Them's Fighting Words (fights, weapons, military, police, spy and forensic stuff)

[donutsweeper]

Fighting sans weapons:
How To Actually Win A Fist Fight (wayback machine link)
How to write a fight between two people using their fists a collection of links by howtofightwrite
10 Hand to Hand Combat Myths That Writers Need To Stop Using (wayback machine link)
Boxing Vocabulary and tips on writing a boxing scene.
Breakdown of how to wrap your hands for boxing and an infographic on how to wrap your hands for fighting in general (and why you do it)
Leather. E. Hartley's Combat Without Weapons (pdf version)
How to Defend Yourself Without a Weapon blog article
Basic Combatives Course Handbook PDF handbook for US Army Basic Combatives course at Ft. Benning
Combatives This field manual contains information and guidance pertaining to rifle-bayonet fighting and hand-to-hand combat" (PDF)
Contact points used in Karate - set of infographics of parts of the body used for strikes and various hits. (wayback machine link)
Combato: The Art Of Self Defence WWII manual for "Women War Workers, Soldiers and Civilians" to teach quick and easy to learn combative, disarming and self defense moves by by Bill Underwood. (archive.org scanned copy, pdf version, short video with archival footage and modern demonstration, and gifset of a disarming move)
Defendo (defense focused martial art by Bill Underwood) youtube playlist with some basic information and demonstration of a few moves
Attack and Defence: Unarmed Combat in Pictures (WWII training manual, pdf)
All In Fighting by W.E. Fairbairn, originally published 1942 to "teach a 'rough-house' method of fighting" (PDF) (a search on youtube will bring up numerous youtube demonstrating various of Fairbairn's fighting methods, particularly many of the cane, stick or unarmed techniques)
Hands Off! Self Defense for Women by W.E. Fairbairn, also 1942 archive.org scan (pdf)
Get Tough!: How to Win in Hand to Hand Fighting as Taught to the British Commandos by W.E. Fairbairn
Scientific Self Defense by W.E. Fairbairn, published 1931 (pdf)

vintage female-centric self-defense videos:
Self-Defence - Hints By Dorothy Darke & Arthur Owen (1931) (slow demonstration of techniques)
Self-Defence Tutorial from 1933 (May Whitley explaining and slowly demonstrating jujutsu)
Judo Jymnastics - 1947 self defense for women film short staring Mary Parker (not the best techniques probably, but definitely interesting for the historical factor)

Wheelchair self-defense:
Wheelchair Self-Defense (youtube video by Craig Hospital)
Self Defense for Wheelchair Bound Individuals
Rolling With the Punches: Self-Defense for Wheelchair Users

Guns of various sorts:
What Really Happens In A Gunfight? (2010 article written by a tactical trainer, wayback machine link)
Firearms Tutorial (*very detailed* with pages on history, anatomy, ballistics, injuries, criminology, etc)
How to Fire a Handgun Safely and Correctly
Info on Stun Guns (there are also some links on how stun guns and tasers work and what injuries they give in the medical/injury post)
Taser Basics
Realistic Writing Handguns including stopping power, recoil, gunbarrel length and links for more info, including videos (wayback machine link)
How to stand when firing a gun (focusing on historical pistols vs modern handguns- written about Ichabod Crane on Sleepy Hollow)
Gun Basics for Writers series: The Three Rules of Gun Safety, Types of Firearms – Basic Civilian Small Arms Part 1: Handguns and Part 2: Long Guns, Modern Ammunition Basics Part 1 and Part 2: Caliber and Gauge (wayback machine links)
An In Depth Guide to Firearms
Gun Terms For Writers
Writing firearms in fiction (tumblr post by author Peter Morwood)
The Truth About Silencers (how they work, what they actually do and don't do and that they're actually suppressors, not silencers)
Gun Safeties for Writers, or, does the gun even have one? (tumblr post by author Peter Morwood)
Set of infographics on how a handgun works

