The gliding is fine. In a real fight, attacks are very fluid and not on a standstill. Of course FFXIV can't make those "model" attacks look different per situation per enemy, so movement flows very smoothly (good, and as it should be) but actions looks very rigid (e.g. every dragon kick looks the same regardless of position or enemy).

I personally love doing Demolish as a Monk then finishing with Howling Fist to the enemy's face, which conveniently brings me to my next position to attack.