By Dame Jackie
Today’s the big release of SHADES OF GRAY, which I coauthored with Caitlin Kittredge. Superheroes, rah! The supervillains who pound those heroes into pudding, rah! Support the Deadline Dames and buy a copy (or two) of SHADES OF GRAY today. Stick around; there may be a contest at the end of this post.
One thing when it comes to writing heroes in urban fantasy: there’s gonna be a fight scene. Or twenty. Fighting seems to be key in fantasy (urban or not). Heroes don’t just talk the bad guys down (well, unless they’re lawyers — and even then, the lawyers from Wolfram & Hart weren’t exactly passive, were they?), and as we’ve seen time and again, diplomatic negotiations tend to break down into bloodshed. Heroes in fantasy are active. They may think before they fight, but there’s no question they have to think with their fists. Or feet.
Well and good. But what does a Flirting With Forty bespectacled lady author personally know of the fine art of fisticuffs? Sure, I used to play a mean game of Mercy when I was a kid. But that was about it.
So I’m only half-joking when I quip that I take tae kwon do for research purposes. (Actually, it’s a phenomenal stress reliever. I get to kick the hell out of people. And they not only don’t sue me; they want me to do it again!) I’ve been taking lessons only for a few months, but I’ve already learned a lot that I can apply to my urban fantasy writing.
1. White is not a flattering color. Especially for those of us with, shall we say, extra padding. Not only does it reveal every lump and bump, it also gets dirty easily. Sweat stains under the pits? Not flattering. So be careful if your heroine wears white.
2. Wearing protective gear is sweaty. Seriously. You know you’ve worked out a lot when you have to peel off your arm and shin guards. Ick. And doing warm-ups while wearing a chest protector? VERY HOT. And not in the sexy-hawt way. Yes, your hero is going to need some sort of protection when he or she is fighting. But just keep in mind that after, they’re gonna stink. Unless they have the power to sweat roses.
3. Punch from the hip. There’s a difference between pushing a punch and throwing a punch. You want to throw a punch. Keep your hands chambered, and wait until the last second before snapping your fist straight out. If your hero cocks back his arm before punching, well, he’s basically telegraphed what he’s going to do.
4. Wearing tight pants makes it impossible to kick high. Or well. Or, er, at all, unless you don’t mind splitting a seam where it really matters. Ditto wearing a tight skirt. So if your heroine is walking around in leather pants, they should probably be LOOSE. And do you remember that episode of Friends, when Ross was sweating in his leather pants…and then he couldn’t get them off? Me too. So wear leather with caution!
5. High heels are a weapon…especially for the wearer. Hey, YOU try performing a roundhouse kick while wearing three-inch heels. Now make those five-inch thigh-high leather boots. Yeah. There’s a reason why both Catwoman’s and Silk Spectre’s high heels magically morphed into flats during the action scenes in Batman Returns and Watchmen. Even Wonder Woman has taken to wearing sensible boots. If your heroine fights in heels, be prepared for a sprained ankle, or worse.
6. No one is born a martial arts expert. Okay, maybe in some canons you can wake up undead and suddenly be a martial arts rock star. Unless that’s the case, you have to practice. A lot. I go to classes 3 – 5 times a week, and I still have a reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally long way to go. If your heroes aren’t practicing their skills during their down time, well, the next time a baddie comes gunning for them, they might just be too slow to stop the fangs or claws.
7. Knowing the theory doesn’t help in a fight. See, the thing is, I know how to throw a perfect roundhouse kick. I know how to punch someone to disable him or her. I do. I know these things. But that doesn’t mean I can actually do those things yet, especially when I’m sparring. My kicks are still severely lacking in power and speed, and my technique is far from perfect. So just because your heroine has studied various fighting methods doesn’t mean she won’t get taken down in a for-real fight.
8. Yelling isn’t just for girls. Throwing a punch or a kick is one thing; doing them with a mighty bellow is another. This isn’t yelling out of fear; it’s yelling to intimidate the hell out of your opponent, and to give you more energy. When your hero is fighting, have him kiyop (however it’s spelled) during crucial contact.