Best Way to Clean a Shotgun
Cleaning and Lubricating a Revolver
Cleaning a Semi-Auto Pistol
Cleaning & Lubricating an AK Rifle
The Basics of Cleaning Your Revolver

the Inception Fic Writer's Guide to Firearms An oldie, but goodie. Written for the Inception fandom, but does a good job in explaining the basics of firearms and points out what movies/tv shows get wrong. (Link goes to part 1)
"Flagging" aka the wrong way to carry a weapon (and the right way to do it)
Forgotten Weapons' video playlists information on and demonstrations of various guns of different eras and countries of origin (including one on the Afghan Traditional Jezail for a look at the weapon that Watson faced during the Second Anglo-Afghan War)
How to make musket balls (video)
Flintlock Rifle Breakdown and Cleaning (youtube)

Other weapons:
Disarming an opponent in a sword fight (detailed gif)
A Deep Dive Into Disarms "Disarms, or “sword takings” are an important part of martial traditions from around the world"
Sword Fighting For Fic Writers - a 14 chapter set of tumblr posts (link goes to chapter 1, other chapters linked from there)
Things that People Forget About When Writing Sword Fights (tumblr post with additions by authors Diane Duane and Peter Morwood and more)
Cut and Thrust of Blade Combat (a few things to consider, wayback machine link)
Guide to Archery
blumineck's youtube channel (filled with various archery feats and demonstrations)
Interesting video on Hollywood's version of archery vs historical and a video by the same guy delving into a few of the points with more depth. (Although interesting, take his ideas with a grain of salt, there are numerous issues with his points as seen in this article)
shadiversity's Historical vs Modern Archery video and a expert, NUSensei's response to it (which is very in depth and quite interesting and deals with some of the issues brought up in the Hollywood v historical one as well; if looking for any specific archery info, check out NUSensei's channel)
How To Make: A Replica Native American Bow pdf from the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies (wayback machine link)
Hunting with the Bow & Arrow (1923): entire book at archive.org or, specific chapter How to Make an English Longbow, How to Make an Arrow, and archery equipment (PDFs via gutenberg)
How to Make a Flint-Tipped Arrow
Primitive Arrow Making (PDF, wayback machine link)
Making Arrow Fletchings from Whole Feathers
Making Arrowheads: The Art of Flint Knapping
Fletching By Hand
The Essentials of Archery: How to use and Make Bows and Arrows (published 1945, one of several books and articles available online at the Archery Library
A Writer's Guide to Bows: part one, part two, part three, and part four
HowtoFightWrite's Weapon Primer: Archery
Whips, Chains and Scarves and other flexible weapons and how to use them (wayback machine link)
Fight with Rope "A section of rope about 3 feet long can provide a useful means of self-defense for the unarmed combat soldier in a hand-to-hand fight. Examples of field-expedient ropes are a web belt, boot laces, a portion of a 120-foot nylon rope or sling" (wayback machine link)
A quick guide to spear and pole fighting (wayback machine link)
1908 magazine article Defeat Of The Hooligan wherein Mrs Sanderson, "one of the finest swordsman in England", demonstrates how to defend herself against a hooligan using only a typical umbrella. google books link or a slightly clearer wayback machine pdf link.
Pictures and descriptions on different grips for knives and when to use which.
Knife fighting techniques
Knife Grip and Holding Techniques
A Basic Manual on Knife Throwing
Wikihow's How to Become Good at Knife Fighting
Writing Realistic Knife Fights
Masterpost of links on fighting with daggers and other bladed weapons
A soldier describing what it feels like, physically, when a bomb goes off
What to do if you are caught in a bomb blast (wayback machine link)

Writing advice and things to consider:
Helpful things for action writers to remember
Collection of links on How to Write a Fight Scene (wayback machine link)
Writing Fight Scenes: The VIOLENT Method
Writer's Guide to Hand-to-Hand Fighting: Styles, Strikes, and Pacing blog post
How to shoot your characters without killing them (wayback machine link)
The Anatomy of Writing a Sword Fight "This guide dives into the technical aspects of sword fighting—from the types of swords and injuries to the medical realities of treating these wounds."
Something to consider regarding what clothes your character is wearing while fighting: "Ask a Bespoke Tailor: How Can James Bond Fight in Those Suits?" (wayback machine link)
A Crack Shot: On Writing Characters Who Shoot - Or: How to Write Your Gun-Toting Badass In a Way That Doesn’t Strain Your Reader’s Suspension of Disbelief
Lets Talk About Sparring written by someone trained in Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), with additional info added
Where To Hit In A Fight (infographic)
What being punched feels like (focus on different parts of the face and different types of punches)
Archery information for writers that no one asked for but probably some of you need and I like talking about archery, so here it is. (tumblr post)

