Is the Two-Sword Style a Thing?

I am asked about the two-sword style at almost every writer’s conference. The first thing I am often asked is simply: Is it a thing?  We see it in movies/TV shows such as “The Walking Dead”, John Wick 4, Deadpool, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Are those directors and screenwriters drawing from history or simply giving viewers a cliché they so love? And, yes, viewers love the two-sword style. I know that because writers seem to gravitate toward it like moths to porch lights.

The two-sword style is a thing. In fact, some weapons, such as butterfly swords, were made specifically for such a fighting style. Two-sword styles span across cultures and continents. That said, it wasn’t the most common manner of using edged weapons, and there is a good reason for that.

Edged Weaponry

An edge is the sharp portion of a blade. A blade may have one edge or two. Steak knives have a blade with one edge. Daggers have a blade with two edges. Any weapon with an edge is an edged weapon.

It’s important to understand what edged weaponry is because what many consider a two-sword style is actually a style of two, edged weapons, only one of which might be a sword. Many times, the second weapon is a type of knife. If you have ever taken any of my classes or read my books, you will hear me say that where there is a sword, there is a knife. There is a reason for that.

Swords are excellent weapons but not all-encompassing. In order to be deadly, a sword has to have movement to slash or stab. For movement, there has to be ample space. If two combatants are in close quarters, there may not be enough room for either to use their sword effectively even with a reverse grip. That’s where the knife comes into play. Even if your character does wield two swords, they will also carry a knife as a tertiary weapon.

Primary, Secondary and the Horrible Left Hand

Before jumping into wielding two, edged weapons together, we have to understand the concept of a primary and secondary weapon. A primary weapon is generally the weapon wielded in the dominant hand. It is considered the primary weapon because of the greater dexterity in the dominant hand. It may also be considered primary because of its lethality. That said, the more lethal the weapon, the more one would want to carry it in the hand over which one has the most control.

Ambidexterity

There are people who use each hand with the same ease and control. These people are rare and incredibly gifted when it comes to fighting of any kind. However, historically, ambidextrous people wielded the primary weapon in the right hand as left-handedness was not celebrated — to put it mildly.

In Europe, where many sword-centric fantasy works are set, the languages tell the story of how being left-handed was once perceived. In French, Spanish, and Italian, the words for left and left-handed, can still be synonymous with clumsy, sinister and underhanded. In German, the word for left can be used to say, on the wrong side. In Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, the attitude was once much the same. So, even if your character is ambidextrous, their primary weapon will likely be in the right hand.

Requirements for Wielding Two, Edged Weapons

In order to wield two, edged weapons at the same time, each weapon has to meet a few requirements. One, each weapon must have a weight distribution and balance that allows it to be wielded with only one hand. Some edged weapons, such as a broad sword, required two hands to wield because of its weight. That would make wielding a secondary weapon impossible.

Two, each edged weapon must have a design that compliments the other. If one weapon is very forward heavy, like a battle axe, it might be difficult to wield with another weapon. Also, if the primary weapon is a melee weapon, such as an axe, hammer, or club, it is often wielded with a shield which prohibits the use of a secondary blade.

Three, the weapon must have a handle that allows it to be wielded with the desired hand. Some edged weapons have a hand guard that is only suited for one hand. Usually that hand is the right hand. To have an edged weapon with a hand guard that is side specific for the left hand, a weapon might have to be specially made. That is expensive.

Issues Associated with Wielding Two, Edged Weapons

Wielding two, edged weapons was absolutely doable. I have been introduced to one such style in Filipino Martial Arts. That begs the question: Why didn’t more people wield two? If one knife is good, shouldn’t two be even gooder? Yes and no.

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The Benefits

The benefits of a two-sword style begin before the swords are even put to use: It is intimidating. Dealing with two moving blades is highly perilous, and the possibility is enough to make many would-be attackers stand down. Another benefit is the most obvious. The wielder has twice the edges. Also, if the weapons are of differing lengths, the wielder can easily transition to in-fighting (close quarters) without having to grab the secondary blade.

The Detriments

When fighting with edged weaponry, the open hand is very important even though it does not hold a weapon. It’s used for balance, parrying, grabbing, punching, getting up from the ground, and holding a shield. With a weapon in hand, some of those actions are more difficult or impossible.

When both hands hold a weapon, the wielder is in more danger. The combatant has to be mindful not to stab or slash their own darn self. They have to have an efficient way to carry and draw multiple weapons and still carry a knife. The wielder must also have the means to maintain all the weapons.

The Biggest Issue

The most difficult part of a character wielding two, edged weapons is not you, the writer, understanding how the character would use those weapons. It is also not showing the reader why that style is culturally appropriate or practical for the character. The hardest part of having our character wield two, edged weapons is writing it. Writing sword work for one sword can be difficult. Writing movement for two swords can be more challenging.

If you are a writer who excels in writing sword or knifework, writing two swords may present no challenge for you. Even so, consider why you have chosen two swords. Consider where the character is geographically and physically located and if them having two swords makes sense. Consider how they will carry the two swords. And, if your chosen area of carry is in sheaths on the back a lá Deadpool or Michonne from “The Walking Dead”, stop. You do not understand enough about wielding two swords to write it. Why? Well, that will be our next post!

Until the next round with FightWrite on the WD Blog, get blood on your pages.

The post Writing Two-Sword Style Fighting (FightWrite™) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(How Criminal Sketch Artistry Works (FightWrite))

Most Predictive Cues to Assault

PATC Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute conducted a study on interpersonal cues predicting assault. A sample of 129 law enforcement officers, all assaulted at least once on the job, chose 11 behaviors that signaled attack. They are listed from least to most predicative.

11. Stretching arms / shoulders
10. Sweating profusely
9. Pacing
8. Tense jaw muscles
7. Head rolls / neck stretches
6. Looking around the area
5. Making verbal threats
4. Clenching hands into fists
3. Placing hands in pockets (Hiding hands)
2. Invading personal space
1. Assuming a fighter’s stance

 The Fighter’s Stance

The fighter’s stance is an important body posture to know not only for your work but your life off the page. In general, a fighter’s stance puts one foot forward, as if stepping, and the hands are brought up away from the body. The chest tends to be toward the opponent.

Blading

If the chest is turned slightly away, and the entire body is turned slightly sideways, that is known as “blading.” While it wasn’t in the top 11 listed by law enforcement officers, it’s a big one. Generally, blading is a type of fighter’s stance. However, a bladed fight stance has different implications than one in which the chest directly forward.

One Purpose of Blading

One purpose of body blading is to create less of target for the opponent. To better understand blading, grab a book and set it on a table in front of you with the front of the book facing you. It can be turned a little, but not much. You shouldn’t be able to see enough of the spine to read it, or see the entire width of the pages. That book is positioned in a chest forward fight stance. If it is turned no more than 45 degrees, it is able to throw a good punch. It means business. Don’t take your eyes off that book.

If the book is turned so much that you can read the spine clearly or know the width of the pages, that book is bladed. Notice that in that bladed position that book is a smaller target. That is why some people adopt the bladed stance in a fight. They are offering a smaller target for the opponent. That said, that is not the most efficient body position for punching. So, if your character has adopted that stance, they either don’t understand the mechanics of an efficient punch or they are a practitioner of a martial art that utilizes that stance for a reason that directly relates to the efficiency of that style. For example, Taekwondo utilizes a bladed stance. That stance relates directly to the movement of Taekwondo.

