James is very much a studied swordsman. He grew up in a family with a military history, and was expected to follow suit. He was given his first sword at a young age and practiced daily in the hopes of earning a kind word from his father.

When he entered the navy at age 12, he was already a remarkable swordsman, skills that were only honed more in the following years of service.

James is very methodical in his fighting. He doesn’t rush into things headlong, he takes his time to figure out the best way to defeat an enemy before whacking away mindlessly. His body has been trained to perform certain attacks and fencing figures, so he hardly needs to think about them as practiced moves when he’s fighting, it’s all performed as a constant stream of fluid motions.  You can see this really well when he’s fighting against Barbossa’s cursed crew in cotbp, he collects himself for a moment after boarding the Dauntless, then gets into his rhythm and doesn’t stop until his enemy falls to the ground. Even when Koehler stops fighting and looks up to the moon, James is in a defensive stance, ready for another attack.

Of course, this all dramatically changes when we see him in the tavern brawl in Tortuga. Some of his training and figures and footwork are still there, but performed sloppily between swigs, and he’s not taking his time to ensure they’re done correctly. He’s swinging wildly, making erratic lunges, etc. He gets a bit of his own style back on Isla Cruces after he’s sobered up a bit. He’s  still not taking his usual time to thinkabout attacking before acting, but he’s not swinging blindly or drunkenly any more, and he also throws in some ungentlemanly kicks and bad form, kicking sand in Will’s face and the like.

One of my favourite parts of that fight is when James and Will are both fighting against Jack on the church’s roof. James is alternating between slashing at Jack and ducking so Will can get in  a second hit, and Will’s doing much the same, defending James’s vulnerabilities while his partner is attacking. It feels very coordinated between two skilled swordmasters, and I can imagine it being a specific attack taught that they would have both studied, even if they’d never utilized it together before that point.

There’s  also some great shots in silhouette on that roof where you can really see that formal sword-training form in his movement.

@undauntedloyalty

(I was quite upset that the Spaniards did not get...

I just wanted the navy boys (British and Spanish) to have some redeeming quality or something. It’s just heartbreaking.

Monkeys take over ship.

Willow tilted her head, intensely listening to his words. It was a pleasure just to hear him speak, and when they discussed a topic…she could think of nothing she’d rather do- apart from being able to enjoy the offerings on land.

“Oh.” Her dark blue tail waved lazily in the water, her sun-kissed arms folded over each other on the dock’s edge, holding her out of the water.

“Do you agree that it is a ‘blessing in disguise’?”

~*~

“Why, absolutely!” He added a chuckle, he was so delighted to share his stories with her, someone who delighted in his company - let alone enjoyed hearing his recounts. He knelt down, reaching to gently stroke her lovely auburn hair.

“Even though the old man loses his only horse, he later finds it again. And on the way home, assists a farmer that later gifts him with a colt as well. So after believing he lost everything, the old man was then blessed with double.”