, as she-fu practitioners are often shown inflicting physics-defying damage with even the most delicate looking of their attacks, and KickChick, as kicks and anything that [[ShesGotLegs shows their legs in plenty]] are traditionally fanservicey. Finally, when the acrobatics are used in conjuction with the environment, it can cross into CombatParkour.

* One of the most prominent comic book examples would have to be, [[GenderInvertedTrope ironic as it might seem]], Franchise/SpiderMan. As a consequence of his powers, he fights reflexively. However he is ''extraordinarily'' limber and agile, so by reflex he jumps, twirls, twists, and contorts all over the place to dodge blows and missiles. As a result, [[FemaleGaze everyone gets a good look at Peter Parker's toned gymnast body from all angles]].

* Unlike her genetic father, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, ComicBook/{{X 23}}'s fighting style is much more acrobatic and in many of her fight scenes she can be seen using flips and handstands to bring her foot claws into play. {{Justified|Trope}} since Laura is usually depicted as even ''[[PintSizedPowerhouse smaller]]'' than Logan and very lightly-built, and since only her claws are laced with adamantium her body is much less durable.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'', the Dee Dee twins have an acrobatic fighting style revolving around flips, cartwheels and kicks, which they put to very effective use against Batman.

* In ''Film/BatmanReturns'', some of the circus acrobats uses both She Fu and He Fu. Catwoman also uses the same.

* ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' sees the titular Buffy employing a lot of flips, handsprings and cartwheels in her fights. This one is slightly justified by her being a cheerleader. The TV series (see below) mostly averted the trope.
* ''Film/HouseOfFlyingDaggers'' incorporated some of this. Zhang Ziyi doesn't have any martial arts training, but she has been dancing since she was eleven. As a result many of Mei's fight scenes use elements of dance.

* Pernica in ''Literature/OpusGemini'' plays it straight first by flipping through an open window into a surgery room. When she tries to escape by the same way, however, she gets tangled in her dress and awfully hurts herself at the windowsill.

* Aversion: Creator/JossWhedon's ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' was fairly free of this, no matter which Slayer we're talking about, whether it be Tae Kwon Do-kicking Buffy, down-and-dirty Faith or even some of the other Slayers like Kendra or Nikki Wood. It can be noticed, though, if you watch e.g. ''Buffy'' closely: it's not jarringly over-abundant throughout the show, but it ''is'' there occasionally nonetheless. Might depend on the director of the episode in question. Probably the most ''bizarre'' case of weird flip-stunts occurs in the season 3 episode "Earshot", when Buffy uses a combination of flips that ''defy the laws of physics'' to get up to her high school's clock tower as fast as possible. Not surprisingly, Whedon himself lampshaded this in the commentary for the episode "The Harvest", where he states that he dislikes the use of it since it's more time-consuming to deal with the stunts and choreography.

* Tons of Characters/WWEDivas, which made it somewhat surprising to see it significantly averted by [[Wrestling/CarleneMoore Jazz]](unless you saw her earlier work), whose approach was very power/mat-based and who avoided all but the most basic of aerial offense. Put in LaymansTerms, she'd rather throw her opponents around and tie them in knots than come off of the top rope. Also, despite her participation in the photo shoots for the 2002 ''WWE Divas Undressed,''[[note]]Cover girl: Wrestling/TorrieWilson[[/note]] 2003 ''WWE Divas: Desert Heat,''[[note]]Cover girl: Torrie Wilson again[[/note]] and the 2004 ''WWE Divas: South of the Border''[[note]]Cover girl: Wrestling/StacyKeibler[[/note]] [=DVD=]s, she was '''NOT''' pushed as a MsFanservice character, rather as [[ScaryBlackMan someone who was to be feared]].[[note]]See the example for EyeTake on Wrestling/TrishStratus's page.[[/note]]
* Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa used to have a very aerial based offense early in her career. Ironically, she's come to resemble her former partners, the Spartans/Ballard Brothers more as she's since become separate from them, taking on a much more smash face wear down style and as time further went on, various power moves. She's occasionally fallen back on her old style against larger brutes such as La Nazi though.