The Battlefield After the Battle (specific details and the difference between battlefields before artillery developed for WWI and after)

Escaping:
Several ways to break out of zip ties, comic on how to use a bobby pin to get out of zip ties, another method for getting out of them when your hands are secured behind the back and also a general infographic about getting out of zip ties
Escaping Handcuffs - Information for Writers (wayback machine link)
How to Pick Handcuffs - The Ultimate Guide
Video demonstrating how to get out of handcuffs
Six Ways to Escape from Handcuffs, Zip Ties & Duct Tape (video)
(Also check out other methods of breaking into or out of locked rooms in the random links post)

Military/Spy stuff:
giant military masterpost (wayback machine link) and a second one (wayback machine link)
For humor/historical's sake, Private Pete Learns To Be A Good Soldier, a 1943 textbook for soldiers at basic training, described by its authors as “packed with military information, written in the language of the trainee, who is learning to read and write, whether he be illiterate or non-English speaking”
Written for Captain America's canon, but the later chapters of this AO3 work have a good look at WWII uniforms, kits, weapons, dog tags, etc
A Pocket Reference Guide: Army, Navy, Marine Corps Insignia WWII - published 1943 (tumblr post, also contains some Captain America speculation)
How to be a green beret - at least in casual conversation
OSS Simple Sabotage Field Manual- The US Strategic Services' 1944 field guide to sabotage - how to encourage "citizen-saboteurs" as well as practical guidance for obstruction.
Hand Signals used in the US Army (pdf, wayback machine link), article of numerous different standard military hand signals (signs differ through time and by military, google if looking for a specific one)
NPR article "U.S. Military Lingo: The (Almost) Definitive Guide"
Glossary of Military Terms & Slang, a list of Air force Terminology and Navy terminology. Also, a list of common slang/jargon a veteran might continue to use in everyday life. (American military focus)
Navy Manuals and Documents Online "Full text declassified Navy documents of interest to researchers working on historic naval ships." (although the majority is WWII manuals, these run the gambit from a 1904 Navy cookbook to typewriter maintenance to submarine medical texts to cipher instructions in the 20s to early 2000s technical manuals, US focus)

Surviving Basic Training articles for US Army, Marines, US Navy, and US Airforce (all wayback machine links)
A Week in US Air Force ROTC
AR 670-1 - US Army Regulation 670-1 pdf- Everything you might ever want to know about what's allowed re: uniform and personal appearance, in and out of uniform (wayback machine link)
US Army jargon masterpost
US Army ranks and what they're in charge of and a list of enlisted ranks
Post about US army body armor
What happens when a soldier is wounded in a combat environment (modern, US Army example)
Final roll call (when an active duty US army soldier is killed)
Character Guide – What Your Character Experiences While Leaving the Military
List of weapons/firearms used by U.S. Armed Forces, British Armed Forces, French Armed Forces, German Armed Forces, and Russian Armed Forces- including when they began to be used and out-of-service weapons (all wayback machine links)

Pilot Callsigns "The web's largest collection of callsign stories"

