Great post by Badboy and Murdr
All the components of BFM do exist in aerobatic maneuvers. I did state that aerial maneuvers were a type of KATA and ".....without having to defend yourself against an attack....."
From wikipedia:
"Kata (型 or 形, literally: "form"?) is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs."
And
"In Japanese martial arts practice, kata is often seen as an essential partner to randori training with one complementing the other"
And
"Randori (乱取り, Randori?) is a term used in Japanese martial arts to describe free-style practice or sparring, sometimes with multiple attackers. The term literally means "chaos taking" or "grasping freedom," implying a freedom from the structured practice of kata."
I submit that learning an aerial kata will be of great help to all levels of skill. Further, practicing traditional aerobatic maneuvers "teach" students the basic elements of controlling the airplane in three dimensional space under maximum performance.
Performing an aerobatic routine is a form of KATA and RANDORI is performing the KATA as freestyle against an attacker.
Therefore if one practices by themselves even if one is doing BFM they are in fact performing aerobatic maneuvers becuase they are not doing so against an attacker.
If aerobatic maneuvers are practiced with an opponent then they are BFM ( ie "randori").
I mention and show the links on aerobatic maneuvers for the purpose suggesting that as a training aid that some try to perform them. The "aid" or benifit of this are:
1 Control of the airplane at maximum performance
2 Awarness of the airplanes movent and position as referenced to a fixed point or points on the ground.
3 Discipline of throttle and control surfaces.
I do not suggest that aerial maneuvers for show will teach you how to "kill an opponent" only help one develop basic skill in controlling and maneuvering an airplane at maximum performance.
I have practiced my own ACM KATA and found it to be very helpful. For example a term used in aerial maneuvers is "line". The "line" is a term used to describe a strait verticle path as reference to the ground. For example during a dogfight I now think in terms of drawing a "line" in reference to the bandit.
As it turns out I find that I am simply performing basic and advanced aerial maneuvers as described in those links anyway. If one studies the many types of aerial maneuvers it is easy to see the similarity to BFM. In fact many are the same. The only difference is they are performed in reference to a fixed position on the ground vs a moving point in the air.
Perhaps I have a different idea of how to approach training in terms of learning ACM.