The Deadlier Purpose of Blading

There is one more reason that a character might adopt a bladed stance, and it the biggest problem for the opposing character. People blade their body in an attempt to obscure something from the person facing them. That something is often a weapon. Look back at that feisty book on the table. If you can see the pages completely, you can’t see a word on the spine. That book could be holding a knife on its spine side and you’d be none the wiser.

On that note, let’s say that book is in a bookstore and it has black plastic covering half of the book. One side of the book is visible. One side is obscured. Before you buy that book, you will want to know why a portion of it is covered. What does the store not want you to see? What is being hidden?

Look at your characters the same way. If a character is hiding a portion of their body, there is a problem. What does that character not want others to see? What are they hiding? It could be a weapon.

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Is It Cold or Criminal?

But let’s say it is cold out. Two characters are arguing and one has a hand in the front pocket of their hoodie. How can you show the reader the difference in a character who is trying to stay warm and one who is concealing something? Show the rest of the body. If the character is cold, the rest of their body will show it. They will use one hand to gesture, then replace that hand in the hooding pouch to warm it. If both hands are in the pocket, the elbows and shoulders will still be moving.

Spot the Difference

However, if that character’s body is moving, but the arm of the hand that is hidden is dead still, there is a problem. That character is not moving that hand and arm because the want to keep a grip on the weapon. Or, maybe they think that if they keep the arm and hand still it will draw less attention. They think others will be so distracted by the movement in most of their body, they won’t know notice the stillness in another.

And there you have it. How to show rather than tell that your character means to fight. And, reader, I hope that you can remember this list for yourself as well. We want a realistic fight scene and a story that punches the reader right in the gut. But we have to be healthy enough to write it. Stay safe out there. And be on the lookout for any books that are adopting a fight stance with you! Make eye contact, and keep walking. That book is up to no good.

Hope to see you all at the Writer’s Digest Conference coming up quickly July 24-27. Be sure to check out my classes “Hurting Your Character and Fight Write: Practical to Tactical.” In the first class we will be looking at wounds. Literally. In the second we will learn how to wound! Take both. You won’t regret it.

Until the next round with FightWrite® on the WD blog, get blood on your pages!

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Not exactly.

(Is My Killer a Psychopath or a Sociopath? (FightWrite))

Unfortunately, despite its moniker, the lie detector test doesn’t actually test for lies or prove guilt, and it may not even be allowed as evidence in criminal court. In this FightWrite® post, we will take a very honest look at the polygraph. We will look at what it does and doesn’t do and when the results are admissible in court.

Disclaimer

Before reading further: This is not legal advice. I am not a lawyer and I am not your lawyer — I wouldn’t wish that you. Also, we will only consider polygraph results as they relate to criminal trials, not civil trials. Lastly, this post is for informational purposes only. Its intent is to help writers create believable fictional work and make life miserable for their innocent characters or keep a lunatic character on the streets.

What the Polygraph Does

The polygraph measures three physiological responses: heart rate/blood pressure, respiration, and skin conductivity. All increase when the body is emotionally aroused. The idea behind these measurements is that when someone is lying, their body is more excited than it is when they tell the truth. And the polygraph does its job in that respect. It does measure the body’s physiological responses to certain questions.

What the Polygraph Does Not Do

What the polygraph does NOT do is measure deception. It cannot discriminate between physiological responses to lies, the pure stress of being in a situation where a polygraph is required, or menopausal hot flashes. Basically, a polygraph is great at testing to see if someone is uncomfortable. And its margin of error, is anywhere between 15 to 40 percent.

Admissibility in Court

In 31 U.S. states, polygraph results are not allowed as evidence in criminal cases. In five states, results are only admissible when both the prosecutor and defense agree to it. When polygraph results are admissible and incriminate the defendant, the defense can bring in expert witnesses to refute the polygraph results or question the qualifications of the tester. In all states, if inadmissible polygraph results are mentioned at all during the course of a criminal trial, the entire proceedings could be declared a mistrial.

That said, even when polygraph results cannot be used in court, law enforcement can ask suspects if they would agree to take one. The goal of the polygraph in those cases is to measure what questions/statements cause the greatest physical disturbance in the suspect. Those results could be used to steer an investigation. What law enforcement cannot do is compel or coerce anyone to submit to a polygraph.

Types of Polygraph Questions to Expect

         Irrelevant and Relevant

If your character takes a polygraph, there are a few types of questions they may encounter. Irrelevant questions are questions not related to the case. These questions can give a baseline for behavior or help a person relax between relevant questions that might cause anxiety. What is your name? Are you alive right now? Do you have two feet? These are all examples of irrelevant questions. Relevant questions are questions that relate to the case for which the person is taking the polygraph.

         Control

Control questions are questions that relate to a scenario similar to the case. They not are directly related to the case but do tend to lead to questions that are. The best control questions are ones that incriminate just about everyone for something. For example:

• Have you ever driven over the speed limit? (Control)
• Have you ever been angered by another driver? (Control)
• Did you speed and run the victim off of the road? (Question directly related to case)

Control questions like these are used because, in theory, an innocent person wouldn’t have any issue saying they had driven over the speed limit or been angered by another driver. In the mind of the innocent person, who hasn’t done both of those and having done either wouldn’t make them guilty of running someone off of the road. Why would it?

On the other hand, the person guilty of running someone off the road would want to seem as though they had always been a model driver. No. They had not gone over the speed limit even once. No. They had never been angered by another driver.

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         Directed Lie

Sometimes the one taking the polygraph is instructed to lie to certain questions. These questions are known as directed lie questions and they are innocuous and straight-forward. “Are you a duck?” “Did you fly here today with your wings?” Directed lie questions may be asked several times to get a baseline for the person’s physiological response to a lie.

Beating the Polygraph

If you look at websites endorsing polygraph science, they will tell you that you cannot beat a polygraph test. Unfortunately, history doesn’t support that. The Green River Killer, Gary Leon Ridgeway, The Angel of Death killer, Charles Cullen, and kidnapper Richard Ricci all passed a polygraph test. Spies Ignatz Theodor Griebl, Karel Frantisek Koecher, Jiri Pasovsky, Larry Wu-tai Chin, Aldrich Hazen Ames, Nicolás Sirgado, Ana Belen Montes, and Leandro Aragoncillo all passed it as well.

There are many sources out that can coach one to pass a polygraph. Most seem to focus on using the control questions to create a faulty baseline. After all, if your character reacts to everything as if it is a lie, how would a polygraph detect an actual lie? To create an inaccurate baseline, your character can:

• Think excited thoughts and constantly alter their breathing pattern. Holding the breath randomly throughout the test is important.
• Fidget the whole time. Shift in the chair, move the shoulders, cross and uncross the feet, sniff, flutter the eyes … all the fidgety things.
• Have the character randomly bite the side of their tongue or press down on a tack they’ve placed in their shoe. All of these can raise the character’s blood pressure and throw of interpretation of the results.  
• Lastly, and this is toughest one, have your character be deeply calm. This is how all the criminals mentioned in this post passed. This is the toughest route to take, but it is doable.

