Our Summary

Alan Baxter, a martial arts instructor and author, talks about what makes a good fight scene, and how to write rich scenes that are realistic and engaging for the reader. He discusses hand fighting in depth–techniques used, guarding and blocking, common injuries sustained in fighting, the consequences of a knockout. He explains how a smaller opponent must fight differently than a larger opponent. He discusses the sounds, smells, and yes, tastes of a fight. He discusses how the use of weapons affects the pace and outcome of a fight. Most importantly, he dives into the psychology of a fight–the effects of adrenaline, training, and experience on how people fight and how they react to a fight. All these details are explained in the context of how to convey the chaos and emotion of a fight on the page.

What I learned From It

I learned how to realistically give my characters challenging odds in fights. I also learned how to make a fight scene rich in detail without focusing on the blow-by-blow of a fight. Most importantly, I learned that the key to a fight is the emotional reactions of the characters–how the characters experience and emotionally process the fight is more important than the mechanics of the conflict itself. I also learned how to realistically address the aftermath of a fight–the broken hands, concussions, emotional turmoil–rather than have my characters bounce right back as though nothing happened.

Robinne Weiss