In the episode "Old Trek" "Arena" (January 19, 1967), the company arrives at the Federation's Federation on the planet Cestus III to discover that it has been completely destroyed. While mixing through the rubble, the Enterprise team was attacked by an unknown foreign force. In orbit, the company itself is also attacked by an enemy ship. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) does not know their enemy and cannot explain the attack. In the end, both the company and the foreign ship are returning their team that fights below, and the foreign ship is running away. The company chases it, and they end up in the previously unexplored region of space.

But in a twist, the unexplored region of the space belongs to a protective type of creatures called metrons. When the company and the aliens attack their territory, the metro is gracing all and telling them to work their beef in another way. A Metron representative (Carol Flinn) uses his magical abilities to kidnap Kirk and captain of the foreign ship and teleport them to the nearby desert world, where they can solve their hand -in -hand struggle problems. Alien's captain, Kirk learns, is GornHumanoid similar to dinosaur with an aggressive string.

But as a result of the brawl between Kirk and Gorn ... Well, after every measure, it's funny. The Gorne mask is unarticulated, making it look like a Halloween suit, and the trick performers in it (Bobby Clark and Gary Combs, alternately) could not move very quickly. Gornn could slowly pull to Kirk, as if moving in slow movement, while Kirk's double-sided counter-car tracks were clearly dragged. It is one of the most nonsense fights in the history of Star Trek.

Vice once wrote an entire article The inefficiency of both Kirk's hand and as one of the worst fights in Star Trek history has caused one of its most frustrating persistent combat moves.

Why is the fight in the Arena so unpleasant? The actors of Gornn were moving slowly, lying more like Frankenstein's monster than the killer lizard. And why does Kirk retire with that maneuver by double maneuverability? Surely a strong striker with a fist would do more damage to the enemy. The fight seems to have been shot by the actors to move in slow movement and had to accelerate in post-production. Perhaps the rapid movement associated with the sound effects of swiping would be ... No, in fact, it would not save it either. It's a silly struggle around. Gorn is a frightening design, but his completely motionless face does not make him look like a living alien.

The vice president cited an interview with a boxing analyst named Corey Erdman, who understood the use of Kirk's two-sided blow, a move he called a double-handed. When someone joins their hands together and swing them on the movement of an ax, it actually reduces someone's ability to put their weight behind. Of course, it would not be fun to hit that way, but in fact they wouldn't do much harm. The creators of "Star Trek" probably knew this about the double blow and ordered their actors to perform the maneuver knowing that they could not put serious injuries to their co-stars, even if they accidentally spun too much. It was a dramatic move that didn't really do any harm.

The double ax handle was formerly common in the Pro-Boring world, but was abandoned when combat choreographers realized it looked silly. Strangely, Star Trek has gone in great lengths to include this move in multiple episodes, lasting until the 1990s episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". I guess the double ax handle is a standard lesson for the Starflit Academy's military skills.

Deputy has reached the trick coordinator Denis Madalone, one of the choreographers of the trick On the Star Trek shows in the 90's eraTo get the weak in the fight against Gorn and the constant use of the double handle. Madalone noted that the Star Trek fighting should look futuristic after term, leaving many traditional combat moves like Jabes forward or dramatic Heimikers. He recalls that he saw the "arena" as a child, and the double handle of the ax remained in his memory. He understood, even at the time, that the scientific show like "Star Trek" had to look different from the western shows that ran simultaneously.

"When you do something in the future, you can't show the old cowboy strikes. (...) It was something I saw as a child; when I saw Kirk fighting then, that was the move that held me in my mind.Starwalks 'paths') of the old cowboy blows, because they did not work for me in any futuristic context. "

Madalone noted that the double handle of the ax looked "modern, futuristic, not barbaric". This was totally appropriate for Star Trek, whose characters were supposed to be enlightened and sophisticated. Even when they fought, they had to fight gentle elegance. Madalone also noted that the dual ax handle has become a tradition, not only in "Star Trek", but through all the media. It is a good "movie move" the audience understands. It looks cool, but not dangerous. It is shown, not effective.

Does that make the fight against Gornj look silly? You bet. But it is certainly unforgettable. And, here, maybe there is an explanation in Canon why Starflit's officers use it all the time. Perhaps, by the 23rd century, subtle new techniques are invented that increase the efficiency of the double ax. Maybe we're not all right about it.

But probably not.