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Fantasy! It comes in all flavors and subgenres. In the realm of the imagination, boundaries become meaningless. I'll be pointing out different styles and offering advice on key elements of fantasy writing. Enjoy  --John~Ashen |
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Swordplay
If you're looking for an extracurricular activity in which you can be immediately competitive, fencing is a good choice. Young, old, small, tall, olympic, or disabled - everyone is lumped into the same category with distinct advantages.
I have fenced (foil) for a couple years now. It has given me a great edge when attempting to write a combat scene. I know how blade combat goes, generally. There are probably specifics to heavy bladework I'm missing, but here goes anyway. 
Flow of Combat
In sword duels, there are two main considerations when sizing up an opponent. Bladework is one's pure skill with the blade, from aim and point control to recognizing and blocking attacks. Footwork is one's body movement, including lunge distance and retreat speed.
There is a flow to sword combat, just like in boxing. At the start, both opponents move around, trying to stay just enough beyond range to figure out each other's limitations. Bruce Lee described it as the flow of water: when the enemy retreats, he flows forward to fill the void; when the enemy attacks, he flows away to maintain a balance.
Once an opponent is inside the other's space, the blades engage. The attacker's blade has the initiative if his aim is true. The defender must dodge, block, or parry because he will get injured otherwise. If his bladework is good enough, he can parry and then take the offensive with a riposte.
Exchanges of bladework can be quite furious in activity until either someone is injured or someone creates distance by retreating. In general, if you're blocking everything, you are behind in the action. Eventually you'll get cut. If you can dodge everything, the attacks are too slow or predictable. You can press the attack. If you are parrying most attacks, you are probably roughly evenly matched. The longer a duel goes, the more likely the better fighter will prevail.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Remember how I said that everyone is lumped into the same competitive category? With "movement versus bladework" in mind, you are ready to understand why. In my first tournament round-robin grouping, I was faced with an eight-year-old kid, a woman, my athletic brother, an old man with a gimpy leg, and a man with no legs. From a distance, you might assume my brother and I should dominate this motley field easily.
My first match to 5 points was against my brother. This was by the rules, so he couldn't affect the outcome by intentionally losing to me. My brother was quick and athletic, like me. Our footwork was amazing, so we were dancing all over the floor. It must've looked like a challenge of masters.
** Image ID #1103527 Unavailable ** However, I was a rookie in bladework. I did my best to stay out of range and make it look good. Though I made the bout last a while, he only barely broke a sweat to dispatch me.
My second match was against the kid. He was as new to the sport as I was. I felt like a giant with my superior range. I could strike at him from any distance, and retreat before he ever came near. How could I lose?
The little bugger presented too small a target. Though I would lunge, my ability to make the tip of the blade hit the target (point control) was not yet refined. I missed as often as he was able to deflect my attacks. Meanwhile, I was a huge target for him. He didn't even have to aim that well to hit me between the waist and neck.
My next match was against the woman. She was tall but thin, presenting a decent-sized target. I had the edge on footwork and blade creativity. Yet males' manual reflexes are not superior to that of female hands. She was on the defensive the entire match, but she was quick enough to nullify most of my athleticism.
Next up: the old gimpy guy. I say gimpy because he hobbled around, unable to travel faster than a walk. He couldn't lunge effectively, nor could he retreat quickly. Unfortunately, he was a long-time fencer and really knew his way around his blade. Nothing I threw at him surprised him. He countered every attack. Only my athleticism saved me from total embarrassment. Old guys know their stuff!
My last match was against an opponent in a wheelchair. By the rules, I had to sit in a chair to face him. Think about it: since we're immobile, footwork is completely taken out of the equation! Of course the old coot was a whiz with the blade. He carved me up, and I couldn't even retreat.
In my round-robin group, I beat the kid and the woman, losing to my brother and the two crafty codgers. This gave me a second-half seeding for the elimination rounds.
I did fairly well at the start of my match. I was leading 12-7 against an experienced teenager. But then I ran out of steam. I was huffing and puffing, and he had seen every attack I could throw at him. He beat me in what looked like a heroic comeback. Truth was, he simply outlasted me. He had more experience and it showed when we had to get to 15 points, not just 5.
My brother won the tournament; he even beat the wheelchair guy. 
Warriors Don't Fence
Only in a duel between gentlemen are you likely to find both opponents using a thin blade, like a foil or rapier or saber. They are just too rare among fantasy warriors, because their style and discipline takes too long to master compared to most other weaponry types. You can see thin-blade fighting in the Three Musketeers movies.
More likely, you'll see heavy blades going at it against each other. The best examples of this are probably in the Conan and Highlander movies. The fights are loud, sometimes throwing sparks. Blades shatter and blood spatters.
One interesting thing to notice about heavy blade is that their users often start with the blade held above their heads. This is called "high guard" though I'm not sure of its advantage. Maybe because it has more potential energy, thus requiring less muscle effort per swing?
On rare occasions, you'll see a heavy blade against a thin blade. There are two amazing such battles featured in Rob Roy that everyone should see. It's like a lightweight fighting a heavyweight. I won't ruin the ending!
Tricks
In gentlemanly duels, there are a couple trick moves to consider. The first is called the disengage. Assuming your opponent will be able to block your strike, you change the angle of attack at the last second. Hopefully, he'll be left blocking thin air while your blade strikes home. Better not miss though, or you're wide open for counter-attack!
The second move is called the fleche. It is a running attack. You select a wide angle and charge. This is a one-time attack; the goal is to strike and run past the opponent so quickly that even if he parries, there is no chance for riposte.
In real swordfights, combatants may use their environment. Keep the sun at your back, use a tree to guard your flank, and don't be afraid to kick dirt into your enemy's eyes! Smart fighters use every advantage they can. It's the only way to live past battle so you can tell war stories to your grandkids around the campfire.
It's Not All Civilized
Lastly, remember that all of the above applies one to one-on-one fights. In true war, you do not want "fair" fights. You want to overwhelm the enemy with such numbers that his skill advantages do not matter. Other factors, such as teamwork and courage, become important. The most important factor, I think, becomes awareness.
With teamwork, multiple opponents can immobilize and dispatch a single enemy, reducing individual risk and nearly guaranteeing victory. Courage is required when tactics dictate that you cannot retreat. If you are forced back away from your comrades, their flanks become unprotected. You need to stand and fight with bladework only, so that you don't weaken the whole line.
Awareness is the ability to know what's going on around you, even if you're busy fighting. When you sense others joining the attack, you know when to fall back. After dispatching an enemy, awareness will tell you which comrades need help.
A keen critical eye will also tell you which opponents you can defeat and which you should avoid. Lastly, a combination of footwork and awareness will let you survive the onslaught of multiple opponents. I've fenced against four people at once, and it's crazy. It's nearly impossible to block attacks from multiple angles, so you're doing well just to stay alive in that situation. Forget about taking several out in one swing -- the only way to beat them all is to selectively counter-attack them one at a time.
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bizaromike  comments: In the article on swords, you forgot to mention the sword and cloak (swashbuckling) combination. A warrior could literal cloak his attack or wrap the heavy cloak material around an incoming blade.
Response: What a rare style! Good point. Writers should note that the cloak is not meant to block or alter the incoming attack, but rather to wrench the blade away once its momentum dies. Also, the cloak can be flicked to confuse an opponent's eyes, hiding the direction and timing of your own strike.
 Fun fact: You can tell what hand a fencer uses by looking at his legs. One thigh is usually much thicker than the other, due to all the lunging!
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Fantasy: May 10, 2006 Issue [#1032]
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