We are in a series on writing female fighters. In the first post we considered how she fights. In the second post, how she looks. In the third post we looked at how era and culture have their impacts on choosing a fighting style for ANY CHARACTER. I also did a podcast on this btw. And in this post, we are going to consider how to pick the best fighting style for your character. Remember, a fighting style isn’t just punching and kicking. It is also utilizing weaponry or commanding a vehicle of war.
Location and Fighting Style
Y’all, where you fight determines the fight. For reals. If you have taken any of my classes you know that I stress this greatly. For example, sharks are apex predators. I was raised on the Gulf of Mexico and have a healthy respect for bull sharks. I know people who have lost lives and limbs to them. But, I bet I could win a battle against a bull shark on land in the snow. Maybe.
Geographical Location
Where in the world your setting is situated will determine the weather, terrain and climate. All of these have an impact on fighting style. I will give you just a few examples for each. I hope you read and think, why didn’t she mention ___! Because if that’s the case, your brain is boiling over and I love that!
Weather Patterns
Weather…oh, weather… Folks, history isn’t dependent upon great minds, grand plans and meticulous strategy. Life as we know it is often a meteorological matter. Do you know why the A bomb was dropped over Hiroshima? Because it was too cloudy over Kokura. Hitler failed to seize Moscow and Stalingrad because of harsh winter conditions. Cloud cover, fog, dust and gusts of wind will thwart aim. Snow, rain and sand storms can bring all movement to a standstill. Weather can also incite aggression and make it harder to catch offenders. More murders are committed when it’s hot. And, when it rains, it’s harder to collect evidence.
Weather’s Effect on Your Character
On those two final notes, perhaps the greatest impact of weather isn’t on one’s choice of fighting style. Above all, weather impacts human beings. At best, it affects the spirit. At worst, it can take a life. And it will do the same to your character. Your hero may be the most well prepared killing machine on the planet. But, when her nose is black from frostbite, she probably won’t be. When the air is so hot and thick with humidity her fingers are pruned and she feels like she is breathing through a steaming towel, she won’t be on her game. Whenever she is forced to immediately adapt to a weather pattern or a climate to which her body isn’t accustomed and her mind isn’t prepared, her skill set will suffer.
Do not underestimate the power of weather and know the weather of your setting.
Terrain
When it comes to picking a fighting style for your character, terrain is huge. If footing isn’t sure, it’s best not to punch. If the ground is rocky, hot, or littered with debris, it’s best to stay on one’s feet, provided, of course, one is wearing shoes. If the ground is swampy, movement on foot will be difficult and on horseback it might be down right impossible. If elevation is high, oxygen will be thin, soldiers will quickly tire and their skin will be more susceptible to burns. If the area is mountainous, weaponry and supplies will be more cumbersome to carry on back and/or transport. What if the “terrain” is water? What if your character is swimming in an ocean littered with Kraken Kittens??? Guess what? Story over. Nothing beats a Krakitten. (See pic at top. It’s real.)
Climate
If the climate is frigid, the skin is more susceptible to splitting and the layers of clothing worn in that weather inhibit movement. If the air is extremely humid, weapons that incorporate wood are susceptible to warp. If it is hot, layers of clothing may cause soldiers to overheat.
Site and Fighting Style
The site of a fight is the literal location of it. Like terrain and climate, the site of the engagement/altercation determines strategy, the vehicles of war, the most effective weaponry and, you guessed it, most productive fighting style. Ask yourself if your character or band has the room to carry out what it is you want them to do? Is there adequate space for your fighting style of choice? Is the space crowded with people? Does the weaponry you have chosen require space to do its job? There’s a reason why pirates didn’t fight with staffs, flails and bows and arrows. Those weapons weren’t practical for fighting on the deck of a ship. Instead they used cutlasses, good for slicing, stabbing and even punching. They used guns and daggers for close quarters and cannons to sink combatant ships. They also used axes and rope and whatever else they could get their hands on.
Weapons of Opportunity (WOOs)
That leads me to my favorite kind of weaponry: that of opportunity. A weapon of opportunity is any item not intended to be a weapon that is used as a weapon. If a pirate was being attacked, had no weapon on him but a tea kettle within reach, guess what? He fought with that tea kettle! Rocks, wine bottles, sand, TV remotes, hot water…all of these can be used in defense of the self.
Go to the scene of your fight. Take a look around. What around your character can be used to distract or injure an assailant? In my book, I have a whole chapter on WOOs listed by rooms/site. Some places are pretty easy. A garage, for example, is loaded with tools, chemicals and all manner of pokey, smashy things. Well, so is an office. So is a library… One more time, look around you right now for weaponry. Empty your mind. Don’t see things for what they are purposed. See them for what is possible.
Having your cake and choking somebody with it too!
In each of the instances I mentioned, there is another side to things. What hinders one can help another. Keep that in mind. Think of ways that the characteristics of a location can help and hinder your characters. What can be used as a buffer? What can give a better vantage? What can one side use to slow the progress of the other? The location you choose for your fight can be both good and bad for those involved. You can have it both ways simultaneously. Thus, you can eat your cake and choke somebody with it at the same time. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.
One ring can’t rule them all.
No matter what fighting style you choose, it will never be best for every situation, every location, every character. There is no best martial art, no best weapon, no “one ring to rule them all.” Each is best for its original use. The best fighter, the true master, isn’t the one who has expertise. The true master is the one who can adapt their expertise to the circumstances at hand. And you, as the writer, have to be that master. You must, as the great Bruce Lee said, be water. Put your characters in circumstances where everything goes sideways because let me assure you, that’s how real fighting is. Real fighting doesn’t go to plan. Then, you, be water. Make the characters adapt. Or not! But, even then, let your brain fill the shape of the space in the story, the twists, the turns. And, where there is no twist and turn, like water, your brain can create one. That’s what makes writing so awesome. You can be water.
In the next post, we will take a closer look at your character’s build and how that might impact what fighting style might be best for them. Until the next round at FightWrite™.net, get blood on your pages. And, remember, writer: be water, my friend.
MOBILE READERS: Let me know how the length of this post is for you. Too long? Too short? Just right? Comment below.
