↓ Skip to main content
DRAFT ZERO
§ PODCAST / PEOPLE

Damon Young

Guest

"The first intention is not fakery. So if your first intention, for example, is to hit someone with a straight oblique cut to the left side of their head, if they do not parry that or get out of the way, you should 100% cut them on the left side of their head. That is your first intention. If, however, they parry that, then your second intention should be to mouliné around their blade and cut them to the right side of the head. But in both cases, you need to be completely committed. And if you’re not completely committed, your first intention’s unlikely to work anyway, because they’ll know. They’ll know that it’s a fake."

— Damon Young  |  DZ-100: Scenes through Swords

2023

DZ-100: Scenes through Swords

What scene-writing tools can be learned from martial arts?
DZ-100: Scenes through Swords
Listen if you want to know why the distance between two characters matters more than what they say.
▶ More Info
In this slightly unusual episode of Draft Zero (but also incredibly on brand), Stu and philosopher-swordsperson Damon Young discuss how the lessons they have learned from martial arts can be applied to scenes. In particular, they discuss how approaching an opponent in a sword fight can be analogous to how characters approach conflict, such as: the distance between the characters, who chooses to engage first, how to feint, how to lure an attack by leaving yourself vulnerable, etc… →

"I’m taking advantage of the moment of that exhaustion when they have the least degrees of freedom. You know, it’s going to take them so long to start again. They’re already in distance because they’ve committed to their cut. Everything’s going wrong for them. Their sword is as low as it can possibly be. They’re going to have to pull it all the way back up and start again."

— Damon Young  |  DZ-100: Scenes through Swords