* {{Subverted| trope}} by Wrestling/BlackRose of WWC/WWL fame (or [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] or WWN), whose entrance often includes lots of tumbles, cartwheels and splits but whose wrestling style includes lots of forearms, shoulder lifts, elbows, grounded headlock punches, back submissions and power slams. She's even been known to scoop up noticeably larger opponents like Wrestling/TerraCalaway and Missy Sampson. Still, as her showoff entrances indicate, she ''can'' hit [[Wrestling/UltimoDragon La Quebrada]], matrix and kick a standing opponent's throat ''from her back'' if you let her(La Destructora Nancy learned the hard way at WWL's 2019 ''Insurrection'').

* This trait distinguishes Wrestling/TaelerHendrix from the other [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor Women Of Honor]], [[UpToEleven even Sakai]]. Where most people jump or roll as a means of offense or defense, Hendrix seemingly uses handstands, spins, splits and cartwheels as a means of locomotion...though she does often find ways to transition into offense, sometimes in [[CombatPragmatist really callous ways]] such as landing in a manner that she [[GroinAttack hits someone's crotch]].

* Avery Taylor's specialty. She's been knocked back from colliding with noticeably larger wrestlers on to flip in mid air and land on her feet. She has an even easier time landing feet first from tosses and should it be an extended grip throw, like a hiptoss, or worse, a no release suplex, the attacker will usually be off ''their'' feet instead. She also likes to dive through the middle rope, and [[UnnecessaryCombatRoll roll]] to a pose just because she can.

* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend''; if the "duck" button is used while running, Lara Croft jumps, dodges and does backflips, traversing the same amount of ground in the same amount of time she does when running normally. Now and then, the two men who comprise her MissionControl randomly cheer her on when she does this. Other times they'll complain about her doing it, presumably because watching through the camera attached to the Mic she's wearing is making them ill.

** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' adds Ibuki and Elena to the list, but also inverts it with Makoto, who gets a more traditional karate style with plenty of simple-but-solid hard-hitting attacks with only a few acrobatic moves.

** Sheva and later [[spoiler: Jill]] perform lots of acrobatic somersaults and cartwheels for their physical attack follow-ups in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5''. Mercenaries Reunion would let Excella Gionne get in on the action, as well. Surprisingly averted with Rebecca Chambers, who's more of a CombatPragmatist. The gender inversion also continues with Wesker, who uses a lot of backflips, wall-jumps, kicks and other acrobatic moves.

** Dodges in VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening also invoke this. Lucina in particular back flips to avoid being hit by anything, such as giant axes.

** Larxene as well. Her gameplay and battle style are ''full'' of this, especially in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2''. Flips, cartwheels, mid-air spins and mid-air ''drilling'', somersaults, etc.

* Rayne from ''VideoGame/BloodRayne'' is very acrobatic in combat, such as when she is done feeding on minion enemies, she can just throw them around with blackflip kicks or ''break their necks with her ankles''.

* ''WesternAnimation/AeonFlux'', to the point that you start wondering whether she has any extra vertebrae. (which, given the BioPunk world she inhabits, is a plausible possibility.) At one point, another character gets similar agility with a cybernetic removable vertebrae.

* {{Subverted| trope}} by Wrestling/BlackRose of WWC/WWL fame (or [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] or WWN), whose entrance often includes lots of tumbles, cartwheels and splits but whose wrestling style includes lots of forearms, shoulder lifts, elbows, grounded headlock punches, back submissions and power slams. She's even been known to scoop up noticeably larger opponents like Wrestling/TerraCalaway and Missy Sampson. Still, as her showoff entrances indicate, she ''can'' hit [[Wrestling/UltimoDragon La Quebrada]], matrix and kick a standing opponent's throat ''from her back'' if you let her(La Destructora Nancy learned the hard way at WWL's 2019 ''Insurrection'']]).

