I giggle a little when a fantasy novel talks about a fight lasting "a couple minutes" as a "short fight." I know folks who watch movies may think that, but I promise you a two-minute sustained melee with deadly weapons is both VERY abnormally long and devastatingly exhausting for the fighters. - ThreadSky

gaudipern.bsky.social • 4 days ago

I giggle a little when a fantasy novel talks about a fight lasting "a couple minutes" as a "short fight." I know folks who watch movies may think that, but I promise you a two-minute sustained melee with deadly weapons is both VERY abnormally long and devastatingly exhausting for the fighters.

Comments

newzealander1.bsky.social•4 days ago

Having done a little bit of HEMA (Historical Martial Arts specifically Fiore) time definitely feels different when fighting.

aryngve.bsky.social•4 days ago

There is one account of a gladiatorial duel to the death in the Coliseum that went on for an absurdly long time... until the Emperor intervened to end the fight as a draw. But I figure the gladiators were stalling for time.

xenusparadox.bsky.social•4 days ago

30 seconds is a long fight lol

marksjustice.bsky.social•4 days ago

I comment on this too frequently. In my youth I’ve been in a few fights. They all exhausted me in less than 2 minutes.

The idea of folks kicking, leaping, twisting, punching, hacking for more than a minute seems very unlikely.

aaronradney.bsky.social•4 days ago

Tell me you've never been in a fight without telling me you've ever been in a fight style writing exactly!

Fights are measured in seconds. Especially against skilled combatants.

aaronradney.bsky.social•4 days ago

I remember when I was doing kenjutsu our sensei made it abundantly clear that if a match lasted more than 2 or 3 moves both combatants were either incredibly good or incredibly bad.

darkbulb.bsky.social•4 days ago

Sure ain't short, but 2 minutes is definitely in the realm of possibility for armored combatants. SCA heavy armor fights OCCASIONALLY get that long.

If you're not in plate, no way.

convivialbrodude.bsky.social•4 days ago

When I wrestled in high school there were times I was so physically exhausted after a match (3 periods of 2 minutes each) that I couldn't hold the pen to sign the sheet attesting to my victory.

gaudipern.bsky.social•4 days ago

Right? And just imagine the impact of the extra adrenaline coursing through you because you know your life is on the line if you make one wrong move. I've fought extensively with real, bladed weapons and a thirty second exchange leaves me shaking for minutes after because of the adrenaline rush.

oldswamptree.bsky.social•4 days ago

I'm a farm kid
Loading pigs on a truck, if you needed to spend 20 seconds wrestling one up the ramp you'd feel like puking.

milkwasabadchoice.bsky.social•4 days ago

This has to be the longest fight scene put on film

brianhill53703.bsky.social•4 days ago

Five minutes and 20 seconds, three weeks of rehearsal, done in one take.

milkwasabadchoice.bsky.social•3 days ago

Thanks for the trivia, It’s quite insane!

ikespelledwrong.bsky.social•4 days ago

A few nights ago I had to wrestle a 300 lb baby horse back into her stall. I’d swear in court it was 30-45 seconds. Security video showed it was about 9 seconds. I was exhausted.

yitzi2.bsky.social•4 days ago

In D&D, that's 20 rounds, which is long for a boss battle.

twifferthegnu.bsky.social•3 days ago

yep. my party of 4 lvl 6 players just took out fudgie the whale (a sperm whale that was reskinned for..reasons) in 2 rounds.

arealblackman.bsky.social•4 days ago

Haven't read in a minute. But any time any entertainment is like...and then the person lived for thousands of years. I'm always like...noway in hell they're the same person. lol Like people's personalities change over months. An they're out here like THOUSANDS!!! lol

gaudipern.bsky.social•4 days ago

Ya know, I have mixed thoughts about this. Generally I agree, but there are some glaring exceptions both among people and among subjects. As an easy example: Much of the world had a ~2 year "timeout" at the start of the pandemic. Many gained skills... but many didn't, despite being sure they would.

gaudipern.bsky.social•4 days ago

I think this is a fascinating topic: When I see a thousand year old vampire casually mention he can't (insert skill), that's so incredibly human. Yes, you had all the time in the world... but human nature is that we lie to ourselves and claim "time" is the barrier, when in fact it's motivation.

arealblackman.bsky.social•4 days ago

Ya know what. Great point. Gonna shut my ass up now. lmfao