Hey Story Crafters,
For the next several posts, I’m going to talk about writing fight scenes. Not arguments, but physical fights with hand-to-hand combat and weapons.
I’ve read posts by writers who say they struggle to write fight scenes, or apologize for their fight scenes being confusing or not as action-y as, say, an action movie might be. I plan to cover how it’s possible for written fight scenes to be just as dynamic as fight sequences in action movies, and strategies to approach writing fight scenes that are relevant to your story. Regardless of whether or not your story has fight scenes, you might find these tips helpful.
What makes me an expert?
Fun fact: I practiced Taekwondo for a little over a decade. I started when I was 5, and became a 1st Dan black belt at 9. I stopped going to a dojang and formally practicing when I started college, but I still know the basics, and I practice on my own every once in while.
[Especially the stretches. If you have a job that requires you to sit for long stretches of time (like writing. Or editing.), stretching is important for your body.]
I’ll be honest—I disliked sparring. I enjoyed learning how to do the blocks, kicks, stances, and forms, and practicing them, but I didn’t like practicing against an opponent. I’m not a violent person by nature. I’m quiet, and I prefer nonviolent, low conflict resolutions. When you start your martial arts training as a very small, shy 5-year-old and you’re told to spar kids a few years older and much bigger than you, you learn to dislike it right off the bat. This dislike continued even as I got older and bigger, and the size difference between me and my opponents wasn’t too extreme anymore, because it seemed like every opponent I faced was super aggressive. [Maybe I was reading too much into it. But if I wasn’t reading the aggression wrong, I figured it was because, where I practiced, I was the youngest black belt ever, and everyone from kids my age to the older teenagers had to prove themselves against me.] The dojang I practiced at also used limited protection gear for the longest time—a chest protector only, or nothing at all—so I always ended up with bruises on my arms and legs from blocking kicks I didn’t (or couldn’t) dodge.
So yeah. Not fun.
But sparring did teach me how to appreciate how to move and use my body in hand-to-hand, one-on-one combat, how to fight against an opponent, and pacing during a fight, among other factors. It taught me to appreciate fight sequences in general. Even now, I still get excited when I watch really cool fight sequences in shows or movies. (To be honest, cool fight scenes are probably part of the reason I got sucked into shonen manga and anime.)
I feel there’s an opportunity for fiction writers to get in on this action, too. While there are limitations to what can be explained and described of a fight through text, I believe it’s possible to have fight scenes that are just as dynamic and as satisfying as fight sequences in other media.
The Basics
Fight scenes, in general, are like dialogue. A few tips to keep in mind:
One character isn’t going to keep up a constant barrage of attacks, or constantly be on the defensive. (While I was mostly a defensive fighter, I did some attacking as well.)
They shouldn’t “take turns” in attacking and defending (as in, Character A tries to kick Character B’s head off, and then steps back to let Character B take a shot at her head, too), but one character shouldn’t be hogging all the aggressive action, and dominating the scene.
Fight scenes need to breathe. One character can’t keep up a barrage of attacks because he’ll eventually get tired, or injured, and he’ll need a moment to regroup. It can be harder to remember this detail in written works, because the action in this case is imagined. But if you think about fight sequences in TV shows or movies, the characters involved don’t endlessly go at each other until one of them is beaten. There tends to be lulls in the action, moments where characters are observing their opponent(s), their surroundings, exchanging dialogue, or sometimes all of these things at once.
Just like no two characters should sound the same, no two characters should fight the same way—even if they’re trained in the same fighting style, or had the same teacher/trainer. This can be due to personal preference, physical capabilities, or, most likely, both.
For example of personal preference, I had combination moves I always fell back on while sparring [Note: If I made contact with my hits, they were light taps. Otherwise, I was aiming for the space near my intended target area. Control was important to me while sparring.]:
Round house kick + Round house kick + Back sidekick | (target = torso)
Hook kick + Round house kick | (target = head) [Note: I didn’t use this combination until I was older, and better at controlling the execution of my kicks. I never actually hit anyone in the head; just the air around their head.]
Round house kick + Tornado kick | (goal = get opponent to back off)
Side kick + Back sidekick + Back fist | (target = torso + head)
(These combination attacks were easy to keep up, once I had a good fighting flow going. Momentum is your friend, when you’re deciding combination moves.)
Meanwhile, a fellow student in my weight-class preferred to use a lot of spinning back kicks, peppered with punches.
For an example of a fighter who uses a style based on personal preference and physical capability, I’ll use another student I used to spar. I’ll call him John.
John was middle-aged, tall, and probably twice my weight. He wasn’t flexible, or nimble, so his moves weren’t as agility-based as mine. But he had reach, and he had strength. He played to those strengths, and kept opponents like me (those with slighter, shorter builds) at bay by using front kicks. Though, with the way he executed them, they were more “push” kicks that actual strikes. Basically, if his opponent decided to block, he’d place his foot on his opponent’s arm or leg (whatever they were blocking with) and force them backwards. That was his strategy for going “easy” on his opponents who weren’t adults.
That’s it for this post. I’ll dig a little deeper into setting up a fight scene next time.
Best,
Leah
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