The efficacy of the polygraph is constantly under debate, yet it remains a constant presence in criminal cases. It is completely plausible that if your character is questioned in connection to a crime, they will be asked to take one. Now, you can write how you want that test to go.

If you want to know more about forensic evidence like the polygraph, questioning techniques or how the human body reacts when we attempt to deceive, check out my book Fight Write, Round Two. It’s full of great crime stuff.

And, speaking of crime, I am teaching and speaking with a panel at ThrillerFest this June. I will also be teaching with my WD family at the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in July. If you see me at either, please say hello!

Until the next round with FightWrite on the WD Blog, get blood on your pages. And don’t lie about it.

The post The Truth About the Polygraph (FightWrite™) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(Deceptive Language: Verbal Content and Style (FightWrite))

What is Deception?

To review, deception is not the same as lying. Lying is a falsehood. Deception is causing someone to believe something that isn’t completely true or absolutely untrue. The truth can be a part of someone’s deception.

Our Limbic System

Deception is related to our inborn survival system. When we feel threatened, be it emotionally or physically, our limbic system goes to work to keep us safe. Both deception and lies are a function of our flight response. We are attempting to put distance between ourselves and whatever is threatening us in some way.

The problem with the flight response in connection to our attempts to deceive is that our limbic system is beyond our conscious control. Once our threat response is engaged, it doesn’t do a great job of hiding itself. It is designed to make us run from the bear not hide the fact we are doing so.

More Deceptive Communication Patterns

Because our threat response isn’t meant to hide, it tends to leak out in ways that we don’t even realize and are often beyond our command. One of the ways the threat response shows itself is in the speech patterns we use when we attempt to deceive, as well as the words we use in the process.

These are certain communication patterns that, statistically, signal deception. That is not to say that someone who speaks like this is attempting to lie or deceive. They may communicate in this manner because they are nervous and that has engaged their threat response. But in our writing, these are red flags other characters might want to look for. If you ever watch interrogation shows, you will see these patterns

(Oh, and by the way, if the character in your work lies in the course of an interrogation, know that it’s not actually called an interrogation. It is called an interview. The one conducting it is an interviewer. The one being questioned is a client. Most people don’t know that, which is why shows that feature such interviews call them interrogations.)

1. Overly Specific: Sometimes those attempting to deceive will make their response very technical or overly specific to one aspect of the question. A very technical response would bring in wording that a lay person might not understand or provide facts that were never requested. “Did you go to the store on Thursday?” “Oh, I only go to the store on Wednesdays when the new sale ads come out. I want to get those sale items before anyone else. You know how fast they fly off the shelf.”

Another way an overly specific answer would be, “I didn’t drive there.” What that character is not saying is that her husband drove her. So, yes, she did go. But, just as well, she didn’t drive.

2. Distancing: When attempting to deceive, people will distance themselves from the event by avoiding reference to their own self. For example, “the gun went off,” rather than, “I shot the gun.” They may also exchange “we” for “I” or simply blame someone else and completely omit their part in the event.

3. Sometimes, the verb tense is the problem. If a missing person is presumed alive, pay attention to the one who refers to that missing person in the past tense. Why would they do that if the person is presumed alive? You see this very often in interrogations with murderers.

4. Answering a Question with a Question: Deceivers don’t necessarily want to deceive. Deception and lying can be taxing on the limbic system and our brain knows it. In an effort not to lie but still deceive, some will answer a question with a question. That volleys the attention back to the one who first asked a question.

Sometimes repeating a question verbatim back to the speaker can be indicative of deception. The idea is that in repeating what was asked, word-for-word, the one deceiving is buying themselves time to create an answer. This is especially true if the question has several specific details. Paraphrasing the question back is not seen as deceptive but rather a desire for clarification.

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5. Answering, But Not Answering: Responding to a question is not the same as answering the question. When attempting to deceive, people will bury the answer in a mountain of words. They may do this by deflecting to another subject. Rather than saying, “I was not at the gas station that night,” they may say, “Didn’t that gas station close, or am I thinking of another?”

Sometimes the person will deny something without taking specific culpability. They will deny in a non-specific way. They might say, “I didn’t do anything,” rather than, “I didn’t do it.”

6. Attempt to Manage Perception: Although this is not related to deception in relation to an event, it is no less a tool of deception. Giving a great deal of glowing information about oneself when it isn’t requested can be an attempt to manipulate other’s impression of us. The manipulator’s hope is that their image will shine so brightly that anything negative associated with them will be lost in the glow. If your interviewing character asks someone what they do for a living and they say they are an Ob/Gyn, that is answering the question. If they say they have been an Ob/Gyn for 15 years and have delivered over 300 babies and there is nothing more precious than ushering a new life into the world and being the first to touch such an innocent soul … that is not answering the question. It is more likely an attempt to manipulate the perception of the one asking the question.

7. Overboard Niceness: Niceness and politeness is not an indicator of deception. In some cultures and communities, it is the standard. However, when the niceness/politeness meter rises suddenly in the midst of a conversation, pay attention. When compliments abruptly appear in the conversation, that too can be a red flag.

8. Making Simple Questions Difficult: When a person tries to make something simple difficult, they may be trying to minimize the scope of the accusation, deflect it, or distract the person asking the question. For example, “Did you do it?” “Well, that all depends on your definition of the word do.” Don’t laugh at that example, by the way. It is based on an actual criminal deposition from a public figure.

Tips to Trip a Deceiver

If your interviewer suspects deception, there are a few strategies they can employ to get to the truth. First, the interviewer can interrupt the client’s alibi and ask a question not related to it. For example, the client says they were having lunch in a restaurant during the time of the crime. If the interviewer asks anything about the lunch, the client will likely have an answer because they have rehearsed everything surrounding the event. If, however, the interviewer asks what other items they considered ordering, that will likely not be something the character rehearsed.

The interviewer can also ask the client to recount their story backwards. When you invent an account, telling it in reverse is very difficult because they are actually doing two things. Not only are they having to rearrange what they said, they have to remember what they said. A person telling the truth only needs to focus on what happened. They don’t have to use the same words they used in the first telling. They just need to describe the event in a similar fashion.

In our next post we will look at body language more closely. We will look at what it shows, what it doesn’t, and many misconceptions associated with it. So, come on back next month. Same bat time, same bat channel. (Wow, I just dated myself there big-time.)

Until the next round with FightWrite on the WD blog, get blood on your pages.

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(Fight Scene Edit: Embrace the Red (FightWrite))

I am also asked quite a bit about armor. Because I’ve written several times on edged weapons such as swords, in this month’s post I thought we’d look at armor. We will go over its weight, pieces, how to put them on, and more sensitive topics such as how to use the privy while wearing it.

Who Wore Armor

During the medieval period, armor was worn by anyone who could afford it and had a battlefield position that required it. Not only was armor a costly investment, but one that required heavy maintenance, and sometimes a buddy. A fully involved set of armor had ties that were difficult to reach and required assistance to manage. Depending on the type of armor, whether or not you had it laid out and if your buddy knew how to help, putting it on took around 10 minutes. Taking it off was significantly faster.