* {{Subverted| trope}} by Wrestling/BlackRose of WWC/WWL fame (or [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] or WWN), whose entrance often includes lots of tumbles, cartwheels and splits but whose wrestling style includes lots of forearms, shoulder lifts, elbows, grounded headlock punches, back submissions and power slams. She's even been known to scoop up noticeably larger opponents like Wrestling/TerraCalaway and Missy Sampson. Still, as her showoff entrances indicate, she ''can'' hit [[Wrestling/UltimoDragon La Quebrada]], matrix and kick a standing opponent's throat ''from her back'' if you let her.

* Chaka of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse specializes in this style of fighting. {{Justified|Trope}} in that her [[KiAttacks ki powers]] make it extraordinarily easy for her to do so. In her first superhero fight with a bunch of ninjas, she drives her opponent up the wall by dodging his attacks with unnecessary flips.

* The former circus acrobat Ty Lee in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' makes use of cartwheels, leaps, reverse backflips, etc., to enable her to execute her close-range, effective [[KiAttacks chi-blocking (Kyusho-jitsu) techniques]]. Due to the show's strong sense of realism, her feats as well as her uncanny resemblance to the show's title character cause many in the {{fan|on}}dom to [[EpilepticTrees rabidly speculate]] on the "possibility" that ''somehow'', she is part Air Nomad.

* Avery Taylor's speciality. She's been knocked back from colliding with noticeably larger wrestlers on to flip in mid air and land on her feet. She has an even easier time landing feet first from tosses and should it be an extended grip throw, like a hiptoss, or worse, a no release suplex, the attacker will usually be off ''their'' feet instead. She also likes to dive through the middle rope, and [[UnneccessaryCombatRoll roll]] to a pose just because she can.

* {{Subverted| trope}} by Wrestling/BlackRose of WWC/WWL fame (or [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] or WWN), whose entrance often includes lots of tumbles, cartwheels and splits but whose wrestling style includes lots of forearms, shoulder lifts, elbows, grounded headlock punches, back submissions and power slams. She's even been known to scoop up noticeably larger opponents like Wrestling/TerraCalaway and Missy Sampson. Still, as her showoff entrances indicate, she ''can'' hit [[Wrestling/UltimoDragon La Quebrada]], matrix and kick your throat ''from her back'' if you let her.

* Morrigan Aensland of ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'', combining Shotoclone goodness with [[HornyDevil sexy]] [[HelloNurse moves]]. Including hitting people with her PrehensileHair. Felicia also falls in this with her movements, showing just how flexible her cat body is, including using her own tail as a stand or weapon.

* The ''Film/CharliesAngels'' films features copious over-the-top She-Fu. Enforced, since Creator/DrewBarrymore insisted that they couldn't use guns.

* Yvonne Craig, who played Batgirl in ''Series/{{Batman}}'', was a trained ballerina. Batgirl's fighting style was heavily [[DanceBattler dance-influenced]], with lots of spins and high kicks. Unlike Batman and Robin, she never threw or took a punch (though she would fairly often throw or wield an ImprovisedWeapon). There's one interesting exception to the above rule about punching. Batgirl takes several punches in "The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra" -- all from henchmen who are invisible.

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* Even Anzu/Téa of ''Anime/YuGiOh'' gets in on the action during the mummy fight in TheMovie. [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries The Abridged Movie]] drives this point home by adding the following line: "[[StreetFighter Spinning Bird Kick!]]"

* Completely subverted with Miss Tatsu, one of the instructors in ''VideoGame/Yakuza0''. While there is the quick and nimble Rush style and the acrobatic Breaker style, they're both taught by male instructors, while Tatsu's Beast style is slow and vicious, with heavy emphasis on {{Improvised Weapon}}ry.

* In ''Film/IronMan2'', Black Widow briefly uses over-the-top She Fu (and a dash of [[MaskedLuchador Lucha Libre]]) to clear the way to the BigBad's computer system. In ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', the character makes further user of She Fu to escape an interrogation, including seemingly disarming a henchman with her hair [[note]]while tied to a chair[[/note]]. The sequel shows that Black Widow training involves some ballet.