Interesting post about Combat Medics

The Service of Security and Information by Arthur Lockwood Wagner- originally published in 1893 as a textbook for teaching the art of war and espionage (google books pdf, archive.org version, hathitrust digital library version)
Clothing Britain’s Spies during World War II - interesting article about all the little details needed to consider when sending a spy into enemy territory
WWII's Most Ingenious 'Escape & Evade' Spy Gadgets & Tech
How To Be A Spy: WWII SOE Training Manual (published by UK National Archives 2004, PDF)
On the Record: Archetype of a Spy (podcast episode, about what spies actually look like, what they do and why, transcript available)
Espionage and Intelligence Gathering (PDF of book from the 'Current Controversies series' from 2004, wayback machine link)
Basic Spy Tradecraft (PDF)
Language of Espionage
Spy Words, Terms and Codes "a reference resource for all those spy codes and covert talk" (wayback machine link)
True Psychology of the Insider Spy (PDF from 'Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies' Fall/Winter 2010 issue, wayback machine link)
Former FBI Agent Explains How to Read Body Language (video)
The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception (2009, archive.org link)
The best ‘low-tech’ spycraft tricks
15 Cool Spy Concealments
Five Popular Espionage Techniques of the Former Soviet Union (wayback machine link)
Rethinking an Old Approach: An Alternative Framework for Agent Recruitment (PDF, CIA article, wayback machine link)
How Spies Use Disguises - "Former Chief of Disguise for the CIA, Jonna Mendez, explains how disguises are used in the CIA, and what aspects to the deception make for an effective disguise." (video)
Cold War Spy Gadgets Former CIA Chief of Disguise Jonna Mendez- discussing some of the tactics, gadgets and disguises CIA operatives used in the field during the Cold War. (video)
Former CIA Chief of Disguise Breaks Down 30 Spy Scenes From Film & TV - by Jonna Mendez and includes some very good techniques about what works and what doesn't and why (video)
Surveillance Detection – A CIA Officer’s Guide to Protecting Your Family (surveillance detection basics)
Surveillance Detection Route (what they are, how to use them and why a spy needs them)
How to Detect and Prevent Corporate Espionage Attacks
12 Corporate Espionage Tactics Used Against Leading Progressive Groups, Activists and Whistleblowers (wayback machine link)
Spies, Lies and Secrets: 37 Industrial Espionage Tactics that Threaten to Kill Your International Business (international business law advisor article)
The Interagency OPSEC Support Staff (IOSS) Intelligence Threat Handbook pdf and webpage version (published 1999)
Repugnant Philosophy: Ethics, Espionage, and Covert Action (reprint from 1995 article from The Journal of Conflict Studies, wayback machine link)
Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security: volume 1 and volume 2

Crime Museum - information on all aspects of crime and forensics as well as a huge resource library of famous crimes (ranging from piracy, robbery, murder, war crimes, etc) and criminals (of all sorts) through history and much much more.

Policing, Laws, Forensics, and Autopsies:
SWAT Manual: SWAT operational guidelines and standardized training recommendations California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training, published 2005 (PDF, wayback machine link)
Policing in the UK, a brief guide (14 page pdf, wayback machine link) and Becoming a Special Constable updated (2019) version.
Masterlist of US police work/law enforcement links
What a bomb technician wears (video cued up to the process of putting on a bomb suit)
Police Jargon: How to Talk Like a Cop (wayback machine link)
Homicide Detective Checklist
How An FBI Profiler Spots A Lie and also Signs Of Lying
Former FBI Analyst Explains Criminal Profiling (video, beginning at the breakdown of what it is and how they do it)
Reference Sheet for British firearms law excellent write up on UK laws regarding guns, tasers, knives etc.
Scriptlawyer’s Ultimate Mythbusting Guide to Court Procedure (wayback machine link)
WEX Legal Information Institute's legal dictionary and legal encyclopedia, a free legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored and hosted by Cornell Law School. (US law)

Crime Scene Investigator Network tremendous resource- tons of articles, manuals and videos on everything crime scene related and every aspect of dealing with crime scenes including response, evidence collection (and how different kinds are collected), documentation, and much, much more
How Crime Scene Investigation Works
Guide to Crime Scene Investigation A comprehensive guide to crime scene investigations with a section concentrating on responding officers. (PDF- wayback machine link)
Forensic Document Examination
Crime Scene Practice (UK)
Evidence Collection Guidelines how to collect and preserve evidence at crime scenes

Crime Scene and Evidence Photography huge collection of links

The Science of Fingerprints: Classification and Uses published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover (Project Gutenberg version, or The National Criminal Justice Reference Service's official PDF version)
Black Powder Processing (aka dusting for fingerprints)
Fingermark/Fingerprint collection and identification
Forensics Expert Explains How to Lift Fingerprints (youtube video)
A Simplified Guide To Fingerprint Analysis (where found, how collected, who does the analysis, how and by what process)
The National Institute of Justice's Fingerprint Sourcebook (15 chapters, available as a PDF)
Are Fingerprints At The Crime Scene Enough Evidence?
Footwear & Tire Track Examination (collection methods, who examines them and how)

