7 Things You’re Writing Wrong About Martial Arts

So you’re getting ready to write that epic training sequence. You’ve got a fight coming up, and it’s time for the character to prepare. Naturally, they go through a basic rundown of hand-to-hand combat. But is it really as easy as all that? Just a few lessons and they know how to punch, kick, hold their own in a battle? 

No, it’s not. My family are Martial Arts people. My sister is a second degree black belt in tae kwon do, my brother is ready to follow in her footsteps, and I’m tagging along as a lowly orange belt. So here are a few tips on things you may be writing wrong in your train and fight scenes. 

1.  Why aren’t they running!? If you can ever avoid a fight, if there’s any chance you can run –Do it. But if there isn’t an opportunity to run, that’s when you’ll use one of these other tips.  

2. You’re skipping over the difficulty of many of the moves. As I learned pretty quickly when I began Tae Kwon Do, a person does not have the ability –particularly the flexibility– to do most of what you see people doing in movies as a beginner. Throwing a round kick above waist level isn’t possible for most people who haven’t trained for flexibility. Kicking above your waist for just about any kick is pretty hard for a newbie. 

3. They aren’t feeling the pain. Let me tell you, bare-knuckled punching does not feel nice. A kick thrown with the top of your foot will sting like nobody’s business. But on the flip side, ungloved punching can inflict a whole lot of damage as long as you’re willing to grit your teeth and fight through the pain. 

4. They’re able to use varied and complicated maneuvers under pressure.  When it comes down to it, when you’re suddenly in the ring with someone and feeling that pressure, you resort back to the most basic or easy moves. Round kicks, punches, things that come easily to you or you can put a lot of power behind. It takes a lot of muscle memory for you to think to throw a spin hook kick. 

5. They are throwing their opponent across the room. We’ve all seen those scenes in movies– the big, dramatic pick up and heave that slams the hero into the floor. In reality, this is actually a pretty stupid move. When you toss your enemy across the room, you give up the advantage you had. Now you have to chase them down, and they might be recovered by then. Don’t give them a chance to recover —a throat punch or kick to the diaphragm will have the same effect. 

6. They aren’t using their size. It’s a very important lesson (and one that I’d have your characters learn pretty quickly) to use their size to their advantage. In some instances, it can be a disadvantage, so keep that in mind too. But you can get a lot of force into a basic punch if you step with it. Even more with a kick. Your legs are stronger than your arms, but if you put your whole body weight behind your fist, you can channel a decent amount of force. 

7. They can hold and wield the weapons easily. I’m guilty of this in my own writing. It’s so easy to just say the weapon felt at home in their hand, or they’d been waiting for this their whole life. But really, swords are a lot heavier than you expect. They are not easy to swing around and even just holding them can wear you out pretty quickly. Your arms will definitely be sore. 

Fight scenes are an essential part of almost any fantasy work,  but make sure you do your research. If there’s a chance to run away, let them run away. Make your characters move within their flexibility limits. Let them feel the pain and force. Allow them to fight fight with what’s comfortable and familiar to them. Keep their opponent close. Use their weight and size to their advantage. And make sure they get tired from holding their swords! fight with what’s comfortable and familiar to them. Keep their opponent close. Use their weight and size to their advantage. And make sure they get tired from holding their swords!