Weight and Cost

It is hard to place an exact weight or price on armor. The number of pieces worn, the type needed, the size of the wearer, and the occasion of the dress (ceremonial versus tactical) all impacted the price. However, historical sources tell us that it could take a nobleman eight to 16 months wages to dress as a man-at-arms, which meant his body would be fully covered in armor that was suitable for fighting on foot or as cavalry. Though it wouldn’t be impossible for a lesser paid man to arm himself, he would have to save for years to do so.

Using the Loo in Armor

While wearing armor, going number one wasn’t an issue. Armor could easily be pulled aside. However, armor is metal and makes noise so the act wouldn’t be silent. Going number two was a bit more involved and therefore noisier. But again, possible.

Unfortunately, medieval battles didn’t generally allow “potty time.” So, in battle, if you had to go, you just went in your armor. And, since dysentery was quite common in battle camps, soiling armor probably happened more often than we would imagine. There’s no “holding” dysentery. It’s an unstoppable force and honestly should be a college sports mascot. It’s way deadlier than a lion or bear.

Lastly, you may read that while fighting you don’t have to go to the restroom. That is false. Though not common, I have had teammates soil themselves in the cage and on the competition mat. And I’ve seen fighters vomit en media res. Bless…

Movement, Comfort and Maintenance

Ease of movement with armor depended on the armor. Jousting armor was likely the worst for movement, as it was the heaviest. And wearing any amount of armor caused you to tire quicker than normal. Thank heavens for adrenaline! But yes, you could move on the battle field, you could even throw punches, tackle, and run, albeit slowly.

Because of its metal material, armor took on the ambient temperature like a shovel in the snow or a pot on a stove. Even with substantial underlayers, a soldier could freeze to death. And, if it was hot, well, the wearer could be cooked alive. This is why during the crusades knights often fought without armor but with only chainmail covered by cloth.

Amor had to be maintained almost daily depending on how wet the weather. Rust had to be tended and uncomfortable dents removed. Black smiths accompanied armies to battle for many reasons. Straightening out armor was one.

Order of Armor

Different resources will say different things. But generally, this is the order in which one puts on armor. If an armored warrior is putting on armor alone, the order might need to be changed and some items omitted. If he was joisting, there may be more pieces needed.

The name of each piece may vary by region. If the region of your setting is central to your work, be certain the name of the armor coincides with it. If the plural of the item is different than how we normally pluralize a noun, I will point it out.

Undergarments: A layer of padding is worn under armor to protect the skin from the metal as well as provide some shock absorption against impact weapons. One type of padded garment was a gambeson. A gambeson was jacket padded so thickly that it could be worn alone against some edged weaponry.

Chainmail: If chainmail is worn, it is placed over the padded undergarments. Some types of chainmail may also be placed on top of certain types of amor. A habergeon (habərjən) was a commonly worn sleeveless coat of chainmail. Chainmail sleeves and thigh covering could be used as well.

Groin: Protection specific to the groin was not always worn. The groin area could be protected by the tasset or skirt of the armor or the bottom of a chainmail tunic. But, if your warrior is wearing groin protection, they need to put it on before going further.

Shoes: Metal covering for shoes, called sabatons, may be independent or attached to the greaves. Some sabatons had sharp points at the toes. Not all warriors wore sabatons. Sometimes only chainmail covered the feet.

Shins: A shin covering is known as a greave.

Knees: A knee covering, known as poleyn, was often attached to the greave or cuisse.

Thigh: A thigh covering is known cuisse (kwis). A pair may also be called floating thighs as each leg was independent and tied to both the leg and the belt.

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Chest: A breastplate and backplate, also known as a cuirass (kwi-RAS) was placed over the torso. It may have had a skirt, known as a tasset, attached that helped cover the top of the cuisses and the hips.

Arms: If the arms were attached to a padded shirt, that would go on before the cuirass. Otherwise, they would come next. They were often a single piece. The upper arm was known as the rearbrace, the elbow joint was the couter (KOO-ter), and the lower arm was the vambrace.

Shoulders: This single or overlapping piece of metal, known as a pauldron or spaulders, protected the shoulders. Pauldrons tended to be larger and covered the arm pit as well as parts of the back and chest.

Neck and Collar Bones: Gorgets covered this sensitive arterial and bone portion of the body. Later, they were given padding and known as bevors. Bevors could also extend down on the chest. Both gorgets and bevors could come up high to protect the lower face as well.

Helmet: Also known as a helm, the helmet protected the head with metal as well as padding. There were many styles of helmet. Sometimes there were one large piece. Sometimes they had visors that folded down to cover the face. When the face was covered, the spaces that allowed for breathing were called breaths. The spaces that allowed for sight were called, well, sights.

Helmet Horror: Breathing behind the closed visor of a medieval helm was difficult. It was necessary to breath out very hard through the breaths so carbon dioxide wouldn’t collect inside the helmet. If the soldier did not breathe correctly, they could actually suffocate from lack of oxygenv. Even if the soldier breathed correctly, claustrophobia could occur and cause the soldier to panic which increased his breathing, heartrate, and risk of suffocation. For this reason, some soldiers lifted their visors often or chose not to wear them down.

Hands and Wrists: A gauntlet was an armored glove that covered the hands from fingertips to over the wrists. There were many kinds and all had a specific purpose.

Sounds of Armor

How does armor sound? Well, to make the sounds of armor for video games, game creators do a few different things. For general movement they rub two hand saws together or metal platters against one anothervii. For more involved movement, creators may slide a lid over a pot, put it on then pull it off. Heavy footfalls may be a metal pot full of metal utensils and chain, banged against the floor.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything on how video game creators made armored fighting sound effects. From my personal experience, it sounds like crumpling empty cans. Swords clashing can have a ring and the pitch is higher for lighter swords. Also, just a little point of interest here, if you hit two swords’ edges (sharp part) together hard enough, they will bite into one another and stick. True story.

And there you have it. Armor head to toe, and certainly enough information to get your armored character clanging across the battle field. If you have any questions about Medieval battles in your work, or any subject for that matter, reach out to me through the contact form on FightWrite.net. Until next month with FightWrite® on the WD blog, get blood on your pages.

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(FightWrite: Fight Scenes With Magic)

Define Fight

But, first, let’s define what I mean by fight. It’s far more than a physical struggle. To me, a fight is a purposeful clash of wills that creates physical or psychological pain. The winner of the fight will always be the one who creates the most pain first. The victim need not fight back for a fight to have taken place. An attack is still a clash of wills. The assailant has the will to wound. The assailed has the will to be safe. And don’t discount the gravity of psychological injury. Physical wounds pale in comparison to those of the mind, and mental trauma almost always accompanies physical trauma.

What Fights Can Do for Our Story

Now that we know what a fight is, let’s look at the opportunities that fights provide our work. We are considering fights of all sizes. From a small spat to an intergalactic engagement, they all provide possibilities that can improve our storylines and get our readers wholly invested in our characters.

How Fights Can Impact Our Storyline

A Backdrop

Fights can be great backdrops. If your work is set during a historical battle, such as World War II, your reader immediately has an idea of when the story takes place and what could be at stake. Even if the reader doesn’t know the details, who was on which side, or exactly what years the war took place, they understand that nobody will have a cell phone. They also understand that if a character is in that war, they might die. And depending on how important that character marching off to war is made to be, their risk of dying can create tension. And, oh, don’t we love tension in our work. It really sews the reader to the pages.

