Most fight scenes rely heavily upon the vague, and somewhat inaccurate, public perceptions of how martial artists would utilize their skills in a real fight. That is an unfortunate limitation, because the most interesting aspect of the martial arts is what goes on inside the mind of the fighter. That is where the most compelling part of the story truly lies. It’s what needs to be told.
Authenticity is the Polestar
Authenticity is the polestar. An author must always know the subject, and if the subject is the martial arts, that means keeping a few basics in mind. First, there is no such thing as one martial art. Instead, there is an amalgam of thousands of both popular and obscure fighting arts worldwide.
We may be familiar with the term, Karate, which had its birthplace in Okinawa. But how many of us realize that there are dozens of distinct styles of Karate, each with its own rankings, requirements and principles? How many of us are familiar with the South American discipline of Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, which can be traced to Africa; or Krav Maga, the modern Israeli martial art; or the more than 1500 various styles of the Chinese martial art called, Kung Fu?
Hence, the first question an author describing a martial arts encounter must answer is what style does her protagonist practice? The next is this: how would that style fare in a real fight; with adrenaline fueling the encounter and panic setting in? The authenticity of a real fight is that it is savage, bloody and frayed at the edges. Unlike the crisp, well-executed forms and drills of typical martial arts training, a physical confrontation is hard to control. Breaking boards is fine, but they don’t hit back. An opponent does.
In short, write about the chaos of a real fight. Bring the reader into what makes a fight something to avoid. Show the dark underbelly of the encounter.
For example, here is a fight scene from my novel, Point and Shoot, in which the protagonist uses an Okinawan style of Karate called, Shaolin Kempo, which relies on the interpretation of the five shaolin animals (tiger, crane, leopard, snake and dragon) for its basic moves:
I ducked under the second swing and snapped myself into the tiger mindset. The other four animal styles of our Shaolin Kempo Karate system, the snake, the leopard, the crane and the dragon, often utilized a block or parry before moving in for a strike. The tiger was the only one whose nature did not significantly involve defense. This animal was at the top of the food chain, the strongest and deadliest in the Kingdom. It went in one direction, always forward, toward the prey. All offense.
No holding back.
I formed my hands as if I were gripping imaginary tennis balls and launched myself at him. I dug my fingers into the bicep of the swinging arm and ripped at the muscle, while striking the forearm on the same side, straight in with the heel of my palm, the “paw” as it were. It was a thousand year old battle protocol from the great Kung Fu masters: first, attack the arm that attacks you.
The bat fell to the ground.
Next, press the advantage decisively. I ripped into his face with the middle and forefingers of my right hand, raking along his nose and mouth. With the other hand, I struck his neck and dug my fingers in, grabbing the windpipe. The technique called for me to pull it out, lacerating his throat and killing him. But there were other options. I pushed rather than pulled, momentarily closing the windpipe against itself, cutting off his air.
Then, I sped things up. Kempo Hands.
I had once timed myself at six strikes per second, and if anything, at that moment, it felt even faster. A double palm heel blow to both ears, ripping downward along the cheek and collapsing onto his throat; stepping under and inside his flailing arms to shoot an elbow upward into his abdomen, taking his center; rolling into a palm heel strike to the groin; and back into a rising elbow to the underside of his chin; arcing down into another palm heel onto the bridge of his nose. There were no wind ups, no wasted motion; each movement was designed to roll naturally into the next.
His body jerked from one direction to the other, in rhythm to the apposite lines of each attack. The primary strategy of Kempo Karate was to strike an aggressor in opposing directions, so he could not muster his composure sufficiently to counter-attack. It also forced the aggressor’s body to lurch into the next stroke head on. The strokes would roll into one another and create a tumbling effect. To an outside observer, it would appear to be one simultaneous tornado of movement, of blinding speed, a blur too fast for the eye to follow.
Blood splattered from his nose and mouth. His eyes closed and he made a gurgling sound, flailing his arms impotently as he flew backward.
But my mind-set was the tiger, an animal that kept going when it saw blood. The next move in this particular combination would have gotten him on the ground and “smashed” both hands into his throat. The smashing tiger. A finishing blow to the throat, for insurance.
