If you have ever truly studied 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu, then you know that few people gain the same insights from any one part of that respected text. The goal of 'The Art of War' is to make you think about combat in ways that you've never considered before. I hope that I achieve that here.

    I'm a knight in the SCA (the folk who put on most medieval fairs). I've fought in real combats with most medieval weapons, single-sword, Florentine (two swords, one shorter and heavier), great sword, sword and shield, mace and shield, spear, katana, naginata (pole arms), and flail (I had to get special permission from my opponent to use that!). I've had a rough life, was raised on military bases, been in a lot of bar fights, and as I write this, I've got a .45 caliber sitting next to me in its holster. I have literally been in hundreds of real fights, and write my medieval combat scenes from personal, sometimes painful, experience. I've had my nose, both forearms, and a collar bone broken, and all of the bones of my left thumb shattered. I once broke six ribs on an opponent (who owned a martial arts studio) with one blow, and a deflected shot of mine (off his shield) once broke a friend's ankle. I've sent two other opponents to hospitals for x-rays. (All fighting risks serious injury!) Take from my experiences whatever you can.

    Each style of combat is entirely dependent upon three main facts: the weapons used, the types of combatants, and the area of combat. The fourth factor is mental, being able to focus on the combat that you are currently involved in. Type of combat can be powered weapons (magic or technological, magic wands, guns, bow and arrow), medieval hand weapons (swords, axes, knives), hand-to-hand, or any combination of the above (even when the combat is lopsided).

    POWERED WEAPONS (magic or technological):

    Speed of attack is usually the primary cause of victory. Powered weapons are designed to kill or injure quickly and permanently. Most armor doesn't work against powered weapons because, if an irresistible force meets an immovable object, the immovable object will always fail. The reason for this is that, when matter is struck with sufficient force, matter changes its natural state, acting like a liquid, or even being vaporized. Exceptions to this are rare. Small caliber bullets are more dangerous than large caliber bullets against bullet-proof vests, but all armor has gaps, and no armor protects forever. Bullet-proof vests can't protect against a second shot in the same place, as the material becomes damaged from the first shot. As long as we are talking about armor, mail, falsely called chain mail, is great protection against slashes, regardless of the weapon, however, stabs and punctures (spears and arrows) tend to penetrate it with ease. Some mail is riveted, which makes it stronger, but stabs often penetrate, while cuts seldom do damage. Mind you, without padding underneath, armor can protect you from getting killed, but each blow can hurt very badly.

    Range is often not an issue with powered weapons. The first one to land a successful attack upon the other will typically win, or at least render their victim badly wounded. When writing a scene with powered weapons, focus on the attempts by each combatant to land the 'killing blow' without exposing themselves to a clear line of sight. This is done by being the fastest (a duel or gunfight in Westerns), or by hiding behind everything that they can, moving frequently if the cover is able to be blown apart by the weapon. Remember, cover needs to be strong enough to withstand the powered weapon, or big enough that it's only use is to hide behind, hoping that their enemy won't know where to shoot. Where the combat area is large, opponents may try to position themselves in places where they can sniper their enemy, but against experts, these tactics usually don't work.

    Aim is a matter of practice and experience with the weapon, and the biggest factor involves luck. Both combatants should fear death, as it comes so quickly, and you never know when you can peek from behind cover to target your enemy, and when your enemy is peeking to target you. If your target peeks at you while you are aiming, you win. When this combination fails one combatant, they die. Powered weapons combat can be the longest of combats, as long as both combatants keep moving, so long as there's always something new to hide behind (which always gets blasted).

    Explosives and big magic (like fireballs) make the combat likely to wound or kill both combatants. The possibility of killing everyone in the area is always likely, and anyone, including innocents, in the area can be killed by accident.

    To be honest, two combatants simultaneously killing each other is incredibly rare. Usually, when this happens, one or both are badly wounded, and die trying to crawl away from each other.

    When fantasy combatants are using magic, anything can happen, but it's best if the magic works in similar fashion for each opponent.

    MEDIEVAL WEAPONS (swords, axes, knives):

    Experience is usually the deciding factor. A master of combat wins by deception. If you can get your opponent to expect one attack, while you attack in a different manner, then you will surprise them, and being surprised in a medieval combat usually costs one combatant everything. Turning the blade of a sword or axe, as you swing it, changes how the weapon cuts through the air, and can redirect it unexpectedly. Changes in timing often works. If you strike 3 blows in sequential timing, then strike the 4th blow slightly faster or slower. The change in rhythm may cause your opponent to adjust their defence to counter your last offensive strike too slowly or too quickly, either of which is costly.