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A Ticking Clock

Adding a fight can also start a clock for the story, scene or character. An easy example of this is a character preparing for a fight. The closer the bout gets, the harder the boxer trains, he pushes his body and mind to the brink. Then in the days before the fight, when his body is resting and readying, his mind will continue to race. And the reader is right there with him, being pulled along. They are there in the locker room as he warms up, in the bathroom stall as he vomits from anxiety, and walk alongside him closer and closer to the ring.

When you start a clock for the character, the story becomes a Jack-in-the-box for the reader. The reader feels the tension in the arm of the toy tighten as each page turns. And the closer the reader gets to moment when wills clash in an in-your-face explosion, the less able they are to put the scene down.

A Jaw Drop

Fights can also create an immediate and jaw-dropping shift in the storyline. If you stop the movie Psycho at the 19-minute mark, it’s a story about a secretary absconding with her boss’ money. But, come minute 20, it’s a whole other thing. Few tools allow us to make such a tectonic shift in our work quite like fights and violence.

How Fights Can Impact Our Characters

Bring Out the Batman

Speaking of dramatic shifts, if you want to change a character on the spot, put them in a fight. Consider young master Bruce Wayne. In the time it took for his parents to be gunned down, he went from being privileged to purgatory. And, thus, the Batman was born. That moment made that character. It forced Bruce Wayne to become something he wouldn’t have been otherwise.

A fight can compel character development in a way not many other things can. Traits that may be hidden for decades under normal circumstances unfold in an instant in a fray.

In a fight, a character can sustain a lasting physical or mental injury that can make them resilient, resentful, or unrecognizable to their own self. They can finally learn about their super power and use it for good. Or bad. Or learn that they aren’t brave enough to use it at all. They can kill someone and go to jail for life or be eternally incarcerated by the secret of it. A fight can set a character on a mission to never be so vulnerable again. It can also give them the mission of causing the world as much pain as they had to endure.

How Fights Can Impact Our Readers

Bring On the Pain

Oh, this is my favorite thing about fight scenes and what I see as the most valuable aspect of them. A fight creates pain and pain is a universal experience. Every living creature will know suffering. And, thanks to mirror neurons, that suffering literally puts our readers in the scene.

Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that activates the same whether we are seeing an action or doing it[1]. That is why we recoil when we see someone else stub their toe. In that moment, our brain is firing in the same way it would if we had stubbed our own toe. So, if you want to bring in the reader, bring on the pain. Because regardless of who wins the fight scene on the page, if your reader winces during the reading, you, good writer, are the victor.

We will look at more of the opportunities fight scenes offer in the course of this series. In the next post we’ll look at ways to ignite a fight. It’s going to be a thorough examination of the whole, “I know you are but what am I” thing. So, be ready, Freddy! In the meantime, check out my blog at FightWrite.net, my book Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes (linked above), and my class with Writers Digest University:

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(FightWrite: Authenticity Not Required)

There are some monsters that come with a ready made strategy. Anyone writing zombies, vampires and/or werewolves has an idea of what it will take to win the day. But if the creature is peculiar to the work, it may seem more complicated to find a way to victory.

Thankfully, when it comes to combat, there are some basic principles that hold true regardless of character, setting, or genre of the work. There are three principles in particular that I personally keep front of mind. And because all three are principles taken from the book, The Art of War, they are well tested by time. I will first give the fundamental as penned thousands of years ago by Sun Tzu, and then how it pertains to creating a fight scene.

Principle #1 – To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

Best the enemy, then beat them.

In writing a fight scene, a physical clash should be Plan B. The first line of attack should be one of wits. Win with strategy, then fight. Think about how Perseus killed Medusa. The warrior used Athena’s polished shield to view the reflection of Medusa’s face while also avoiding her gaze. Then, when the opportunity presented itself, he killed her with a sword.

Principle #2 – The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

Find the weakness in the strength.

In the movie A Quiet Place, what was the strength of the aliens? Their sense of hearing. What was their undoing? Their hearing. What makes zombies so formidable? They will stop at nothing to eat. What is their undoing? They will stop at nothing to eat! Zombies will walk right off a cliff if they see a human snack down below.

Principle #3 – To know your enemy, you have to become them.

To beat the man, you have to be the man.

If your character is fighting monsters, they must look at the fight as if they are the monster. Once mentally “monstered up,” they should ask their own self, ‘What is my goal? How will I attack, and what must I defend?’ This requires you as the writer to know the monster as you do every other character, even if the monster has no character.

Ok, now that we’ve established a few core principles, let’s look at some broad scenarios. In each, we will look at how your character can use the situation to best the monster. Once the monster is outwitted, victory is more attainable. Because there are more monsters out there than you can shake a stick at, you the writer will have to decide on the manner of attack. If your work has supernatural properties, you should make your reader aware of those by immediately establishing normalcy. The first line of the of the Lord of the Rings trilogy reads that Bilbo Baggins would be celebrating his elevnty first birthday. That shows us, the readers, that in the world of Bag End, abnormalcy is the norm.

Thankfully, even when the setting of a work is abnormal, even when the fight is against the supernatural, normal things in nature provide us with great reference. Some of the best resources for fighting monsters are actually right outside your door. Yes, when battling beasts, consider how actual beasts do battle. By nature—pun intended—prey animals use surroundings to negate predatorial advantage. In my WDU class, What You Need to Know Before Writing Fight Scenes Battles and Brawls, I teach that where a fight takes place is more important than who is fighting. You know where I learned that? In my garage trying to get my cat out from under the car! Use the site of the fight to your hero’s advantage.

All right, here we go. Fighting monsters that are:

Large Monsters

Consider how small creatures on earth escape large predators. Mice run into holes. Rabbits bound into thickets. My cat just sits under the car! Animals instinctively know where they fit and predators don’t.

Humans can use the same strategy to best large monsters. Have we learned nothing from Jurassic Park? If a velociraptor is after you, climb into an air duct!

On the note of large monsters, if it is simply an oversized version of a common animal, it will still function like its smaller counterpart. For example, a fifty-foot scorpion will not be able to move its tail side to side any more than a five-inch scorpion. Why not? Because the metasoma of a scorpion is not constructed for horizontal movement.

Small Monsters

Small monsters are formidable. The deadliest creature on earth is the mosquito. To thwart tiny terrors, you have to “seal or conceal.” Your character must seal up any point of entry, conceal themselves from detection, or both. Again, look at animals. They avoid insect bites with dense fur, mud or water or hide themselves with natural repellents.

Fast Monsters

When a monster is fast, remove the advantage of speed. Find terrain that isn’t favorable to speed such as ice or rocks, or an area with an abundance of impediments, twists or turns. The cheetah is the fastest land mammal. Where does it live? Wide open plains. Not jungles, mountains, or crowded furniture stores.

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Flying Monsters

In order to take flight, a winged animal must be able to spread its wings. A narrow space inhibits this process. And, although once in flight, the animal may be able to soar through a tight spot, they won’t easily land in it. Also, winged animals aren’t generally fleet of foot. Avoid open spaces and force the beast to the ground.

Swimming Monsters

By all means possible, the character should have a buffer that separates them from the water, be it a boat, piece of wood, or a dead whale carcass. And whether in the boat or bobbing in the deep blue, they must have a water-worthy weapon.