9. Stretch. Dude, after working those muscles, you better stretch out, or your body will make you pay the next day. (Trust me.) So after a big ol’ fight scene, assuming the hero isn’t running for his life, he really should work out the kinks and cool down. Otherwise, instead of an alpha swagger the next morning, he’ll do the Old Man Shuffle.
10. Your opponent won’t always be your size. Now, I’m barely five feet tall. And I promise you, nearly everyone is taller than me. Many people are much taller than me. You try a head shot when your crescent kick barely grazes someone’s torso. Adjust as you need. My instructor told me that in a real fight, he’d never go for the head shot — too much risk that you’d get your foot caught, or would be off balance. Instead, he’d groin-kick his opponent, and when the dude is doubled over in pain, THEN he’d go for the head shot. (I am so going to write that in a book one day.)
And there you go: what I’ve learned so far about fight scenes, thanks to tae kwon do. With luck, I’ll be a blackbelt in a few short years. I see my business card now: Jackie Kessler — Vegetarian. Blackbelt. Bestseller.
Hey, it’s good to visualize. 
Contest!!! To celebrate the release of SHADES OF GRAY, I’m giving away a signed copy of BLACK AND WHITE. All you have to do is reply to this post and let me know which book or movie has some of your favorite fight scenes. For me, there’s nothing like the over-the-top gore-fest that is Kill Bill. Winner to be picked at random on Sunday, June 27, 2010. Have at it!
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Tags: Black and White, Caitlin Kittredge, fight scenes, Shades of Gray, tae kwon do
The Kill Bill fight scenes are great, especially in the first one, when she fights all those evil minions in the Japanese restaurant, and the movie shifts from color to black and white.
I’ve got to say my favorite fight scene hands down is at the end of Van Helsing when Hugh Jackman turns into a wolf and fights Dracula. Can’t ever complain about a werewolf with a abs.
My favoite fight scene is a funny one. It’s when John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara fight in McKlintock
Great article! And all so very true as well. Isn’t it nice to fantasize about magical strength and prowess though. MaryJanice Davidson’s Queen Betsy sucks at defending herself. Which, while realistic was a bit disappointing. The vampire queen needs to learn some skills. My current favorite kick ass heroine is Evangeline Stone from Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding. And Lara Croft
Is it bad that I love the wire fu in the second Charlie’s Angels movie? Although, for my all-time OMG fave it has to be the Jet Li/Jackie Chan fight scene in The Forbidden Kingdom.
You know I loves me some Caucasian girl with an oriental sword action, but recent favorites have to be from the movie Killzone. Hong Kong busts through with all the good fight scenes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SErujCM7RFQ
Apart from this, Kiss the Dragon. Jet Li is just too damn fast for his own good!
Thanks for the great post! It was really interesting.
I think my favorite fight scenes are also in the Kill Bill movies or TombRaider movies.
The first fight scene that came to mind was Hugh Grant and Colin Firth fighting around the fountain in the second Bridget Jones movie.
I don’t know thats it’s my favourite, but it is the one I thought of first. And it gives me fits of giggles everytime I think of it.
Another fight scene I love is the Xander/Harmony slap fight in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Oh I love this! I’ve been writing fight scenes like a mad woman lately. I’ve always wondered how some heroines could be a kung fu master while wearing 5 inch heels.
It’s not out yet, but The Last Airbender (from the trailer at least) has some super cool fight moves! Can’t find the trailer I keep seeing on TV though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-egQ79OrYCs
My favourite fight scene is from x-men the last stand, when shadowcat faces off with juggernaut, who’s 4 times her size, and she wins. Awesome.
The first favorite that comes to mind is actually from The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley – where Hari is training with Mathin, and first knocks him off his horse. It was both very believable and very emotionally intense.
Hey Jackie!
Great post! I have loads of action scenes in my WIP so this is very useful.
My favorite fight scene is in The Bourne Identity, when Jason takes down his enemy with a pen. A pen! Totally badass! All of the scenes in all three movies rock and I enjoyed them thoroughly.
