Everyone loves combat. Especially the nitty-gritty, up close and personal fights. Weaponry has its advantages, but there might not be a sword or pistol lying around when danger hits. So the next step is hand-to-hand. Like weaponry, there’s a right and wrong way to write thrown punches and flying kicks. The strength and skill of the opponents needs to be assessed. The overall combat must flow and interact with the background. Self-defense might be the scene of choice. And inexperienced fighters will have a different set of traits when it comes to combat. So here’s a look at the intricacies of writing hand-to-hand combat.
Strength, Strategy, Skill
Every victor has at least one of these traits over his opponent. Strength comes more into play with physical combat. The bigger and stronger the person, the more likely they’ll win. This would mean male fighters always win in combat, but flexibility can also factor in as a strength. A flexible female can win against a stiff, big-muscled man. Adrenaline won’t give you super human strength, but a little boost can go a ways.
Strategy isn’t necessarily analytical thinking. In the middle of a fight, it’s hard to focus and strategize in the moment. To make this a positive for a character, let them plan ahead of the fight or adapt from a previous experience. Be sure to show said experience before this scene, that way the reader gets excited at knowing what’s happening and feel a part of the plan.
Skill is all about training and experience. Muscle memory falls under this category as well. A more skilled fighter will win a fight in no time. But how much skill? According to Rayne Hall, “half a year of martial arts training, two sessions a week, [the] heroine is able to defend herself against an unarmed untrained attacker.” Basically, half a year of any karate style can help a female beat a first-time mugger. Consider who your character is facing and create a realistic training background. It can be as formal as police academy or as informal as street brawls.
A couple blunders to avoid when considering these points in combat are instant skills (had no clue how to fight, then suddenly do) and everyone being the highest rank of black belt. Every character will be stronger in a different aspect; pick one and help them utilize it in order to win.
Combat Methods
Time for a few hand-to-hand combat forms:
Grappling
Grappling is part of judo, wrestling, aikido, jiu jitsu, sambo, lucha libre, and glima. They’re ideal for entertainment, so street brawls and wrestling matches. If the goal is to kill, a choke or strangle is accomplished by applying pressure on the neck. Normally though, your character might want to pin their opponent, holding them face-down on the ground so they’re helpless.
Words to use are grapple, wrestle, grab, twist, pull, pin, bend, roll, throw, toss, squeeze, press, choke, and strangle.
Striking
Striking is part of boxing, kick-boxing, karate, muay tai, capoeira, and taekwondo. Again, it’s ideal for entertainment or rough fight scenes. In order to kill with this method, a blow to the head is the goal. Words to use are strike, hit, box, kick, punch, chop, slap, slam, chop, hammer, and pound.
External research should be done because some forms of martial arts combine grappling and striking. Or, if your character is an overachiever, they could have studied both forms of combat and have those in their skill roster.
Fantasy Combat (Your Invention)
Like magic, you can create your own system of martial arts. When designing this new form of karate, here are a few things to consider:
- Spiritual Component – can be religious or philosophical connection to world
- Non-violence – martial arts is self-defense that can be used to kill, but the aim is nonlethal
- Mental Focus – mental exercises for connection between body and mind
- Small Rituals – e.g., bowing to teacher and opponent
- Strict Hierarchy, Visible Display of Rank – set up ranking system and how it’s honored
- Code of Honor, Rules
- Restricted Admission (could be plot point)
- Grappling or Striking
- Weapons
- Training Regiment, Drills
- Body Conditioning – special exercises to keep body in shape and combat ready
- Discipline
- Exams – should include recitation, drills, and sparring
- Special Garments
- Membership Clues – secret organizations will have a code word, gesture, or clothing to let others know who they are
- Tradition, Superiority – change is frowned upon and everyone thinks they’re the best.
Some blunders to avoid would be professional goons and killers not being able to defend themselves and protagonists using skills they never learned. First, be realistic; people need to train before doing lethal damage to someone. Second, let the bad guys fight to win. We all know the protagonist will beat them, but the bad guys have to at least try to succeed.
Self-Defense Methods
In self-defense, three things should happen. Freeze, reason, and assess. As the attacker advances, the victim should freeze because of the shock. Next, before any combat, there should be introspection to find a reason why this scene is happening. Keep the blame game short; a drawn-out “woe is me” moment makes the character wimpy and gives less time for step three.
When assessing the danger, here’s five questions for the character to consider:
- How acute, or intense, is the danger? The amount of options vary if the character is wrapped in a bear hug or has a gun to their head.
- What’s at stake? If a wallet or necklace, the character might hand it over. If life or death, a character is more likely to fight back.
- Attack of opportunity or target? An attacker of opportunity will give up more easily than an attacker with a target.
- Chances for help? The setting will come into play here: are there tons of people who would run to the aid of a woman (normally damsel in distress) or is she attacked in a isolated spot?
- How experienced is the attacker? First-timer’s will be nervous and react slowly or less controlled. Practiced killers will be calm and collected, meaning the victim must get everything right in order to escape.
Spend two sentences on assessment and then move into the action. A skilled fighter can knock down their attacker pretty easily and make a quick getaway. Self-defense scenes are short because the idea is to escape. If you’re writing a mystery or having the character hunted, then it might make sense to stay behind and try to get answers. Otherwise, escape his grip and run.
Inexperienced Combatants
Inexperienced fighters won’t have the assortment of talents mentioned, but the same rules still apply. If they have strength or strategy, they have a fighting chance.
Unskilled self-defense has a few tricks. To start, if the character is skilled in something else or has strength from another hobby, that can be used to attempt escape. Otherwise, the intention is shock so the attacker loosens his grip, making it easier to run. Stomping on feet, kicking in the leg or crotch, hammering his chin with the head (slouch then straighten under him), or poking him in the eyes are all valid, no experience needed moves. Grabbing something as a weapon is also plausible, even if the character throws it for a distraction.
Rayne Hall goes more specifically into the differences between male and female fighters. Inexperienced female fighters will have five defaults: negotiate, grab a weapon, push free with hands, pull hair, or scratch.
Final Thoughts: Biology Affects Combat
Wanted to mention this final point about biology because the impact on combat between men and women gets deeper and more realistic with this knowledge. In a fight scenario, the brain releases a mix of chemicals (more than just adrenaline) that boost strength, stamina, and courage but hinder rationality and compassion. The mix is fairly similar between men and women, but the timing is different.
Men experience the “rush” at the slightest trigger, engage ferociously, win, and come off the high. Women have a slow build of chemicals, meaning they maintain rationality and critical thinking for a longer time (strategy). As the fight continues, the “rush” kicks in and a woman becomes more violent and less compassionate. Coming off the high is a slow process as well, so a woman might not stop even though her attacker is defeated. This can be used to give a heroine the edge against a male villain or to create a well-matched team of a hero and heroine.