Writing About Fighting: Hand To Hand Combat: Part Four.




1. It’s not about how hard you punch.

I was recently asked by a reader how hard one has to punch a person to knock them out and wanted to give an answer and that answer is simple. It’s not about how hard to punch to get a knockout, rather it’s about where you hit that gives you the knockout. One can be punched full force and still stand, and, if they saw the punch coming and were able to roll with it, thus mitigating the damage, could take little damage from a full power punch to the face. What’s more important than the power is where you hit and whether or not the person who’s being hit can see the strike coming or not. As the old boxing adage says “it’s the punches you don’t see coming that are the ones that hurt.”
As for targets, the tip of the chin often results in a KO as well as blows to the back of the head and behind the ears. Striking the liver and kidneys are also often fight enders if one can hit them squarely. The solar plexus and the floating rib (the lowest ribs in the ribcage) are also often fight enders.

2. Blood vs. air chokes.

If you’re writing about grappling exchanges there are various chokes one can pull of while fighting and it’s good to know whether what you want to describe is a blood choke which is a choke that restricts the flow of blood to the brain, causing one to pass out, or an air choke. The air choke is one that restricts the breathing and closes the airways. Blood chokes are quicker and can knock someone out within ten to fifteen seconds if properly applied. Air chokes are much more painful because they are essentially crushing the trachea, and take longer when the adrenaline is pumping. Often taking up to nearly a minute to work during a serious fight. One of the most common blood chokes are the ‘Rear Naked’ and ‘Front Naked’ chokes. The ‘Guillotine Choke’ is one of the most common of the air chokes.

3. Distance Management.

Fighting is all about distances. Often the strength of blows are mitigated by closing the distance between the attacker and the one who’s being attacked. By stepping into a blow, one can lessen the power of the blow because less force is allowed into that blow. On the flipside, when that distance is closed, it opens up a world of grappling and wrestling possibilities. Knowing the distances at which varying kinds of fighting take place can help you with creating a believable and entrancing flow to your action writing.

4. Slams.

Something that is often underutilized in fighting are slams, which are exactly what they sound like. Picking someone up and slamming their body or head into the ground. Be careful to not make this too easy, because it requires enormous amounts of energy to pick someone up who doesn’t want to be picked up and thrown around like a rag doll. That being said, slams are very powerful moves, and when performed on a hard surface can knock out or even kill. So, if you’re writing about a fight in the streets, it’s just as likely that the person being slammed will get hemorrhaging as it is they walk away just beaten and bruised.

5. Size matters.

Anyone who tells you that size doesn’t matter in a fight is lying to you or trying to sell you something. Size often determines a fight. That’s not to say that smaller fighters can’t win, but each pound makes the likelihood of winning that much less. The bigger you are, the more force there is behind each blow. If you’re writing a David vs Goliath type of fight, the smaller man winning by sheer power is nearly unbelievable and makes the fight boring. When fighting a bigger fighter, you need to think more, you must adapt strategies and identify weaknesses. These strategies can make for an exciting read or watch. So remember, a hundred twenty pound woman knocking out a two hundred pound man with just a punch or kick isn’t only stretching reality, but it makes for boring action. That same woman improvising weaponry and finding weaknesses such as opportunities for the chokes we discussed earlier, are what make the fight not only exciting but believable too.

Be blessed! See y’all in the next installment! If you have any questions you want addressed, feel free to ask.

-M. Anthony Harris