Instead, I took another step forward and chambered both my hands, palm forward, elbows bent: the left one at shoulder level; the right, at my hip. I shouted a Kiai, the warrior yell, and launched a double palm heel strike, imagining both my palms penetrating through his body. I made contact with his bladder and the underside of his cheekbone. They were both prime acupuncture points; but just as the meridians could be used for healing, the pathways could also be blocked.
His head whipped around, and he collapsed, lying on his back, bleeding from the various facial lacerations and coughing in fits.
*** *
The entire fight had taken less than five seconds; when done right, they usually did. I paused and reached into my back pocket, taking out some tissues, pressing them against his facial cuts. He lay there, quietly, allowing me to work on him. I had seen this before when I was a cop, the defeated male. Docile and compliant.
It occurred to me that this was how a deer might look after being taken down by an actual tiger. Completely shocked and overwhelmed by the ferocity of the attack, waiting for the neck bite that would end it all.
He coughed a few times, but was finally able to breathe again without laboring. I turned him on his side so he could spit out the blood. I wiped it away and found that there were only two places I had actually broken the skin. One was the juncture of his upper and lower lip and the other, his nose. After a few moments of pressure, they both stopped bleeding.
I helped him up and left him standing there, crouching with his hands on his thighs, I searched for my gun in the grass. I found it about twenty feet away. I opened the chamber out of habit to be sure it was still fully loaded and rejoined him. He lumbered his way to the door, ignoring me.
I noted that the baseball bat had landed on the ground behind him. I kicked it into the street.
He dabbed at his face and looked to see if there was anymore blood. “You fight like a girl,” he said.
The Author Must Inhabit The Mind of the Fighter
It is important that the author learn what it is like not only to throw a punch, but to take one, as well. Most of us have not been in an actual fight (at least as adults), yet we write about them with impunity. I am not advocating that a brawl take place at the next writer’s convention, but certainly, there is something to be said for an author going to the local marital arts school and learning the basics of controlled sparring.
If you are afraid to try that, use that fear in your story. Emotional content is a powerful tool for a writer. Your characters should be afraid to fight on some level. The way they deal with that fear, either by denying it; using it to bolster their awareness; or allowing it to overtake them in a fit of panic, will establish the realism of your fight scene.
Perhaps your central character is so angry that he sets aside the fear. Perhaps your character is protecting a loved one so she ignores her slight stature and lack of real training and proceeds to overcome a larger opponent. The actual punching and kicking should be secondary. You must guide the reader into inhabiting your character’s feelings and motivations about the hostile encounter.
You Need Not Describe Every Grunt
We all know the standard refrain for new writers: show don’t tell. In a fight scene, the author can “tell” the reader a great deal about his characters by simply “showing” how they fight. In this scene from my book, Point and Shoot, I wanted to paint a portrait of how an older man named, Grandfather, would overcome two younger, stronger ones, whom I call White Shirt and Pony Tail, by utilizing the internal aspects of the martial arts.
“Management. We had a complaint from one of the other guests about noise.”
“We’re leaving,” he replied. “Give us ten minutes to clean up.”
“I can’t hear you, sir.”
White Shirt leaned into the door. “I said we’re leaving.”
Suddenly the door exploded off its hinges, smashing directly into him. He arced across the room.
I had so rarely seen Grandfather let loose to maximum effect in these last years. When he did, it looked nothing like what Bette and I would do, none of those solid and crisp Kempo Karate combinations he had taught me so long ago, drawn from the basic system. His movements were now hidden and obscure.
And unstoppable.
He calmly stepped inside the room. Pony Tail leveled his gun, taking aim from the other side. Grandfather ran his hand in a large arc from head to waist. It looked like he was fanning the air. Pony Tail shouted in pain and fell backward, dropping the gun.
Grandfather approached him without haste. Pony Tail righted himself and scrambled to pick up the gun again.
Still far away from him, Grandfather clapped his hands together, and twisted his palms outward. The younger man smashed against the far wall, caught in a wave of energy. That gave Grandfather the time he needed to reach him. He placed his fingers gently on Pony Tail’s gun hand. The weapon immediately dropped to the floor once more. Then he lightly tapped the center of Pony Tail’s chest. The younger man collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
By now, White Shirt had pulled himself back together. He had his gun aimed.
Without touching him, Grandfather made a short, blunt movement which I did not recognize. White Shirt grimaced and dropped the gun, holding his hands to his temples. There was another blunt movement, this one emanating from a twist in Grandfather’s hip, something akin to a bump and grind.