From that buffer, they should watch the water and look for any cues it provides the monster’s presence. After that, it will be up to you to decide if the character is aware of how the animal hunts, what drives it away, and what it takes to kill it. If the water monster is a massive Cthulhu/Kraken situation, that’s a whole other thing.

A Cthulhu/Kraken Situation

If your creature is fantastical without magical abilities, consider what animals it is like, and the basic principles of those known animals. For example, quadrapeds cannot change direction quickly or easily go backward. Certain animals’ builds aren’t conducive to swimming. Clawed animals aren’t as steady on slick surfaces. If your created creature is an amalgam of several animals, battle the most dangerous characteristic first. Look for an animal with that same manner of attack.

I hope this gets the wheels of your monster brains turning. If you need any extra insight, my book has an entire chapter on battling robots, aliens and beasties. Give it a look.

Until the next round of FightWrite with Writer’s Digest, get blood on your pages.

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Wrong.

(FightWrite: Fighting Multiple Opponents)

According to a study in Japan, the exact opposite is true. Artists were given three days to paint something. On the second day, half of the artists were given a famous painting to copy. On the third day, those artists that spent time copying were actually more creative than those artists who focused solely on their own creation.

Copying allowed the artists’ brains to paint without pressure. Without the pressure to create something new, their brains focused on the choices made by the artist of the painting copied. And, consciously or subconsciously, the artists compared the choices of that artist to the choices they make when they paint. They began to consider possibilities they hadn’t before. In essence, copying gave their brain a chance to think in a new way which led to completely new ideas.

It also allows the brain to consider the work it is emulating on a deeper level and kind of reverse engineer it, see why it works. Kurt Vonnegut did this very thing in a master’s thesis he wrote while at the University of Chicago. He looked at popular stories and mapped out the protagonist’s ups and downs. What he found was that time and time again, not all, but many stories have a distinct shape that looks something like this:

So, maybe copying a fight scene format isn’t such a bad thing. I have always said that fighting is like writing and I have certainly emulated my coaches. After all, they know what they are doing.

Therefore, fellow fightwriters, this post is all about a formula you can follow. It is just a suggestion that you can follow to get your own style going. Now, this is a concept in progress, ok? I am refining it, but I talked about it in an interview today and it was pretty well received. Hopefully, you will find it useful. Also, this relates to verbal altercations as well. In verbal fights, the injury and pain are emotional.

The guide we’ll follow will have four parts, all of which are based on a sanctioned fight: walk out, face-off, throw down, take away.

Why Writers Should Copy Fight Scene Formats

The Walk Out

The fighter stands behind the doors to the arena. She is safe. All is calm, quiet. The doors open and she is flooded with external stimuli; sights, sounds, smells and visceral sensation. The walkway to the ring is a downward slope, pulling her toward the bout. The tension in the room builds the closer she gets to the ring.

Have your character start out in a place of safety. Then allow the story to push them toward the fight. Add in sensory details to pull your reader into the scene. Give them a front-row seat to the altercation.

As your character moves closer to the fight, build the tension. And you can do this even if the character has no idea that a fight will take place. Maybe in the midst of the calm, you can add in a sensory detail that gives a warning: a sound, a shadow. You can also give the character a sudden, inexplicable, uneasy feeling which, by the way, is scientifically accurate. Our conscious minds might overlook certain stimuli. But the nonconscious mind doesn’t miss much. You can choose to let the reader know what gave the character that uneasy feeling or not. You can also build tension by hinting to or outright showing the reader what lies ahead.

The Face-Off

A face-off is when fighters stand in the middle of the ring face-to-face. This is the moment that the fight gets real. It is no longer just a circled date on the calendar. A face-off is a baptism into the reality that you are about to battle another human being who wants the same thing you do, and they will hurt you to get it. During a face-off, you are completely aware of what is at stake.

Often, for professional fights, the organizers have the fighters face-off publicly days before they meet in the ring. There is one purpose for this: build tension. The more tension there is between fighters, the more folks seem to invest in the outcome not only emotionally but in ticket sales.

The moment your character faces the reality of the attack and their brain switches into defensive mode, they are in the “face-off.” And it won’t be immediate. The mind needs a hot minute to make sense of what is happening and to determine what is at stake, or, why it needs to fight. That why is of the utmost importance. Nothing has a greater impact on a fight than why it is happening. It is the first thing I talk about in my WDU class because what is at stake, or, the why, determines the speed, style, and intensity of combat.

That face-off moment for your character also gives you the opportunity to create tension. If the stakes are high, tension will be inherent. I mean, we don’t usually write, “in that moment, she knew that she would die or whatever, no biggie.” Heck no, uh-uh. We make our character “rage against the dying of the light.” And, hopefully, our readers will be invested enough in the threatened character that wet-fingered anxiety will creep over their skin at the thought of that character’s demise.

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Throw Down

This is when the fighters clash, when fist meets sweaty flesh with a smack. Red welts become blood-filled knots. Eyes swell into aubergine eggs. Crimson mingled sweat flows down, making maps of pain on the skin. Fluid fills contusions until faces become amorphous mounds of human pulp.

This is when your character fights. It is also when fight scenes tend to go way off the rails. The number one issue I see with fight scenes is simply writing too much. I go into this a little more in-depth on my blog and use a reporter’s recount of the Thrilla in Manila as an example. In the historic fight between Ali and Frazier, about 500 punches are thrown. The reporter, however, only documents a small fraction of those. Why? Because readers don’t care about every single punch. They want to know what happened as a result of them.

For this fight scene guide, only include three major moves of the fight. Choose the ones that have the greatest impact on the fight, pun intended. After each move, back away from the action a bit. Go into the heads of the fighters, maybe add in a little dialogue, yes, I know that’s not always realistic. But, look, action movies do it all the time and viewers are fine with it. Just keep it to a minimum unless the pacing is slow and the fighters are making a point to talk while threatening one another i.e. The Princess Bride in the fight between Inigo and Westley as the Dread Pirate Roberts.

When it comes to choosing which fight moves to highlight, take a cue from comic books and graphic novels. These works detail lengthy fight scenes in just a few panels. The artist chooses the moves that have the greatest impact on the scene. Every other punch happens in the head of the reader.

Something else comic books are great at is adding in sensory details. When one character hits another, there is a call-out balloon noting sounds, illustrations of flying sweat and blood, and the faces of the characters tell far more about the punch than the drawing of the fist. Writers, you don’t have to write a punch to show a punch. The description I gave about fighters clashing in the ring gave vivid imagery of fighting and I only included one punch. By the way, do you remember the punch in that snippet? Or do you remember the imagery?

Sensory details of a fight are what a reader will remember. Maya Angelou once said that people will forget what you say, but they won’t forget how you made them feel. I think that pertains greatly to writing and fight scenes especially. Give the reader something they can relate to: pain. We all understand injury and pain.

Take Away

After a fight, win or lose, a fighter has to decide what comes next. Will they keep fighting, or will they leave the sport? If they keep fighting, they will need to improve not only to win if they lost, but to keep winning if they won.

