Do you know any websites for research on swordfighting?
I wrote on this in my 360 blog about two weeks ago if you want to take a look. It’s about the katana – Japanese long sword, not the medievil broad sword. I write sword fights in my books. I practice swords myself in martial arts so that’s where I get my detail from. Probably the easiest way to write them is to research sword technique. Most fantasy novel sword fights are poorly done. A quick lesson. The re are slicing swords (eg katana), crushing/chopping swords (eg broad sword) and stabbing swords (eg foil, Roman short sword). The heavy broad swords were so hard to manage, 10-15 min was the max they could be used for. Usually the first person to sustain an injury lost the fight. The shield was an important defensive and offensive weapon used with a sword, but it restricted the warrior to one hand for the sword. Fights are fun to read but incredibly hard to write well. I think to write them in first person is very effective.
