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Discombobulate

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About

Discombobulate refers to a memorable fight scene from 2009 action-adventure film Sherlock Holmes in which Sherlock Holmes, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., breaks down his fight strategy against an opponent in a bare-knuckle boxing match. Online, the scene has been parodied in video edits and referenced in memes.

Origin

On December 25th, 2009, action-adventure film Sherlock Holmes premiered in the United States.^[1] In one scene of the film, main character Sherlock Holmes, engaged in a bare-knuckle boxing match, breaks down his strategy for defeating his opponent step by step, after which the scene is replayed at normal speed.

First, distract target. Then block his blind jab. Counter with cross to left cheek. Discombobulate. Dazed, he'll attempt wild haymaker. Employ elbow block and body shot. Block feral left. Weaken right jaw. Now fracture. Break cracked ribs. Traumatize solar plexus. Dislocate jaw entirely. Heel kick to diaphragm. In summary: ears ringing, jaw fractured, three ribs cracked, four broken, diaphragm hemorrhaging. Physical recovery: six weeks. Full psychological: recovery six months. Ability to spit at back of head: neutralized.

Spread

In the following years, the scene has been uploaded to YouTube a number of times, with the most popular upload gaining over 5.8 million views in nine years.^[2] On November 26th, 2010, YouTube user SimbaOnToaster140P uploaded a typography edit of the scene which gained over 76,600 views in nine years (shown below).^[3]

On August 26th, 2016, YouTube user Sanchez Manyika uploaded an edit of a UFC fight between Rick Story and Donald Cerrone, with the video gaining over 264,000 views in three years (shown below, left).^[4] On November 4th, 2016, YouTube user cause cuts posted an edit of a child struggling to dodge an inflatable beam in a bouncy castle, with the video gaining over 1.1 million views in three years (shown below, right).^[5]

On April 23rd, YouTube user Mark FM posted a meme based on the scene which gained over 726,000 views in three months.^[6] A Reddit post to /r/youtubehaiku subreddit gained over 11,900 upvotes within the same period.^[7]

Following the video, the scene saw an increase in the amount of parodies, with notable versions by users zanny^[8] and prodigy.exe^[9] uploaded in the following months.