After your character fights, there should be an evolution, a change that comes about as a result of the fight. If the character doesn’t change in some way, you risk losing your reader. If you do the work to get a reader invested in a character, the character’s suffering has to have some meaning. That meaning may be to show the tenacity of the character, to steel their resolve. Or, it may be to crush the character from the inside out, forcing them to retreat into the safety of isolation.

And there you have it. A guide for writing a fight scene with four distinct parts. One more time, here they are:

Walk out – The character goes from safety to peril, the tension gradually increases, sensory elements bring your reader ringside.

Face-off – The character realizes they are in danger, the stakes of the fight are made known, tension is at a zenith.

Throw down – The fight ensues, high light three movements backing away from the action after each, high light the sensory details of the fight.

Take away – The character changes as a result of the clash.

Don’t forget to check out my book and blog and register for my class at the online writer’s conference! I want to see you there. And, give my class with WDU a look as well. If you use the code FIGHT10, you’ll get $10 off. Also, if you have any tips or tricks that you find useful in writing fight scenes, send them to me via the contact form on my blog.

Until the next round of FightWrite on the WD blog, get blood on your pages!

*****

Want your question answered in the next FightWrite^TM?

Leave your questions for Carla in the comments below for a chance at having your question be the next FightWrite^TM article here on the WD site!

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(FightWrite: How Do People Who Don’t Know How to Fight, Fight?)

For this post, we will look at basic plans that any character—or writer—can follow when in the awful situation of fighting multiple opponents. The strategies are different depending upon how many opponents your character is facing. And, we are going to assume that special abilities or weaponry won’t come into play.

First, as always, you have to look at the 3 W’s: why, where, and who. I cover the three Ws in the first section of my book and teach a class on them with Writer’s Digest University. The 3 W’s determine just about everything in any fight both on and off the page and greatly impact scenarios with multiple opponents. So, give the book and my class a gander.

Movie Tropes

Before we jump headlong into realistic strategies, let’s dispel some common movie tropes:

Attackers wait their turn.

When a character is facing multiple opponents, the opponents don’t take a number and wait like they’re at a deli. They all descend at once. I interviewed a lady on my FightWrite blog who was attacked by half a dozen people. She reported that they all beat her at the same time head to toe. CCTV footage of such attacks shows the same.

Assailants act civilized.

If your character is attacked on the street, they will be attacked. It will not be a civilized exchange of jabs. There will be stomping, scratching, hair pulling, tackling, tearing at body piercings and skin, fish hooking, bone-breaking, bludgeoning, stabbing … you get the gist. And when you increase the number of attackers, the threat of brutality goes up exponentially. The more people involved in the assault, the more likely that pack mentality will prevail, and pack mentality is seldom peaceful or prudent.

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Victims can defend themselves by any means.

This trope is downright dangerous because it perpetuates not only an untrue assumption but an unsafe one as well. If the setting of your work is modern, you need to be aware of the laws of the land in which your character lives. In my book, there’s an entire chapter written by a lawyer who is also a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He explains the difference in deadly force and regular force as well as what is considered reasonable self-defense. That word is in italics because there is no legal definition of it. Reasonable is whatever a jury deems it to be.

Deadly force.

The laws in most states allow the use of deadly force when three requirements are met. A person must have a reasonable belief that they are in imminent danger of unlawful or deadly force and must use a corresponding amount of force to defend their own self. That means if someone threatens your character by saying, “I’m gonna kill you next week,” your character cannot shoot them on the spot because that’s not imminent danger. Your character also cannot put them in a chokehold to teach them a lesson as a chokehold is deadly force and doesn’t correspond to the threat of being killed next week.

However, if your character is threatened by multiple people, that generally allows for deadly force as it increases the reasonable belief of imminent danger. I say all that because some of the tactics I mention may involve deadly force and I needed to explain why that is warranted here and, by definition in most states, legal. It may not be in your state or the one in which your character lives. And, it may not apply to being threatened by an individual.

Two Against One

When faced with two assailants, your character needs to put a buffer between their own self and the attackers. That buffer might be a clothing rack, a chair, a bush, anything that the assailants must get around to get to your character. The extra few moments it takes the bad guys to get around the buffer to your character may be enough time for the would-be victim to escape.

No injury option.

If there is no buffer, your character will want to satellite one of the villains. By that, I mean that they would circle that villain, keeping them as a buffer from villain two. So, if villain two moves left, your character will circle around that first villain, keeping villain two at bay. The circular motion is key. Your assailed character wants to avoid walking backward if at all possible. They can’t see what or who is behind them or if their attackers are pushing them toward a place that traps them. Also, if they back away from the villain they are satelliting, there will no longer be a barrier for villain two. So, your poor character will be back to fighting two at the same time. Instead, keep your good guy orbiting villain one, keeping villain two away, until escape is possible, help arrives, or the whole thing de-escalates.

Injury option.

If physical contact is needed in your scene, I suggest your threatened character strike first. Have them look at one of the villains in the eye, perhaps speak to them, and then strike the other villain in the throat or eyes. By focusing on one, the second will more likely be caught off guard. For the record, both of those strikes are considered deadly force. Deadly force doesn’t have to kill anyone. It only has to have the potential to kill or cause serious bodily injury. But, again, the two-against-one situation can allow for it.

When struck in the eyes or throat, the villain should become incapacitated. The throat strike could actually kill them. With villain one incapacitated or killed, hopefully the second villain will seriously re-think attacking. But, if the second villain persists, your character can use the incapacitated assailant as a body shield, provided they are alive. If they are dispatched, things get really cumbersome really quickly. Your character could put the alive and injured character in a chokehold from behind, only tightening when that character resists the choke. I would not do a chokehold from the front, with the villain bending forward, as the villain could, in turn, reach out and take hold of your good guy.

Your assailed character could also control the shield character’s arms behind that character’s back and move them as the second villain moves. To control the villain’s arms behind them, your character could put the villain in a “full Nelson,” reaching under the villain’s arms from behind then bracing your good character’s hands behind the villain’s neck. Or, if your character is too short for that technique, they can pull the villain’s arms behind the villain’s back and wrap their own arms around the villain’s elbows, binding the villain’s arms together. In all cases, your assailed character would move the shield villain around as a buffer between them and the second villain. Remember that the bad guy used as a shield has to be hurt enough that your character is able to control them. And as before, your good guy needs to circle rather than walk backward. This whole schtick really does work. I’ve done it in training.

Three Against One

When facing three opponents, your character would do well to still satellite one opponent at the time and keep them as a buffer from the other two. However, the defender will likely have to switch up and satellite different ones as the fight progresses. To best the trio, your character will have to do enough damage to take them out one by one while also not allowing the other attackers to assail. It’s a tough scenario. I’ve worked it in training and the defender has to move a lot and still in that circular pattern. It is very easy for three to maneuver the one into a corner. This is a time when a weapon comes in real handy!

More than Three

The chances of besting multiple opponents go down sharply as the number of opponents goes up. Yes, there may be fight masters who can do it but they are few and far between. When assailed by more than two or three, your character will need to face their combatants and move backward. Yes, I know earlier I said not to walk backward. Stay with me.

When your character walks backward, they keep their combatants in sight and will hopefully force the assailants into a bottlenecked, triangular formation. Your vulnerable character must not allow any assailants to move beyond their peripheral. That may mean they must walk backward faster, if not jog, and glance over their shoulders as they do. But, they should only glance. They must keep their eyes on the coming throng.

