Six Forms of Improvised Weapons
Ever since starting the Fight Scene wiki, I’ve been pondering exactly how to categorize Improvised weapons. The fun of a mold-breaker like me trying to stuff something into organized little boxes aside, it actually comes up a lot when you’re looking at fight scenes.
How often?
Easily in the top four. Nobody’s gotten full statistics yet (that I know of) but when looking at TV, Theater, and Movie fight scenes, rough estimates have more or less convinced me that hand-to-hand is the #1 weapon used across the board, with the other top spots filled out by handguns, knives, and improvised weapons. Again, no stats that I know of (though feel free to send me some if ya got ‘em) but my best estimations say those are the top four.
When I say “Improvised weapons” I mean something that’s not necessarily designed as a weapon, but easily adapted into being used as one. It’s not a new idea. Depending on how you see your history, humans have been doing it since Cain picked up a rock or Ogg swung a stick. But it’s an idea that’s almost an art form in and of itself in how the environment around a fighter becomes weapons at will.
That said, it’s more of a recent development in America. And for a long time, it was almost the exclusive province of comedians: Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, and the Marx Brothers all used improvised weapons as part of their physical comedy, even if the stakes of the fights weren’t as high as we’re used to.
More recently, just look at a Jackie Chan fight sequence to see the environment bending to the man’s will. Every prop, costume piece, and bit of set dressing is an instrument in a one-man band of ass-kicking.
So if an improvised weapon can be literally anything, is there actually an effective way to categorize them, and if so, why?
Personally, I think there is. And since, like any weapon, improvised ones are means to an end, I think having at least a loose framework gives at least a starting-off point.
Since Improvised Weapons can be literally anything, categorizing by size, materials, or other composition would take too long. Therefore, I divvy them up by their effects into six different categories: Edges, Points, Weights, Blocks, Flexibles, and Vectors.
Edges attack and cause damage by cutting, ripping, tearing, or slicing. Broken glass and other debris, sharp angles on furniture and even whip-like weapons (think of a broken-off car radio antenna swung against bare flesh) can be edges.
Points are any object where a great deal of force can be applied using a small surface area. This covers just about any thrusting weapon: pool cues, screwdrivers, pens, umbrellas, et al.
Weights are used by applying blunt force trauma. Billiard balls, most auto parts, and several household appliances fall into this category.
Blocks are used to shield or deflect incoming blows. Garbage can lids, large books, doors, and serving trays can be used as shields.
Flexibles are used for lashing, binding, or grappling attacks. This includes traditional materials like rope and chain as well as electrical cords, clothing, and hoses.
Vectors aren’t really weapons in and of themselves. As the name indicates, vectors are used to deliver some other weapon, usually of an elemental or chemical nature. A can of flammable aerosols and a cigarette lighter would be a vector, as would gasoline pumps, jumper cables, and agricultural chemicals (remember the can of Raid in Extremities?).
Although further experiment is needed, I believe most if not all improvised weapons fall into at least one if not more of these six categories. And it’s entirely possible for an improvised weapon to be used in several ways in the course of a fight.
In one of my first exposures to improvised weapons, my first master took the class into a room and had everyone pick up a non-weapon that could be used as one. I remember my father picking up an old boom box. It was one of the big (Blocks) old 1980′s models with a metal casing (Weights) and sharply angled corners (Points). The antenna was long and could easily broken off with a firm grip and a twist (Edges), and had a few feet of power cord (Flexibles).
There’s the six forms of Improvised weapons as I see them now. Past that is up for imagination to decide.
Ever since starting the Fight Scene wiki, I’ve been pondering exactly how to categorize Improvised weapons. The fun of a mold-breaker like me trying to stuff something into organized little boxes aside, it actually comes up a lot when you’re looking at fight scenes.
How often?
Easily in the top four. Nobody’s gotten full statistics yet (that I know of) but when looking at TV, Theater, and Movie fight scenes, rough estimates have more or less convinced me that hand-to-hand is the #1 weapon used across the board, with the other top spots filled out by handguns, knives, and improvised weapons. Again, no stats that I know of (though feel free to send me some if ya got ‘em) but my best estimations say those are the top four.
When I say “Improvised weapons” I mean something that’s not necessarily designed as a weapon, but easily adapted into being used as one. It’s not a new idea. Depending on how you see your history, humans have been doing it since Cain picked up a rock or Ogg swung a stick. But it’s an idea that’s almost an art form in and of itself in how the environment around a fighter becomes weapons at will.
That said, it’s more of a recent development in America. And for a long time, it was almost the exclusive province of comedians: Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, and the Marx Brothers all used improvised weapons as part of their physical comedy, even if the stakes of the fights weren’t as high as we’re used to.
More recently, just look at a Jackie Chan fight sequence to see the environment bending to the man’s will. Every prop, costume piece, and bit of set dressing is an instrument in a one-man band of ass-kicking.
So if an improvised weapon can be literally anything, is there actually an effective way to categorize them, and if so, why?
Personally, I think there is. And since, like any weapon, improvised ones are means to an end, I think having at least a loose framework gives at least a starting-off point.
Since Improvised Weapons can be literally anything, categorizing by size, materials, or other composition would take too long. Therefore, I divvy them up by their effects into six different categories: Edges, Points, Weights, Blocks, Flexibles, and Vectors.
Edges attack and cause damage by cutting, ripping, tearing, or slicing. Broken glass and other debris, sharp angles on furniture and even whip-like weapons (think of a broken-off car radio antenna swung against bare flesh) can be edges.
Points are any object where a great deal of force can be applied using a small surface area. This covers just about any thrusting weapon: pool cues, screwdrivers, pens, umbrellas, et al.
Weights are used by applying blunt force trauma. Billiard balls, most auto parts, and several household appliances fall into this category.
Blocks are used to shield or deflect incoming blows. Garbage can lids, large books, doors, and serving trays can be used as shields.
Flexibles are used for lashing, binding, or grappling attacks. This includes traditional materials like rope and chain as well as electrical cords, clothing, and hoses.
Vectors aren’t really weapons in and of themselves. As the name indicates, vectors are used to deliver some other weapon, usually of an elemental or chemical nature. A can of flammable aerosols and a cigarette lighter would be a vector, as would gasoline pumps, jumper cables, and agricultural chemicals (remember the can of Raid in Extremities?).
Although further experiment is needed, I believe most if not all improvised weapons fall into at least one if not more of these six categories. And it’s entirely possible for an improvised weapon to be used in several ways in the course of a fight.
In one of my first exposures to improvised weapons, my first master took the class into a room and had everyone pick up a non-weapon that could be used as one. I remember my father picking up an old boom box. It was one of the big (Blocks) old 1980′s models with a metal casing (Weights) and sharply angled corners (Points). The antenna was long and could easily broken off with a firm grip and a twist (Edges), and had a few feet of power cord (Flexibles).
There’s the six forms of Improvised weapons as I see them now. Past that is up for imagination to decide.