i haven't played in quite a while, but i could say that by the time i did play, i was also into realism. basically, how i did it was just to be relaxed alot of the times, and use all body parts in a realistic manner to gain momentum for kicks or tricks.
that's basically all i can say. sorry.
about the editing, feel free to pm me for any questions regarding it. if you're using aae, pm me. if you're using sony vegas, pm aadame.