To escape the assailing group, your character needs buffers. They can dart into a crowd which gives them some barriers and allows them to hide in plain sight. They can also go through a narrow passageway where the assailants can only move through one at a time. Your escaping character could then pick them off one by one. The good guy can also run into an area that is cluttered and hide. However, bear in mind that hiding can make your character a sitting duck. When possible, your character should hide in a place that doesn’t trap them. I tend to favor the concept that there is no refuge where there is no escape.

Facing more than one opponent is a tough situation. As you write, be mindful that the blocking doesn’t become too complex. My tip for that is to only write what would be illustrated in a cartoon panel. Here’s what I mean. Rather than saying “Kermit maneuvered behind Gonzo, wound his felt arms under Gonzo’s, and pulled Gonzo’s arms back before bracing his green hands behind Gonzo’s blue neck, effectively controlling Gonzo’s every move,” perhaps write, “Kermit pulled Gonzo’s arms back and held them tight, using Gonzo as a furry shield.” Trust me, the reader cares more about the fact that poor little Gonzo is being used a fuzzy bulwark than whether or not Kermit executed the technique correctly.

I hope this helps you all. If you have more questions, comment on the blog or send them to me via FightWrite.net. And be on the lookout for new FightWrite classes coming to Writer’s Digest University by the fall. And, of course, attend my class at the Writer’s Digest Conference which is virtual. Yes, I know, virtual isn’t as fun. But it does allow more people to attend and that’s a blessing.

Until the next round with FightWrite on the WD blog, get blood on your pages.

*****

Want your question answered in the next FightWriteTM?

Leave your questions for Carla in the comments below for a chance at having your question be the next FightWrite^TM article here on the WD site!

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How do people who don’t know how to fight, fight?

—Anonymous

(FightWrite: Animals in Fight Scenes)

Wow, this is a great question because most people do not know how to fight. It is very realistic for our characters not to know as well.

Formal fight training is not only about proper technique, but also about overcoming certain factors that influence us as humans. People who are not trained fighters may respond to threats as they do because of sociological pressures, psychological wiring, and biological construct.

Sociological Pressures

When it comes to trained fighting, men and women do not differ. I cannot stress this enough. Proper fight technique is based in physics, and science isn’t sexist. However, when it comes to untrained fighting, men and women can differ in their fighting style as well as their willingness to fight. But this isn’t about gender as much as how the world around them defines their gender. Whether unspoken or stated outright, we learn what society expects of our gender and often conform to that.

In modern society and throughout history, men have been expected to know how to fight. It is considered inherent to their gender and a part of their masculinity. It is an unfair pressure but exists nonetheless.

The pressure on women is quite different and dependent upon their community. In advantaged communities, participating in a physical altercation can be viewed as unfeminine and divisive to the “tribe.” Rather than being physically aggressive, women from these communities may fight passively with verbal/social intimidation in order to assert dominance.

However, in disorganized neighborhoods where residents are disadvantaged and lack resources, the view of women fighting is not the same. When a woman from this construct gets into a fistfight, it is not contrary to the community’s concept of femininity. In fact, weakness is seen as less attractive. That is not to say that violence is encouraged. It is only to say that it is not looked down upon.

So, before asking how an untrained character would fight, ask if their community would even allow it. That is not to say that a character will not defy their community or “tribal customs.” But, to do so is defiant and you have to consider how their community will respond to that behavior.

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Psychological Wiring

How people fight is heavily influenced by how their brains are hard-wired to respond to threat. Bear in mind that your character may behave contrary to what comes naturally to them depending upon the stakes of the fight. I teach a whole class on this with Writer’s Digest University.

Threat Responses

There are five automatic responses to threat.

Fight: I call these characters the “push backs,” because if you push them, they will push back. When a “push back” is startled, they may lunge in the direction of the threat or ball up their fists in defense even if they don’t know what to do with them. That boldness can get them into trouble.

Flight: A “flight” character will run from the threat. These characters are “messengers.” They run to tell others of the threat. But they may also run and leave others to fend for themselves.

Freeze: A “freeze” character will go completely immobile. They are the “snipers.” Even though terrified, these characters will not move which can help them to remain unseen by the threat. It can also make them easy pickings.

Posture: Posture characters seem like “push back” characters but are actually “chest bumpers.” They will hold up their fists and bump chests with an opponent, but they do so to avoid confrontation rather than participate in it. Sometimes the gamble pays off and the fight is avoided. But, sometimes, when someone calls their bluff, the “chest bumper” doesn’t fight back and suffers.

Submit: Here we have our “masters of subterfuge.” A character who submits to the threat will go along with whatever is demanded of them in order to remain safe. Their submissive attitude can allow them to wait for an opportunity to escape or a better moment to attack. Characters with a submit response can be great spies. They can also be considered cowardly or treasonous.

Biological Construct

How a character is built can impact how they respond to a physical threat. Characters who are large, either in height, weight, or both may grab their smaller aggressor to cause pain, push, throw or pin their combatant. If they choose to hit their assailant, their larger size can work to their advantage by providing a greater potential for more force. It can be a disadvantage as physics works against their speed.

Smaller characters, even those whose natural response to threat is fighting, may avoid confrontation for the simple fact they are smaller. If they do choose to engage, they may use their speed to maneuver around their opponent. They may also be more likely to use weaponry. This is especially true of women. I wrote a whole post on that. Smaller characters are far more susceptible to injury and have less potential for creating force.

When a Fight Takes Place

So, what about when a fight does take place? How do people who don’t know how to fight, fight? I was a high school teacher for about a decade and saw my share of fights between untrained combatants. Here is what I noticed.

The males generally tried to look like they knew what they were doing. They clenched their hands into fists and hit each other from every angle. It was not unusual to see “haymaker” punches. These are the wide punches you often see in movies. The fighters also grabbed each other by the shirt to sling each other down, tackled one another at the waist, and rammed their opponent’s head into lockers or the ground.

What I never saw among the males were groin punches or hair pulling. However, they had a crowd around them and may have felt pressured to fight in a certain way. I have been told that on the street, without the pressure of onlookers, that is not the case. I broke up many male fights simply by yelling.

Female fights were far more brutal. They grabbed hair, earrings, nose rings, clothing, you name it. I’ve seen shirts ripped and females just toss them aside and keep going. They punched, slapped, and scratched one another as well. I recall seeing a lot of “hammer fists.” That is a strike where the fist is clenched and brought down like a hammer. I also saw the females use weaponry more than the males.

Yelling seldom stopped the female fights, and I never stepped in to stop the action. Even large male students were hesitant to break up the female fights. Once the females engaged, they seemed blind to everything around them except their target.

I only witnessed one fight between a male and female. The female slapped the male and the male stood his ground without striking back. Had there not been a crowd, that may not have been the case. When the female was moved away, the male immediately turned around and punched the wall several times.

This was a great question, and I hope this post helped you out. It certainly was beneficial to me because I had never considered it. So, thank you for sending this in. In the words of Michelangelo, ancora imparo. I am still learning.

Keep the questions coming, folks! Feel free to reach out to me any time through my site, FightWrite.net. Until the next round with FightWrite, get blood on your pages.

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