Martial Arts in Stories?

[WarLordwrites]

Greetings

Given the thread indicating the interest in Martial Arts by writers in the forum I decided to see who had used their combat skills in a story plot plus give me an opportunity for a shameless plug without a thread hi jacking!

My Martial Art is GUNS! Weapons realistically depicted as a part of my narratives

You'd understand this assertion if you read Christmas Cruise or Wild West or check out my Yahoo Forum

If you'd like to read a sword and sorcery story on Lit with realistic depictions of a protagionst wielding his Katana, I'd like to suggest Blood and Iron

The question for the martial artists

Do you have a story that uses your martial skill as a plot device?

Given the variety of skills represented and the interest shown seems a "natural"...

Enjoy the journey

WarLord

 

[S-Des]

Duplicate Post

 

[S-Des]

Hero's Reward in Romance. The opening scene takes place in an alley where the main character tries to help a woman being attacked by two men. I received a number of nice comments from people with Martial Arts backrounds saying they appreciated the level of detail. Several of my stories have fights, ranging from a short, mostly painless confrontation in Fool's Envy to a premeditated murder in After The Fact. Although it can be overdone, since we live in a violent society I think some violence in a story can help bring the reader in, helping them identify with the character's emotions.

 

[R. Richard]

Slight threadjack:
The problem with using martial arts in a story is that either you have to 'dumb down' the presentation or lose most of the readers with details.

To give a simple example, let us consider a straight punch. 1) What is the orientation of the fist? 2) Is it a quick 'arm' punch or does the puncher have the time to get other components into the punch? 3) Does the puncher use 'chi'? [Item 3) would require an understanding/explanation of 'internal' versus 'external.'] 4) What sort of footwork is involved? [If you don't think a punch involves footwork, you need to talk to your sifu.] 5) What is the target for the punch? [Different targets use different 'fists.'] 6) What about the recovery? [The recovery is as important as the punch.]

Marital arts gets very complicated very quickly.

 

[S-Des]

Slight threadjack:
The problem with using martial arts in a story is that either you have to 'dumb down' the presentation or lose most of the readers with details.

To give a simple example, let us consider a straight punch. 1) What is the orientation of the fist? 2) Is it a quick 'arm' punch or does the puncher have the time to get other components into the punch? 3) Does the puncher use 'chi'? [Item 3) would require an understanding/explanation of 'internal' versus 'external.'] 4) What sort of footwork is involved? [If you don't think a punch involves footwork, you need to talk to your sifu.] 5) What is the target for the punch? [Different targets use different 'fists.'] 6) What about the recovery? [The recovery is as important as the punch.]

Marital arts gets very complicated very quickly.

Whereas describing sex is very easy (no complicated physical positions there ). It's only complicated if you make it so. The average reader doesn't need to know the angle of your fist or your footwork. It is irrelevant to the story (as would be describing how the hair on your legs was getting matted by sweat or the difference in angle of the man's penis during penetration during good sex). I have read a few stories that included martial arts, and haven't found them any better or worse than others. It comes down to the writer and how well he/she describes events. The readers aren't morons (by and large)...so they fill in many of the blanks you leave.

 

[WarLordwrites]

Slight threadjack:
The problem with using martial arts in a story is that either you have to 'dumb down' the presentation or lose most of the readers with details.

Marital arts gets very complicated very quickly.

Greetings

That is the tension in any story of any topic!

I want enough detail to add versimilitude without bogging the stoy in "data dump"

In my story "Wild West", I describe How It Feels to shoot, that more than the mechanical tasks is what the reader needs.

Throwing the punch?

How it feels or what happens after...

Enjoy the journey

WarLord

 

[TheeGoatPig]

One story I am writing will have a lot of fighting in it. Richard just gave me a bunch to think about for when I get to the action parts. I will probably go the dumbed down route, but for some things I'll have to include some details that even a novice reader won't have trouble understanding.

None of my stories on Lit will have any fighting. I find it counterproductive to people having sex.

 

[TxRad]

MoonFlower

90% of the story unfolds during an attack, a chase, and a confrontation or two....

It is hard and time consuming to write a fight scene... you have to go over it in your mind and pick and choose just the parts that need to be used to get the effect across to the reader.... just like you do in a sex scene..... Different sides of the same coin.....

 

[rgraham666]

The combats in my stories, mostly my vampires stories, are the way they are in real life. Over very quickly and with people dead or maimed.

 

[WarLordwrites]

The combats in my stories, mostly my vampires stories, are the way they are in real life. Over very quickly and with people dead or maimed.

Greetings

There is a book on my bookshelf about gunfighting titled: "No Second Place Winner"

I think that pretty much says for all!

Enjoy the journey

WarLord

 

[R. Richard]

Of course it is not necessary to go into extreme detail when describing a martial arts combat scene. However, omitting details soon leaves you with a
PUNCH! SOCK! BAM!
type of thing.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I should mention, when I do write the action sequences in my novel, they won't be the high flying charismatic and stylistic fights as seen in asian kung fu movies. It will be the more practical and intence type of fighting that Tom Cruise used in Collateral. He didn't waste time, he went straight for the killshot every time. That's what my characters will be like.

 

[SlickTony]

I am very glad someone started this thread, as I'd been contemplating writing a story with a big fight scene in it. You would think that since I am in martial arts myself, that this would be easy, but it isn't really. I'm told that fight scenes in movies are practically choreographed. A lot of thought needs to be put into a fight scene to make it believable IMO.