Can I do tv shows? I love Elliot from Leverage in all his fights. (I think he was once a Wolfram and Hart lawyer, but I didn’t watch that show, so I’m not certain.) But I haven’t watched the season premiere yet so don’t spoil that for me with details, K? It’s tivo’d waiting for tv night — Thursday. If we didn’t have every night planned lately, there’s no way I’d be able to wait that long. (I know, another blog already said something about plot armor so they’ve got some holes, but I’m sure the characters will carry it for me with only a little yelling at the tv
My absolute favorite is the fight scene between Jet Li and Yasuaki Kurata in Fist of Legend. Fan-freaking-tastic.
Least favorite? When the guys get beat up in Rounders and then just kind of stand up and walk away. Didn’t that hurt, you fools?
Jackie, this is a GREAT post.
Awesome post, Jackie!
Oddly, though I wasn’t a big fan of the movie, I really enjoyed the fight scenes in Elektra.
True Romance, hands down. Not only does Patricia Arquette and James Gandolfini go toe to toe in one of the most violent fight scenes I’ve ever seen, but so does Christian Slater and Gary Oldman, and Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken’s boys. Niiiiiiiiice.
Oh, great post! I would say the movie with some really good fight scenes would be any movie with Jackie Chan. That guy is amazing with the fight scenes. One movie that comes to mind is the movie Forbidden Kingdom with both Chan and Jet Li. There were some great fight scenes in that movie.
Great post! I did Judo for a long time, and as the only girl in my class… I know what you mean about the height issue.
I love the action scenes in the Strange Angels series… in fact, they’re probably the only action scenes I read. I usually skip them.
Great post!
I enjoyed reading ‘Poison Study’ and Yelena’s struggles to become a fighter. Also, Alanna in Tamora Pierce’s series. Great fight scenes.
Hmm…read a LOT of fight scenes, let me think a moment…Jaye Wells had some good ones in The Red-Headed Stepchild and even in The Mage in Black. Those were actually quite good. I know I’ve read hundreds, if not thousands of other good fight scenes I just can’t think of them right now! That’s the trouble with reading so much!
Just looked at the post ahead of me and I do like the fight scenes with Yelena in the Study series, also in the same series or even in the Glass series by Maria Snyder, I love Janco’s fighting because he always uses these rhymes to throw off his opponent and the rhymes are usually rather funny as well!
And my mind seriously can’t think of a good movie fight scene. I’m really trying but can’t think of any of them! I do love a lot of the ones in comedy films that they make to look ridiculous and they are because you’re laughing rather than trying to see who’s winning.
On the serious note, I did like some of the fight scenes that were in the Underworld movies, even though a lot of them were with weapons. The first POTC had amazing fight scenes. I wasn’t too thrilled with the sequels, but the first one had amazing sword fights!
my favorite fight scene is in Ilona Andrew’s Magic strikes, when they’re all at the midnight games.
I love the fights scene in Ninja Assasin and Underworld. Great post and thanks for stopping by. :]
I just watched a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon the other day, and the sword fight scene in the first movie with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in the blacksmith’s where they use a cart to go up into the rafters is pretty cool. And besides, it’s Johnny Depp.
Jaye Wells does really good fight scenes, like the one in the beginning of The Mage in Black in the convenience store, or even the ones in the Demon Fight Club scenes with Giguhl.
And let’s not forget The Princess Bride with Inigo Montoya and the six fingered man. Who could possibly top that?
Hi Jackie! I have a sentimental favorite or two. 1) By YOU in Rosie Hughes. “LINE UP THE PENGUINS!” 2) In one of the Thrall books Cathy and I wrote. Because when we were discussing it (at my office, where everybody thought I’ve always been this mild-mannered secretary person) she kept saying “that isn’t possible” and I kept arguing that it was. Until finally in exasperation I said LOUDLY “IT IS POSSIBLE. I’VE DONE IT!” and we wound up with one of those E-F-Hutton moments throughout the floor. People at work treated me a LOT nicer after that. HMNNNNNNN.
Best fight scenes: Red Belt. Not a fake moment anywhere. Plus the dialog rocks.
You’re so right. White is not flattering. Sweaty pants also make it hard to kick and long pants that drag on the ground make it hard to kick. High kicks may look cool by even without an opponent you can put yourself off balance. Oh, I started a year ago January and I got a purple belt the beginning of April and there is still mega quantities of stuff to learn. As for awesome fight scenes I’d go for Shaolin Soccer, Kung-fu Hustle or Crouching Tiger / Hidden Dragon.
