#fighting advice

This is just a basic summary of styles that I know, have had a taste of, or have a basic knowledge of.

Karate: you probably have at least one dojo in your town that teaches karate, probably one of the most well known Martial arts. Karate is of Japanese origin and mostly consists of learning strikes (punching, kicking, knees, elbows, etc.) Runs off a belt system.

Krav maga: you may have heard of it in passing, but I wouldn't say it's something that people have a basic understanding of like they do of more widely known Martial arts. Krav maga is of Israeli origin (everyone in the IDF is required to learn it) it was invented in the 1930s and was used to help the Jewish community defend itself from nazi militia. Its something you would use if you were mugged in the street. It consists of learning how to defend yourself from stuff like being grabbed by the wrist, being pulled into a bear hug, being choked, being held at gunpoint, etc. Unlike other Martial arts where they'll teach you stuff to do in real life and then teach you rules in case you decide to compete in tournaments krav maga is just street fighting. Some places will go by a belt system but the place I go to goes by levels. Their might be more but those are the only two I've heard of.

Traditional jiu-jitsu: or known as jiu-jitsu or japenese jiu-jitsu. Jiu-jitsu is ground fighting, I've only taken a few classes of this but I'm kind of riding off my BJJ knowledge here.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu: BJJ is a modified version of traditional jiu-jitsu. It was invented by the Gracie family in the 1920s. It's a style that was made to even the playing field for shorter people so that height didn't matter (this can be attributed to the fact that one of the founders was quite short for a fighter). It's been compared to chess because it requires strategical thinking (like thinking so many moves ahead of your opponent) BJJ mostly consists of headlocks, armbars, throws, etc. BJJ runs off a belt system but it's a little different from others. For starters black is not the highest belt but red is but that requires years of dedication to it. Another thing is that you have to be 16 before you can get your blue belt, after that your allowed to start learning more "risky" moves like ankle locks.

ALRIGHT BUCKLE IN BECAUSE FIGHT SCENES ARE MY JAM.

Fight scenes were one of the first big things I learned to do when I first came back into writing fic and fanfic, to be totally honest, and a lot of it came from study, repetition, and absorption. As well as some plain old copying and stealing until I figured it out.

So, let’s start:

Find a series of fight scenes you like. These can be movies, television shows, comic books, graphic novels, or written word. I recommend having at least three or four examples of written word, to START with. Get the clips, the pages, the words, anything, and put them somewhere you can access.

For the written ones, look at the language choice. Fight scenes are all about short, snappy sentences. They focus on sensory language - touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight - as well as emotional language - adrenaline, fear, anger, hope. They have very little thought, very little setting description.

Get all your setting description out of the way first. Establish your scene, establish the stakes, then get into the actual writing. The more we know going in, the more we care.

GIVE US A REASON TO CARE! If we go into a fight not rooting for anyone, if we go into a fight not caring about the outcome, the fight scene will read flat no matter what. Bonus points if you can make us care about both sides, either for similar or different reasons.

When writing fight scenes, always ask yourself “why is this happening”. If you’re throwing it in just for the sake of it, you’re not going to get a reaction out of your readers. If you don’t care, if you don’t know, then neither will we.

Sentence fragments are your friends. As are em-dashes (--). These are some of the few times you can mess with structure without worry because the chaos of a fight often lends itself well to half sentences, fragments, etc.

Know what’s going on at all times. If that means blocking out your fight scenes beforehand, do so. If that means talking them out with others, do so. But don’t let yourself get lost.

Don’t write out every single punch. It gets boring fast. Work with the important parts, or the suspense. Work with the parts you find interesting. Summarize the rest in as active and interesting a way as you can.

Know when to end it. Don’t drag it out just to do so or pad word count. Often 1500 words is a lot of words for a fight. This isn’t a rule, just a guideline. Feel it out if you can.

Practice:

Look at your movies/television shows, anything with actual motion from a camera or animated. Try to describe what’s going on. Analysize it all and try to write it out in a way that you like.

Study writing that you like, see what it has in common with other good fighting writing

Try rewriting a fight that you already like. It can be written, animated, whatever. Just focus on make it your own. Give it your own style.

Try blocking out fighting scenes. Example: Mark punches Anthony. Anthony falls. Anthony hits Mildred. Mildred jumps over Anthony and kicks Mark in the face. Mark falls unconscious. Mildred helps Anthony up and they leave.

Simple descriptions and blocks like this can make writing out the whole scene in full much, much easier. It helps you keep track of what’s important so you don’t get lost.

When looking at still images, like comics, manga, and graphic novels, try and figure out the in-betweens. By definition and style, these mediums have to leave things out. Try and write what you think the transitions are between the panels.

If you feel a fight scene is going too slow, try to shorten your sentences. Look at your descriptions, your inner thoughts, etc. Can any of them go without changing the physical and emotional sides of the fight? If not, can you put them before or after the fight, or else shorten them?

I got a knight to tutor me in some basic swings and I'm writing them down here for my future reference. No pictures, sorry.

This assumes both you and your opponent hold a sword right-handed and a shield left-armed. I apologize for the bad names.

First: The Torso-Swing Tap

Swing right-to-left at your opponent's 1-2 o'clock on their shield (aim high but not at the head - you want to encourage them to lift their shield up to block, not give them a concussion). After you hit, swing down toward their hip/thigh and twist your torso left to give your second strike more force. Be careful to guard your exposed sword side! Shift your shield up over your arm and right.

Second: Crouch Swing

From guarding position, tilt your sword a little less than 90° left and strike your opponent's sword or the side of their shield closest to their sword, around their upper chest area. This exact area will depend on both your heights, but the point is to make a horizontal swing.

Repeat, targeting the same spot, then when they have gotten used to that (this usually takes two strikes) bend your knees until you have access to their leg. Throw the same shot: Because you are lower, this will naturally hit their leg. Don't change your swing, just your elevation. The drop must be sudden or they'll see it coming. Don't bend your torso - that will affect your swing and leave your back vulnerable.

Third: Twisty Wristy

Strike at your opponent's sword arm, preferably by swinging from left to right. When they block with their sword and brush your strike outward and away from their torso, rotate your wrist but don't swing your arm, bring your sword slightly towards you and pointed up, before snapping down to strike their left side. You can vary the hit area of the second stike by moving from yout shoulder. Kinda finnicky, might not work depending on how your opponent reacts.

Fourth: Sunset/"The Funny One"

Hold your shield up in front of you, slightly higher than usual, and hold your sword behind your back with your arm fully extended. The pommel ahould be facing you and the tip pointed directly away. You do not want your opponent to see your sword.

The most important thing is whether or not your life is in danger. Do they have a knife? Break their bones. (Collar bones are a good choice in this situation, because they can’t move their arms. If they can’t, then they’re on something.) Do they have a gun? Then you have every right to knock them out. NEVER LET THEM REACH INTO THEIR POCKETS. If they do, break elbows. Don’t let them get their hands out of their pockets.   

(Long post ahead, I put it under a read more)