    Medieval fighters must watch their opponent's weapon(s). As a knight in the SCA, I have suddenly, unexpectedly smiled at my opponent. My unexpected expression drew their attention onto my face, away from my weapon, where attention should stay. When they're not looking at your weapon, or at possible open targets in your defense, then your chance of hitting an exposed area is most-likely.

    Armored combat isn't like it is depicted in the movies. If you read stories written before the 14th century, the knights often "fought until their armor lay in pieces on the ground". The reason for this is metallurgy. Armored plates were mostly cold-rolled steel, while forged weapons were twisted or folded, making the weapons built of a much harder steel than that steel of which the armor is made. A helmet that survives two hard blows is dented so deeply that another strike in the same area will crush the skull, even if the metal wasn't pierced.

    Slices with bladed-weapons isn't as dangerous as thrusts. Points inflict the area of damage in a much smaller area. This is best shown with jousting. A two hundred pound man wearing 100 pounds of armor on a thousand pound horse attacking an equal opponent, with both horses running toward each other at 20 miles per hour, with an impact area approximately an inch in diameter, equals a two thousand six hundred pound impact at 40 miles an hour, into a target smaller than your eyeball. Back in the Middle Ages, there was no material on Earth strong enough to survive that much force.

    However, the biggest factor in combat is exhaustion. Even if all of your armor has been chopped or beaten so hard that it has broken and fallen off, fights that last 3 minutes are incredibly long and suffer tremendous losses of energy from both combatants. 5 minute fights usually leave both opponents taking breaks to catch their breath before either can continue. Smart fighters try to let their opponents tire themselves. When one combatant can't breathe, they die.

    Note: Knife-fighting isn't the same as sword-fighting. One sword can block another. Knives don't block like swords. Opponents dodge inside, try to strike, and then try to dodge back out of range before their opponent can attack. Usually both opponents get badly cut during a to-the-death knife fight. The goal is to deliver a deadly blow first, before your opponent does. Technique is only important if both combatants are masters.

    HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT:

    Strength is secondary; savagery wins most bare-handed fights. The best fighters try to quickly overwhelm their opponents with rapid, unexpected attacks. Real hand-to-hand combats start with kicks and punches and quickly devolve into wrestling. Every target is fair game, from poking eyes to groin kicks to choking from behind. Unless you are Bruce Lee, knees and elbows are the sharpest weapons, while kicking is best at keeping distance from your opponent. Fighters of equal size are unlikely to get knocked out by any blow unless they are already exhausted from fighting. The usual goal is to pin someone, rendering them helpless, while you can still attack.

    Using your surroundings are key; slamming your opponent's head into a wall, or pushing them over a short table, often gives a key advantage. While there are many instances of a professional fighter knocking someone out with their first punch, such attacks are usually only successful once your opponent is so beaten, battered, and exhausted, that they have no defense left. Real hand-to-hand combat is usually short, and not instantly fatal. The attacker is usually left standing and stomping upon the loser, who lays on the ground curled up in a fetal position, and helpless, or the loser runs away.

    TYPES OF COMBATANTS:

    The biggest difference in combatants is level of combat mastery. Armatures fight filled with fear, and their thoughts are overwhelmed with desperation. Experts approach each other with courageous confidence, and are always watching for openings in their opponent's defense. Experts notice in which hand their opponents are carrying their weapons, as they know that left-handed attacks are quite different than right-handed attacks.

    Really large, physical guys are more likely to have fighting experience than smaller guys, and larger fighters are often most-intimidating.

    Unarmed combatants know that they must fight armed opponents with unparalleled speed and deadliness, as they probably won't survive if their armed opponent attacks first.

    Where one is an expert fighter, and the other isn't, either can still win because of luck, but luck runs out, while experience only increases.

    AREA OF COMBAT:

    Most objects in the area of combat can be used as weapons. Picking up something that can be used as a weapon is the most common advantage, yet kicking someone into fast moving traffic or off a cliff (or off the top of a tall building) usually wins the fight.

    Controlling the area of combat the smartest way to fight. While wrestling, dragging your opponent through a window, or into a glass-faced cabinet, will cause both of you to fall, and scatter large pieces of razor-sharp weapons onto the floor all around you both. Liquids and powders, including water, dirt, and cleaning detergents, can be thrown into the eyes.

