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Writing about martial arts

Subcreator

Minstrel
I have a specific martial art called Avranü in my novel series that is pretty important to the plot. It's essentially Elven kickboxing, but I see it as a mixture of capoiera, kung fu, and free running/parkour. I was wondering if anyone had tips on describing it. Should I just include the basic essentials and assume that it's natural for someone to be able to balance on the end of a branch and run through the canopy of the forest, or is there anything else?
 
Speaking as someone who has studied martial arts extensively, I would think that the difficulty raised by the physics of balancing on the end of a branch without the branch breaking would be there regardless of the martial skill of the person standing on it.

You might want to include something about how the martial artist is able to rapidly identify the stong and weak points among the branches, placing hands and feet where the impact will be absorbed or where the branches will act as a springboard to the next hand or foothold, and so on. Running through the canopy or balancing on the ends of branches would require some explaining for me if I were the one reading.
 
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DavidJae

Troubadour
Pure physical description is usually dull and something that I struggle with. As I'm learning, it's usually better to describe the feelings of the character, because that is what readers care about, as much as action.

EG
Kanon raced through the trees, enjoying the feel of the wind in his hair and the thrill of the run. He enjoyed the endless moment of the edge, when the world dropped away during a jump or the feel of the branch beneath his feet, knowing instinctively from the flex when he had reached the point that it could no longer support his weight and he would jump, the movement perfectly timed to carry him to the next tree. Sometimes, a branch would give and he would fall, but there was freedom in these moments when he was flying and he would turn his fall into a dive, rolling along another branch and continuing to run, looking for ways back up. Only the destination matter, not the route that he took. Flexibility, that was the key.

Something like that, anyway. Hope that helps.
 

SBDanes

Acolyte
For the most part, your readers won't be knowledgeable on martial arts, so remember that while you're writing. If there is too much technicality and specific words then you might loose them. Keeping everything simple is the hardest task. But I do agree that if you focus on how the character feels while preforming any acts, then you keep the reader engaged because they might be able to relate to that.
Just something to think about
 
At the same time, if you do understand these martial arts in detail, this can be a real opportunity to give the readers that sense of what's really going on and why. Getting into those details takes a lot more work, to balance things like why someone moves one way with the feel and pace of the scene, or mixing the reference points of our world with how your world is different. Plus it opens you up to criticism from readers who do fight, or just know a lot about the tree-jumping side of things you're tying it to.

But if you get the balance right, and you enjoy it enough to do that work, it gives the story a whole new level to enjoy.
 
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