Category Archives: Action Scenes

Action Scene – Knife Grip

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Can the knife grip an attacker uses indicate his or her training level?

The short answer is: no. A blade is a blade, and it will spoil anyone’s day quickly, efficiently and lethally. It doesn’t matter in whose hands it finds itself—man or woman (or child), trained or untrained.???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

First, let’s define terms. There are two basic grips on a knife. In Kali they are called heaven grip and earth grip. Pick up a knife. If, when holding your arm straight to the front, the point of the blade points upward, that is heaven grip. If the knife is gripped so the blade exits the fist from the pinky side and points toward the floor, that is earth grip. Continue reading →

Thoughts on the movie, “Lone Survivor” based on the true story of former Navy Seal, Marcus Luttrell

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Although I would highly recommend seeing this movie, I’m not a movie critic. As I gain confidence in my writing, I am more thorough in critiquing the submissions of members of my critique group, but I would barely consider myself an expert on grammar, sentence structure, or plot. However, I am is an expert on action.

This movie starts at the end, my favorite type of beginning. In the last scene before going to the “Three Months Earlier” narrative, Marcus Luttrell’s character is flat lining. The movie then breaks to scenes from Navy SEAL training, camaraderie among the members of the various teams, a briefing, problems with communications and the operation. These were great “waiting for the other shoe to drop” type scenes, necessary to the story, but of course, being the action junkie that I am, the action was what I was there for. Continue reading →

If Not the Fist, What? – Janet McClintock

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palm vs fistMy last blog talked about the inherent weakness of the fist. So, if not a fist, what? The palm heel,  that’s what. The palm heel is the area at the base of your palm. To find it put your arm out straight, bend your hand back as if you are going to push open a door. That’s it. That’s the palm heel position.

The palm heel is proof that God loves us and wants us to defend ourselves. It neatly fits under the chin. It fits into the temple. It fits into the soft tissue behind the ear, the indentation at the base of the skull, the eye socket, the area under the nose, and even the solar plexus. It’s effective as a kidney blow. And after an upper strike to the chin, the fingers are right there to rake the eyes, pull the hair or pull the ear (yes, the ear).

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Fight Scene Buffoonery – Bradley J. Steiner

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Here is a post by my American Combato Instructor, Bradley J. Steiner, who has forgotten more about hand-to-hand fighting than I’ll ever know–although I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten one bit of martial arts knowledge.

No doubt about it, fight scenes are an exciting and essential component of just about all thriller fiction. What would From Russia With Love have been without that terrific hand-to-hand battle between Donovan Grant and James Bond on the Orient Express? And thank heavens that great author, the late Don Hamilton, gave his hero Matt Helm realistic unarmed combat, knife and gun skills with which to assist in the carrying out of his missions!

Unfortunately, many fight scenes in novels and in the cinema lack authenticity. Motion picture and TV shows provide sound effects for unarmed fights that would be more appropriate to a film depicting the battle for Iwo Jima. Damn! The slamming and the banging sound like the ordnance of an attacking marine battalion; way over the top for two men in a struggle.

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