    Fighting in a forest, cave, or on a mountain top has opportunities of movement not possible in small rooms or tight alleys. Where the high ground gives an advantage, it's best to take it.

    Turning off or breaking lights, or a sudden blinding brilliance, can change the odds where one person is at a distinct advantage. Blankets, thin rugs, curtains, coats, laundry, and even venitian blinds can be thrown over an opponent, blinding them, and until they have removed the distraction, they can often be attacked with impunity.

    Yet the biggest advantage of controlling the area of combat is causing your opponent to become trapped in a disadvantage or allowing you an avenue of escape (if you need it). Advantages often don't last long. When you have the advantage, use it quick, before you lose it. Escape is the best option when you lose the advantage and have no way to regain it, but only if your enemy can't pursue you.

    Fighting in the rain, or on muddy ground, or in darkness is a terrible equalizer, as it makes both opponents vulnerable. Only a combatant with a serious disadvantage seeks such a condition, as it means that both opponents suddenly have a new weakness.

    TYPES OF INJURIES:

    Too often used as a plot device, injuries must be realistic. I have seen a biker in a quality leather jacket flick a .22 caliber bullet (which didn't penetrate) off of their coat. Small caliber weapons are preferred in wars, as wounding an opponent costs an enemy far more than killing an enemy, as wounds occupy medics, transport troops, doctors, and additional supplies, which the dead no longer need. On the other hand, many large caliber weapons can kill regardless of targeting. Shock can make a non-lethal wound kill unbelievably quickly.

    Of the early Conan books, it was said that at least six months must have passed between each novel, as that was how long it would take for even Conan the Barbarian to heal before he could fight again. If you need to injure a character, the injury must take the normal amount of time it would take to heal from that type of injury.

    Pain isn't an illusion. Enduring pain may sound manly, but I can assure you, enduring pain isn't easy. Torture, and its effects, are very well documented, and only a little constant pain can overcome an enemy in surprisingly short time. Small woulds can be a huge disadvantage for the rest of the combat. Killing your opponent, after you have been badly wounded, is mostly a plot device. It has happened, but it's incredibly rare.

    RESEARCH:

    The main character is usually the combatant with the biggest disadvantage. However, equal combats are easily researched by anyone with an internet connection. Martial artists of every type have videoed their combats. Google 'sword fighting', 'gun fights', 'real wrestling', or 'barehanded fights'. Find a combat that is close to your storyline, and then watch the video carefully, and describe it as realistically as you can. Then just add in the (very few) thoughts that your main character would have about the consequences if they fail.

    MENTAL (Fear):

    As I said before, amateurs have fear, and experts have confidence. Yet all fighters know the consequences of any combat. Anyone can land a lucky blow. Accidents happen. Fighters underestimate, or miss a target. Chances are that someone is going to get hurt or killed. The reason why someone is fighting is always a major part of every fight. If their cause is not worth the risk, why would anyone fight when they could choose to escape?

    During each combat, a character may consider the reason why they are fighting, but they can only consider it once, and it can't be too complicated a thought. Anyone who tries to dwell on something else while they are fighting is probably going to lose. Where combat is equal, and conversation is possible, opponents may try to get their enemy to dwell upon thoughts other than fighting (to give them a big disadvantage).

    Happy Writing!

    PS: As I am an author: if you want to deeply understand sword fighting, I would recommend that you read my first novel, "DeathQuest" by Jay Palmer (Paperback or Kindle). As most readers have never fought with a sword, I progressed through all my fight scenes (in order of complexity) to educate my readers. The first real combat is simple, a sword-master against two unarmed novices (quick kills). Then we progress to fighting against a wolf pack, fighting in a narrow cave (no room to swing swords!), swordsmen fighting against archers, fighting from inside a fortification under siege, fighting in uneven groups (two against nine), fighting in a tavern where everyone is drunk, magicians fighting magic against magic, fighting guards to free yourself from prison, and fighting army against army in a real battle (where over a thousand die on each side). All these fights lead up to my final battle, two expert sword-masters, the best fighters ever, in a duel so complex and intricate that only by reading all of the previous combats can someone who has never held a sword appreciate the countless details that all fighters must deal with in every single combat.

    I'm sure that you'll enjoy it.

    Best wishes!

    -- Jay Palmer