(Already got a copy of Black & White, thanks). I a couple of favorite fight scene flicks: pretty much any fight from Underworld, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, and all those fantastic shoot-outs in The Replacement Killers. I still have to see Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers and Hero though and I’m pretty sure those will make the list as well. Okay – Matrix was pretty badass in its day too.
Argh. My apologies. *Please insert “have” between “I” and “a.”* Posting while sleep deprived should be prohibited.
Still love the Matrix for fight scenes. Trinity taking on the batch of officers was awesome!
Great post. And nothing can top Kill Bill. Those fight scenes are like an elaborate dance.
Hi Jackie! Awesome post! I love fight scenes!
For movies I like the Rush Hour movies with Jackie Chan–the guy is incredible! Also Jet Li in WAR was awesome!
For books my favs are Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels series! Love Dru in Strange Angels series by Lili St. Crow! And Jocelynn Drake’s Dark Days series is full of action–love it!
One of my favourite fight scenes is near the end of The Matrix when Neo decides to stop running and start fighting. “He’s beginning to believe”! Love it!
Thanks Jackie, this post is super useful
xxxx
Lots of stuff I’ve never really thought about. Although I loved the books more and the tv show has turned into little more than fight seens, Legend of the Seeker has some really good shots. They are always kicking or sword fighting. All the best with the new book.
Hmm. I think I have to say Rush Hour. Not only does it have some get action scenes – with Jackie Chan who can fight and Chris Tucker, who really can’t. It’s pretty hilarious too.
My favorite fight scene has to be from The Fifth Element where Leelo takes on those grunty aliens to the music of the opera singer. Its so brilliantly choreographed.
Other than that, when River takes on the Reavers in Serenity. When the door opens up and she’s standing there, head bowed – epic. And who doesn’t love The Transporter fight scenes? So over the top.
Great post!!
I have to agree with an earlier post. I like the fight scene in Serenity with River.
I also like some of the fight scenes in the Underworld and Blade series of movies.
My favorite fight scene has to be in the Matrix when Neo fights Morpheus in the fight simulator.
My favorite fight scene, in the Matrix
There are lots of great movies with amazing fight scenes. I do love the Matrix movies but I will have to mention Jackie Chan’s movies. I loved the Rush Hour movies as they were fun and amazing moves from Jackie. But one that has magic and wonder mixed in with the fighting scenes I have to bring to attention is The Forbidden Kingdom. thank you!
My favourite fight scenes are probably in the Spiderman movie series.
Rush Hour 1 and 2 have some pretty kick ass, funny fight scenes!
As for books…I love the fight scenes from Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, The Hollows series by Kim Harrison, and Jocelynn Drake has some pretty awesome ones too in her Dark Days series. I love me some magic lol.
The fightscens in the Indiana Jones movies! They rock!
I loved Lee-loo on the Fifth Element… and Mila Jovovich is actually trained in martial arts… pretty cool.
Also Blade… something about fighting with a sword makes me happy and excited!!!
Man, all the goods one are used up! LOL Kill Bill and The Fifth Element have awesome fight scenes. Jackie Chan is amazing in any movie, the man has the moves. Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon and Chuck Norris (lol, Chuck Norris) in Octagon had excellent fight scenes, very, very oldies…. but every once in a while they show up on AMC.
I think the Kill Bill movies had some of the best I’ve seen!
I have to say that in a book my favorite fight scene was in All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris. When they had arrived at the pary for the Queen. And Sookie was dancing and all of a sudden a severed head comes flying past her. I thought that was the funniest thing till Eric later picks it up and plays a game of bowling for vampires. I thought it was so funny.
The2 fight scenes in face off. Where they are themselves then each other.
so many good ones already mentioned – loved Leelo in Fifth Element and River in Serenity but I will show my age now. Billy Jack – went to one of the first showings and it was the first time I ever saw people in a movie theater applaud. It was corny and all about how humble and peace loving he was while he totally kicked butt but still, for the times it was epic. I also LOVE the fight scenes in the Strange Angel series.
Wonderful article! I wish you lived in this area – I could use another lady in my taekwondo class. It’s hard being the only older/not perfectly fit lady! But the classes are great!