The problem I'm seeing here is a lack of force. For example, that kick wouldn't do a lot to really hurt or push someone away, at least not visually.
Try to have his body rotate to create a similar pose to this karate kid!

Same thing for the punches, I actually recommend studying boxers to give your punches more of a forceful look since they tend to focus on hitting harder with their whole body!.

Try giving the bricks more of a weathered look, to offset the relatively pristine look of the eye!

IMO both woods are good in different ways. The noisier original version makes it look like dried-out/rotted driftwood, while the new one looks more like a cut wooden dowel! Keep both in mind depending on your needs, and try to strike for a middleground so you have a good "freshly cut" wood look. Wood's not uniform unless it's MADE to be!

Here, I made the tree better