In my years of working with writers on writing fight scenes, there’s a few misconceptions that I see in their work or hear them say fairly often. I thought I would dispel a few of those lies about fighting in this post today. I have also done a YouTube video on it. If you haven’t subscribed to my YouTube channel, feel free to hop over and do that now. I’ll wait…
Ok, here we go. Here are ten lies writers shouldn’t believe about fighting. I will include the video at the end of the post.
#1 Women fight differently than men.
Nope. We really don’t. (I’m talking about trained fighters not fights on the street.) Proper technique works because it is based on the immutable laws of physics and science isn’t sexist. Just how it is. Fighters base their strategy on their size and natural abilities and strength. When you are considering a fighting style for your character, there’s several things to consider before you even look at the character itself. But when you look at the character as a being, choose a style that suits how they are built, what they are naturally good at, and how strong they are. Yes, strength matters. (see #5)
Picking a Fighting Style – Era/Culture Picking a Fighting Style – Site How Your Female Fighter Looks How Your Female Fighter Fights
#2 You don’t feel pain when you fight.
Adrenaline diminishes the pain response. How much depends on the injury and the injured. I interviewed folks who had been stabbed and some reported having no idea while others felt the terrible pain of the blade. How ever much pain you give the injured character probably isn’t wrong. Can you get your leg bitten off by a shark and not feel it? Yep. Can you get your leg bitten off and absolutely feel it? Yep. What is true across the board, regardless of the level of pain felt, is that once the adrenaline ebbs, the pain will increase.
#3 Your character will feel fear as they fight.
Crazy as it sounds, you don’t feel fear when you fight. Before the fight, sure. The character may even fear when they recall the event. But, during, there is only a drive to survive. This is yet another function of adrenaline.
#4 You can drive someone’s nose bone into their brain and kill them.
Mercy…this is a hard “no.” The nose has no bone to drive into the brain. It’s mainly cartilage.
#5 Technique always beats strength.
I wish this were so but it’s just not. In a stand-up fight (punching), if the combatants are the exact same size, then, yes, technique will win. Punching is about creating force and force isn’t related to strength. It is the product of mass x acceleration. However, in some non-striking arts, strength can have a massive impact. Even when using correct technique, people can muscle out of things.
So, why bother with technique? Proper technique allows for maximum efficiency, minimal effort. That minimal effort allows the fighter to conserve their energy. So, while the stronger fighter may be able to muscle out of things, they will tire out quicker. There is a saying in Brazilian jiu-jitsu: If you think, you are late. When you are late, you use strength. When you use strength, you tire. When you tire, you die. BUT, sometimes strength can be employed to quickly end or to escape the fight and then being tired isn’t an issue.
It’s kind of like writing. There is good writing technique and there is uneducated, sloppy, lazy writing. And darn it, sometimes the latter outsells the former. Does that mean we should quit being technically sound writers? No. Never lower the bar to meet the ignorance. Is that harsh? I don’t mean to be harsh. I simply have great respect for the work that goes into good writing and fighting technique.
#6 You can lift someone up by their neck and talk to them.
This is only true if you are Darth Vader or possess the power to negate science. Our necks are not made to support the body’s weight like that. Does that mean that lifting someone by their neck will kill them immediately? No. It means that the possibility is there and we shouldn’t try this at home! And, even if the cervical spine holding the weight of the body weren’t an issue, the person being gripped by the neck couldn’t talk. Likely their blood would be cut off and they would lose consciousness.
But, let’s say the neck held fine and the person could talk, it would take an extraordinary amount of strength to hold that amount of weight out in front of you. And even if you had the strength, you would likely topple forward. I looked at a site that discussed the formulas used to create cranes and no matter how strong a crane is, there is a limit to the weight it can hold out in front of its center of mass without falling forward. According to one of these sites, to hold a 165lb person about four feet out in front of you, you’d need to weigh around 400 pounds to stay grounded.
#7 90% of fights go to the ground.
I write about this in my book. That statistic is based on a study of the Los Angeles Police Department and their interaction with criminals. So, I’m not sure it’s fair to compare that to regular old fights on the street. Another study conducted by Dr Akari Bakil, based on CCTV footage, found that, of the fights captured, 42% of fights ended up with both people on the ground and 72% ended with at least one person on the ground.
What we don’t know is what Dr. Bakil considered a fight. We also don’t know how many of those people in the footage were compromised by substances. However, those stats are probably more in keeping with what happens on the street than those of the LAPD.
#8 Street fights last several minutes.
Studies have shown that most fights on the street last under a minute.
#9 Smaller is better in a fight.
Oh, glory, I wish this were true. Remember that whole mass x acceleration = force thing? Well, more mass gives more potential for force. A larger person has that advantage. Also, more weight gives someone the ability to hold people down. The only advantage a smaller person has is that they have a greater potential for agility and explosive speed. That doesn’t mean they will be more agile or explosive than the larger person. It just means physics is on their side.
Does this mean smaller people can’t best a larger opponent? No, it doesn’t. But, they do so from an inherent disadvantage.
Size Disparity Punches and Kicks Size Disparity Part 2
#10 People are born knowing how to fight.
Just like writing, people can be born with natural abilities that can make them better fighters. They may be naturally coordinated, fast etc. But, fighting, like writing, is a skill. You must work for skill. Nobody is born knowing a technique.
Ok, there you go! Here’s the video and I same pretty much the same thing.
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