Video spread like wildfire across the internet Tuesday showing a Corvette-driving man in business-casual attire arguing with a woman in an SUV at a downtown Miami intersection. After the woman tossed what appeared to be a green plastic bottle at him, the man darted over to her vehicle, leapt upward as if to gain maximum striking velocity, and then obliterated her driver-side mirror, leaving it dangling by an electrical wire.
The hang time of the jump — peg-leg pants and all, no less! — and the sheer speed of the mirror-chop were a sight to behold — so much so that New Times felt we'd be doing a disservice to our readers if we didn't run it back with a few martial arts and boxing experts to seek their input on the Biscayne bro who astonished millions with his ninja-like moves.
Veteran Miami boxing coach Mickey Demos Jr., who trains some of Miami's best scrappers in his Liberty City gym, admired our man's solid SUV-striking form.
"Downward momentum with peak force on the mirror. This is analogous to a good overhand power shot or hook where downward movement is replaced with hip movement. A decent strike," Demos tells New Times.
Natalie Loureda, a martial arts expert and fourth-degree black belt in tae kwon do, explains that the move is known as a "hammer fist." In tae kwon do, which originated in Korea, the technical term would be mejumeok naeryo chigi.
"As a martial artist, I thought it was impressive how he launched like that. It was perfect execution and was totally giving Cobra Kai, Sensei Lawrence vibes," Loureda tells New Times, referring to the character from the popular martial-arts-centered Netflix series and its progenitor, the Karate Kid film franchise.
Miami-area boxer and mixed martial artist Ulysses "Monster" Diaz theorizes that the man "musta been practicing that for years."Road rage in Miami pic.twitter.com/yjCGh9bThS
— Out of Context Human Race (@NoContextHumans) July 30, 2024
"You guys see his form? That was perfect," Diaz marvels. "I don't know why he is not in the Olympics right now in Paris showing off that karate chop. It was amazing!"
New Times reached out to the Miami Police Department about the confrontation, but a spokesperson said there was no record of a police response to the incident.
Thankfully, no more attempts at martial arts transpired in the video, and the man drove off without further violence between the two roadway adversaries. The woman is seen exiting her vehicle, trying to record his license plate number as he takes off down NE Ninth Street.
The video does show that the presumably sore-handed mirror chopper was able to activate his right-turn blinker — a welcome courtesy in downtown traffic.
New Times social media editor Anna Magluta contributed to this report.