It appears to be descended from [[KungFuFighting "wuxia"-style martial arts action]] found in UsefulNotes/HongKong action films, though it may just be an excuse to show [[{{Fanservice}} her body from every angle]]. It also has its roots on the strong reluctance, still active amongst modern-day writers, to feature an attractive young [[PositiveDiscrimination woman]] taking a [[WouldntHitAGirl full-on punch to the face]] (unless, of course, it's from a person of the [[DesignatedGirlFight same gender and biological sex]]), which forces them to gift her with unplausible dodging abilities that will allow her not to be even touched.

* {{Subverted| trope}} by Wrestling/BlackRose of WWC/WWL fame (or [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] or WWN), whose entrance often includes lots of tumbles, cartwheels and splits but whose wrestling style includes lots of forearms, shoulder lifts, elbows, grounded headlock punches, back submissions and power slams. She's even been known to scoop up noticeably larger opponents like Wrestling/TerraCalaway and Missy Sampson. Still, as her showoff entrances indicate, she ''can'' hit [[Wrestling/UltimoDragon La Quebrada]], matrix and kick your throat ''from her back'' you let her.

* Usually subverted by Momono Mio, who ''is'' a practitioner of parkour and frequent example of WaiFFu. However, when she actually attacks, her striking and holds tend to be fairly conventional. She's even smaller than Sakai, so she tries to first [[IShallTauntYou frustrate and tire opponents]] before locking up or shooting in.

* {{Subverted| trope}} by Wrestling/BlackRose of WWC/WWL fame (or [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] or WWN), whose entrance often includes lots of tumbles, cartwheels and splits but whose wrestling style includes lots of forearms, shoulder lifts, elbows, grounded headlock punches, back submissions and power slams. She's even been known to scoop up noticeably larger opponents like Terra Calaway and Missy Sampson. Still, as her showoff entrances indicate, she ''can'' hit [[Wrestling/UltimoDragon La Quebrada]], matrix and kick your throat ''from her back'' you let her.

* The ''Film/CharliesAngels'' films features copious over-the-top SheFu.

** Xena is the queen of SheFu, and yet she still takes ''plenty'' of punches. It is an established part of Xena canon, based on WordOfGod, that cartwheeling/backflipping across an area is ''faster'' than running the same distance, so this is largely justified in series.

* Very much averted in the case of ''Series/AgentCarter'' whose fighting style is to punch somebody as hard and as fast as possible, preferably with the aid of the nearest piece of furniture. Or a stapler. This is FridgeBrilliance, as all the other women we see fight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were specifically taught SheFu. Peggy learned to fight in a time and place where the only 'martial art' available to her was probably ''boxing'', and then spent a year or so hanging out with Steve "Bash The Heck Out Of It" Rogers.

* While Sumie Sakai is competitive judo practitioner and later, mixed martial artist, she's also 5'1, so as a professional wrestler she employs a more acrobatic style to compensate for the fact wrestling promoters tend to care a whole lot less about things like "weight classes" or "mismatches", especially in the USA, where a large bulk of pro wrestling career has been spent.

* This trait distinguishes Taeler Hendrix from the other [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor Women Of Honor]], [[UpToEleven even Sakai]]. Where most people jump or roll as a means of offense or defense, Hendrix seemingly uses handstands, spins, splits and cartwheels as a means of locomotion...though she does often find ways to transition into offense, sometimes in [[CombatPragmatist really callous ways]] such as landing in a manner that she [[GroinAttack hits someone's crotch]].

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': Sonya Blade does this, despite having Kenpo and Tae Kwon Do as her fighting styles in previous games. Her signature move is doing a backflip, grabbing the opponent between her legs, and throwing them. She also uses this move to break Kano's neck in one of the movie versions, and in ''Mortal Kombat 4'' she has a fatality where she does a handstand and ''tears the opponent in half with her legs''.

This can overlap with DanceBattler, given that several real life styles of dance employ motions and movements similar to kicks and acrobatic martial arts moves, and also because [[DaintyLittleBalletDancers dancing is traditionally a feminine thing]]. It can also overlap with WaifFu, as she-fu practitioners are often shown inflicting physics-defying damage with even the most delicate looking of their attacks, and KickChick, as kicks and anything that [[ShesGotLegs shows their legs in plenty]] are traditionally fanservicey. Finally, when the acrobatics are used in conjuction with the environement, it can cross into CombatParkour.