Forensics Expert Explains How to Analyze Bloodstain Patterns (youtube video)
Forensics Expert Explains How to Determine Bullet Trajectory (youtube video)
What blood spatter stains are trying to tell you
Bloodstain pattern analysis infographic (includes info on types of spatter, other bloodstain patterns, impact angle, and more, wayback machine link)
A little more on blood spatter and how temperature affects how it dries
Will Washing Clothes Really Destroy Bloodstains?
A Simplified Guide To Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: Principles of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis and How It's Done

A Screenwriter's Guide to the Autopsy (wayback machine link)
The 21 Steps of an Autopsy (wayback machine link)
Autopsies For Authors (podcast episode of The Creative Penn with transcript)
Mistakes Writers Make about Coroners ... and How to Avoid Them (podcast episode of The Indy Author - available on youtube)
Pathology of Knife Wounds (wayback machine link)
A Simplified Guide to Toxicology (which evidence is collected, how and what's done with it)

A Simplified Guide to Digital Evidence (how it's collected and analyzed and by who)
Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders, Second Edition (2008, The National Criminal Justice Reference Service PDF)
U.S. Secret Service: Best Practices For Seizing Electronic Evidence (PDF, also a pocket guide)
Digital Evidence Policies and Procedures Manual (2020, The National Criminal Justice Reference Service PDF)

The real CSI: what happens at a crime scene?
National Institute of Justice presenting National Center on Forensics' videos: Crime Scene Analysis and Advanced Crime Scene Analysis (very technical)
National Institute of Justice's Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement (2 versions available, 2002's 58 page, 2014's 180 page pdfs)
National Institute of Justice's To Err is Human: Using Science to Reduce Mistaken Eyewitness Identifications Through Police Lineups (5 page pdf)
National Institute of Justice's CSI Effect: Does It Really Exist? (6 page pdf)
The CSI Effect: Fact v Fiction (infographic, rebloggable tumblr post)
Round up of articles breaking down issues with forensics and some of the pseudoscience behind it
Basics of forensic entomology (use of insect life-cycles and behaviours to interpret evidence)
Stages of Deterioration and Decomposition in the Human Body a timeline (wayback machine link)
Forensic Entomology a website designed to teach police officers and homicide investigators "the minimal skills they will need to interact profitably with a forensic entomologist."(wayback machine link)
How to write characters working in forensics (a list of jobs and tips) and biggest pet peeves in bad forensic fiction (wayback machine links)

other related mystery, murder and criminal things:
Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors - fictional, but written as if by an actual experienced assassin, as a how-to manual on contract killing that ended up being used in numerous actual murders (now in public domain, archive.org link)
How to Write Investigation Guides as compiled for the Superbat Big Bang- Part One, A Guide to Doing The Casefic And Maybe Only Suffering a Little, and part two, Doing The Casefic And Suffering A Bit More Than Before (gdocs)
The Arsonists’ Handbook: A Writer’s Guide To Igniting Fire "This comprehensive guide is crafted to assist writers in creating realistic and gripping depictions of arson scenes."
So You Want to Bury A Body: Grave Digging for Writers
Writers Explore: Disposing of a dead body
(a few historical police/criminal links on the history etc post)

Canine Use In Law Enforcement (general history and information)
How Bomb-sniffing Dogs Work
How Cadaver Dogs and Their Handlers Help Solve Crimes
How Dog Tracking Evidence Is Handled in Criminal Court
Detection Dogs (collection of links to articles, blog posts, court cases and more)
SearchDogsUK information on various search and detection dogs
Role and History of Police Dogs Across the UK (general history and information and pictures and information on retired dogs)

some sites to check for more info:
How to Fight Write - not easy to navigate, posts range in usefulness. (but here's one masterlist in response to an ask)
True Forensics
Box of Truth a website devoted to firearms as well as testing the penetration of various rounds
500 different Military Manuals these run the gauntlet from 1930s radio operation to Vietnam Guerilla Warfare & Special Forces Operations to Canadian Nuclear Weapons effects to 1990 US Journalism handbooks, vehicle maintenance, counter intelligence and much, much more. (wayback machine link)
Ask a Coroner (what it says on the tin, numerous previous asks posted with their answers for your perusal)

{There are also tons of resources at archive.org so googling something + "site:archive.org" might bring up useful manuals, etc}


Research and Resource Collected Links Masterpost


Last updated: all links checked 27 March 2026 and new ones added 1 April 2026