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I always have liked descriptive fight scenes myself. Even if I don’t know exactly what is going on, or if I do, but find it despairingly inaccurate, I always love hearing about each swing, block, or trick. Each move is tantalizing because you never know which one will decide the match.
You can be descriptive without being technical. I have tried to do that here. For instance, where I might normally say “parry”, I have used the word “block”. Everyone knows what it means to block an attack. Instead of saying,”The swordsman assumed a low guard” which an average reader has probably never hear of, you could say,”His feet were firmly planted and his whole frame at guard. His sword hung low, at once inviting attack and threatening it.” The average reader might not understand ever last detail and sub-detail of what is being said, like an expert would, but they will at least know what you are generally talking about.
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Good idea— you can always be less technical. You can always describe a technical term in everyday words, and it generally gives a much stronger image than just the one term that sums everything up.
And I’m sorry Daeus, but I missed your reply to my knife fighting question. I don’t know how I didn’t see it there— but thanks for the tips. I’m glad you told me about the distinction between traditional fencing and modern fencing. I hadn’t thought of it that way.In broadsword fighting, is there a difference between a defensive stance and an offensive stance?
Thanks Daeus for all the helpful info!
Haha! I asked about the sword being able to shatter, because I read a fiction book in which that happened. I’ve never heard of it before though and since then I’ve always wanted to know!https://rolenahatfield.com/
“In broadsword fighting, is there a difference between a defensive stance and an offensive stance?” Not really. A stance (assuming by stance you mean a guard) is a stationary position. Your body and weapon are positioned to be able to attack or defend with the greatest speed, accuracy, and power. You may choose to use one stance over another for a defensive or offensive strategy, but that is your choice. There is nothing inherently defensive or offensive about a stance, or rather, all stances are both.
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One last question- do you hold a broadsword with one hand, or both hands?
I think I can answer that one. The category of swords commonly and generally labeled ‘broadswords’ is pretty… well… broad. You can have anything from the heavy Scottish claymores to the Roman ‘shortswords’. I think it depends upon who made the sword and for what purpose. Actually, most swords are only made for one purpose— war. But if whoever commissioned the sword to be forged wanted it to be heavier and pack a greater punch, shall we say, they would probably end up having a hilt forged long enough so that they could use both hands. If you wanted a lighter sword for greater maneuverability, you wouldn’t need to employ both hands unless you just wanted to. It would be better defensively for you if you used only one hand, since that leaves your other arm free to use a shield, but to each his own.
So it varies— some broadswords have only room for one hand, some have room for a hand and a half, and others have room for two hands. It depends on the length and weight of the sword and the commissioner’s preferred method of fighting.
And by the way, it doesn’t matter how long the hilt of the sword is if you want to use only one hand. You can use one hand on a hand-and-a-half sword and a two-handed sword, if that’s what you want to do. The length of the hilt is just a precaution, in case you need to employ greater strength than you could with a one-handed sword.Hey Kate,
Yeah, no, I understand your argument. I agree that you definitely need to slow down. The thing is if you begin to describe stuff a lot then the reader skips the “boring parts.” When you have short sentences it’s a lot easier to read.
Now I do understand about the need to slow down. I probably need to add some stuff for Sarah that you do need to slow down at least once in every fight scene. The thing is, yeah, you shouldn’t go into detail too much because . . . fighting is pretty boring. I mean it’s a lot more awesome when you watch in on TV than read it.
The thing that we have an advantage over TV is reader-character connection. That’s what I meant when I said show character through the fight. I mean sometimes you gotta show the feeling instead of what happens. It’s boring seeing it happen. It’s riveting feeling it happen.
Do you get what I mean? So um . . . heads up everybody! I wrote an article on fight scenes that probably won’t get published on Kingdom Pen ’cause it’s been a really long time and it’s past the Month’s Theme. If you want to get my article and “beta-reader” it then email me at mark (dot) kamibaya (at) gmail (dot) com.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
Heads up everybody! I wrote an article on fight scenes that probably won’t get published on Kingdom Pen ’cause it’s been a really long time and it’s past the Month’s Theme. If you want to get my article and “beta-reader” it for me then email me at mark (dot) kamibaya (at) gmail (dot) com.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
Just to clarify, a hand and a half sword actually has room for two hands, but its handle is small enough to control with one hand easily as well.
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Oops, I said that was my last question, but now I have another. 🙂 So, would a typical English broadsword in 1311 be one-handed, one-and-a-half handed, or two handed? Or did they use all three kinds at that time?
Thank you for being so helpful, Daeus. And thank you, Kate, for your imput. I’d never heard of a hand and a half sword before.Whoops! Sorry about that, Daeus. I guess I knew that. Thanks for correcting my mistake. I believe I was trying to make a distinction between a hand-and-a-half sword and say, a claymore. There is a difference, isn’t there?
Rolena, it’s possible that a sword could shatter if the temper of the blade was bad. Not that the blade had a bad temper… but that the blade’s temper was bad. 😉
If the blade was cooled too quickly when it was being forged, the steel would become brittle— too hard to withstand and return blows without snapping. If the smith cooled and heated it only once or twice, that would result in a bad tempering of the blade as well. Or if the smith did not use the right kind of steel (softer steel in the middle of the blade for flexibility, and harder steel on the edges for strength and sharpness) the sword could very easily be unfit for combat. But I doubt a well made sword could shatter just because it was hit too hard. Now if a mountain fell on it… or a dragon stepped on it… okay, maybe. But you can’t shatter a well made sword with another sword.
And Sarah, while Old English history is probably one of my very favorite studies, I don’t think I could tell you that. For one thing, I’m bad about remembering dates, and I don’t think I ever traced the history of swords back quite that far. If no one here can tell you, I’m almost positive you can look it up on Wikipedia.In 1311 they would have all three. I don’t think there was ever a time when there weren’t all three, but it seems like longer swords were rarer in ancient times.
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