White Shirt also collapsed to the ground.
Conclusion
Fight scenes should be viewed as opportunities to develop characterization and introduce emotional content to the story. To do so, the author must present a both physically and mentally authentic description of the encounter. Now, go out there and have your characters kick some ass.
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Help answer the question about Martial Arts
How can I learn martial arts without paying a teacher or going to a YMCA?I really want to lean Martial Arts, but we're kinda tight on money, and my local YMCA is disgusting and probably doesn't even have any self defense classes anyway. How can I learn?
About Author
G.D. Baum is a graduate of the Sarah Lawrence Writing Program. He has achieved a black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate, and was ranked sixth in the United States in forms for his Division by the NASKA Find out more about G.D.Baum and his novel Point and Shoot at http://www.pointandshootwebsite.com
amazing work, i would think it’s a photo!
that is beyond. holy that is amazing. is it a picture or a painting. when you can blur those lines, you know you have something.great stuff thanx
Amazing painting, and love your song also.
I agree with everyone saying it is up to the individual to have confidence in themselves, but they also MUST have confidence in their art too. If someone is very confident in their physical capabilities but not in the techniques they are using then their fight confidence will surely suffer. If you just want to know how to fight and stay composed and cerebral I would recommend a mix of Muay Thai kickboxing and Brazilian jiu jitsu. Muay Thai is a devastating stand up style, and it does not take a long time to develop good street effective fundamentals. Like all martial arts the complex techniques, and understanding of actually fighting takes a lot more time. If you learn bjj as well, you will have the confidence to handle yourself on the ground if the fight ends up there.
Well I can tell you first off a few things from experience and one is that weight is harder to keep off as you get older. Secondly, sometimes people lose their competitive desire and so they quit or retire earlier than otherwise. For you it is partly because of your club closing so the fact that you are now starting to want to go back should in itself tell you that you have not lost your desire completely.
I would start off gradually and not throw anything faster or harder than half to three fourths speed and power for the first two weeks. That way you will avoid potential injuries to start with. Secondly, I would challenge myself to get back into shape and be better than I was before and to build myself into shape. It did not take just a month to get out of shape and put that weight on and I suspect that it will take more than a month to get back into shape and get the weight off. Third, I would do some cross-training picking something non-martial arts related like swimming, biking, rollerblading to do occasionally and substitute occasionally for part of my work outs. As for diet plans there is certainly enough information out there but if you are interested in competing again try to pick one that builds and adds muscle some as opposed to just losing weight. A modified Atkins diet for instance would be my recommendation since it has so much protein. I competed for many years and learning how to deal with some of the ups and downs that come with that or some of the outside factors that can affect that are something in itself that competitors have to learn how to deal with. Good luck.
fantastic!
I believe that he did many years of Shotokan Karate, and in one of the episodes threw in Sambo. If you're considering taking martial arts be sure to find an art that best fits you.
Finding what you like best may take a lot of research. It depends if you like to throw punches, kicks, or grapple. Find what you like best, and what you think you would be able to accelerate in.
The most effective martial arts used by covert ops, special forces, CIA, etc. include, but aren't limited to: Krav Maga, Wing Chun, and Kajukenbo.
Remember, you won't like a martial art unless it's something that interest you. Whether you want to do something flashy, or learn something more practical is up to you!
Good luck on your journey.
there all the best if your tall muay tai is for you, if your athletic choose karate or take won do , if your not strong and have very little striking skill choose aikido.wing Chung and jiu jitsu is for every one.
choosing the best type of martial art is like choose your dream car some might choose fast one ,some big ,on looks it depends on the person just like martial arts that why there is so much argument which one is the best a short person might argue that bjj is better than muay tai because he can kick as good as the tall people in muay tai and a tall person will get grappled easy in bjj because hes got alot of limbs and bones sticking out . no one can tell you the best martial art they would just tell what there good at.
NOTE if your talking about Brazilian ju jitsu it would be the perfect martial art for some one your height .it doesn't have nothing to do with how strong you are I'm 5"11 and I submit people 6-7 feet tall I'm there all so girls in my class that can beat me. if i were you i would choose japanese ju -jitsu NOT brazlian ju jitsu there not the same jjj has strikes and kicks with a little bit of subbmission fighing, bjj is just submission fighting but more in depeth
Try German school of swordsmanship. I got a link here below
wow, amazing. Deep is my favorite actor too.
