Two Stances on Knife-Fighting

Knife-fighting is one of the High Arts, alongside poetry and philosophy. A combat with daggers is not an exercise of personal bravado, or a way of settling tawdry disputes. It is a demonstration of principles and a form of moral instruction for the masses.

All other physical contests are by their nature unequal. In wrestling, one fighter is bigger and stronger. In a sorcerous duel, one participant has a greater innate grasp of magicka than the other. But in an unarmored knife-meeting all that matters is speed, which is a matter of pure will and moral clarity, and knowledge of the appropriate attacks, dodges and feints. When both knives are equally long and sharp they confer no inherent advantage, becoming merely a physical extension of the will of the fighter. Both combatants being of sound body, the only true edge is found within their spirit.

All blade motions have been codified by the Guild of Daggerlads, and it is up to knife wielders to familiarize themselves with these laws. Master the theory and victory will be yours, every time. This is a holy principle in our lands. Why do you think Lord Vivec commanded a blade before taking up the spear?

The Hlaalu reject our stances, and mock the ordered traditions of combat. It is their folly, as they are forced to improvise what we have committed to memory. They favor the reverse grip, the posture of the backstabber, which for us is only deployed by amateurs or the purest masters. It adds strength to the blow, and conceals the attacker's motions, but it must be wielded with exceptional skill or the wielder risks cutting themselves and defeating their own efforts. See how the knife fight holds a mirror to flawed ideologies?


 

A knife fight at close quarters is an exciting thing to experience. It's exciting to watch, too, and if you're as good as I am you can make a pile of money doing it. All sorts flock to our duels. Rich and poor, native and outlander. Soldiers even- folks who fight for a living themselves and think nothing of it, and they'll pay to watch us face off. Do you know why?

It's the meeting of two forces. It's the hundred different skills you need, beyond the obvious nimble fingers. Our pious cousins are right about one thing: there's a poetry to it. But while for them it's all rote stanzas in some dead language, for us it's improvised, freeform verse. People aren't like those Dwemer cogmen you see children throwing stones at during the harvest fair. They have their own ideas and approaches. Some are braggarts looking to show off. Some get into the knife fights because they just want an excuse to hurt someone. Some have a death wish. These things come out in the way they fight, and two thirds of the duel is about figuring out what kind of fetcher you're fighting against, while giving nothing away about yourself. That last bit is important- whoever masks their intent best, wins nine times out of ten.

Here's a tip for free: if you know you have to fight someone, get to know them first. Buy them a sujamma and talk about the old days. If they're a sensible, suspicious type then you'll have to settle for spying on them as they go about their business. Learn their reactions, and learn what they're looking for. Become their friend if you can, then when the time comes cut them for being so foolish. Never fails.