(Brasil)
AMAZINGGG
Great actor great painting great music ,,lovely for real
It depends upon the age of your children. If they are mature enough to handle the discipline of a martial arts school then yes it could benefit them. Children who are meek and timid will gain a whole lot of confidence in themselves. Young children that tend to bully others tend to have a great deal of discipline while in class but have not the maturity to transfer those lessons into the school yard… end up showing off and may still bully smaller children. If the Martial arts school is reputable, gets wind of their behavior… they may take appropriate measures to stop it… if bullying continues they will dismiss him/her from their training.
My son was small and picked on in school, so learning a martial art has tremendously helped his self confidence. Though he wasn't mature enough to start taking his training seriously until he was about 12 years old. My Girl have matured at a much younger age and though they are only 4 and 6 I feel they should be able to train by the time they reach 10 years old.
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has a lot of control holds that I use in my day job. Most of the holds are within policy so I use that to my advantage. Below is a paste from the Gracie Academy in Torrance Ca.
Why LEOs Need GCMLE
According to the F.B.I., in 2007 there were 59,201 sworn law enforcement officers assaulted in the line of duty. Over 80% of these assaults (47,495) were committed by unarmed perpetrators who only used their hands and/or feet to attack the officer. It is most important to consider the two biggest reasons why law enforcement officers did not shoot these perpetrators before their unarmed assaults were carried out:
Unjustified – Unless someone’s life is at risk, the officer is not justified in using deadly force.
Unable – Most physical assaults on officers take place so abruptly that the officer does not have the time or distance necessary to draw his or her firearm or less-lethal weapons, safely.
Since it is so common that officers are assaulted in situations where they are unjustified or unable to use their weapons in their defense, it is imperative that they be empowered with a very effective, court-defensible system of self-defense that will ensure their safety in the worst case scenarios that they are so likely to encounter. GCMLE is the solution.
Reduced Liability
It is a fact that any law enforcement officer who is not confident in their ability to control a suspect with their hands is more prone to resort to their weapons, prematurely, and all it takes is one excessive force incident to dramatically alter the stability of a police department and its relationship with the community they serve. Since the GCMLE course is based on controlled pain compliance techniques rather than uncontrollable strikes, the physical damage to the suspect is kept to an absolute minimum. Lawsuits and charges of police brutality decrease significantly when GCMLE is used.
Note: If an instructor of the agency or organization holds a valid certification in the GCMLE and a police brutality case arises involving the usage of the techniques, Rorion Gracie will be willing to testify on behalf of the department.
you, sir, are freakishly talented. congratulations.
as many different types as you can,starting with a stand up style.or a style that is well rounded.heres a bit of info.
A good well rounded style would be freestyle Karate.You will learn stand up,ground,grappling and weapons.What a lot of people don't understand is that freestyle Karate is about practical street defence not who can kick the highest or punch a pad the hardest.It's definitely not a sport martial art like TKD or BJJ.The motto of my style is the best of everything in progression.Basically that means we don't care where the technique comes from we improve it and integrate it into our style while still maintaining tradition as do most freestyle Karate's.
The hardest thing is finding a good experienced instructor.I would recommend Bushi Kai or Zen Do Kai, but if your not in Australia or New Zealand you may have some difficulty finding some one who teaches these styles.These styles also usually have separate classes available to everyone in Muay Thai and BJJ/Submission/Shoot wrestling.If you can't find one of these i would suggest Kempo or Enshin or another freestyle Karate.
http://www.zendokai.com.au/countries2/USA/index.htm
No TKD is NOT an art of redirection, or of opposing energies. Most of the Okinawan or Japanese styles are good examples of this. Aikido, Kenpo, Judo,even Isshinryu (to some degree) are the types of styles you are thinking of.
I have studied the martial science & martial arts for 28 years and have tried to learn as much as i can about every style I come across. Having fought, taught, and studied since i was 5 gives me a blessed insight on the inner workings of them and the concepts behind their development. I have also been given the honor of being named as a certified martial arts/science historian.
AMAZING!! love it!
its like u took a picture@@
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