Characters (film, books, video games) who dual wield knives or daggers?

January 17, 2013 1:09 PM

I participate in a play-by-post fantasy roleplaying game and my character fights with two daggers. Can you help me find resources from movies, books, or video games of characters with a similar fighting style, to help develop my own character's skills?

I've seen this list but it's not very useful since it just lists those characters and doesn't provide what I'm looking for, namely descriptions of their fighting styles, written fight scenes, or videos of fights.

Bonus points for female or left-handed characters!

My #1 resource right now is Ayame from the Tenchu video games. Here's a good video of her style.

Thanks for your help!

posted by wintersonata9 to sports, hobbies, & recreation (23 answers total)

Will Scarlet O'Hara from Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men In Tights has at least one or two great dual-wielding-daggers scenes.

Also, relevant TV Tropes article on dual-wielding.
posted by griphus at 1:12 PM on January 17

In The Lord of the Rings movies, Legolas occasionally fights with two knives.
posted by lydhre at 1:14 PM on January 17

Eskrima is a Filipino martial arts system that can encompass the double knife. I'm not a practitioner, so I don't know how good these guys are.
posted by Comrade_robot at 1:19 PM on January 17

Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I don't know if he has a particular fighting style.
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:20 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]

Seung Pei Sao is the dual dagger technique of Jow-Ga Kung Fu - compelling Youtube vids are kind of hard to come by, mostly just slow-speed and/or student demonstrations.
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:21 PM on January 17

VOLDO!!!!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 1:22 PM on January 17 [4 favorites]

Marvel Comics’ Elektra is a dual-sai fighter, like the aforementioned Raphael.
posted by Shepherd at 1:34 PM on January 17

The only entry for double daggers currently listed in Wiktenauer is the uncaptioned Mathern Fechtbuch.
posted by zamboni at 1:50 PM on January 17

The second season of Spartacus has Saxa, female dual daggers, and The Egyptian, dual wielding, but no traditional daggers (though always small blade weapons). The other dual wielders, Spartacus and Gannicus, are using swords, but aren't the berzerk types, they are both shown as very agile and smart, and might work, too.

Li Mei, Mortal Kombat, dual sai?
posted by MinusCelsius at 1:52 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]

See the Assassin's Creed videogames. I know the two most recent iterations allow you to wield dual blades (sword and dagger, for example, not just twin hidden blades). I can't recall whether the older titles do. The fighting style is gorgeous.
posted by postel's law at 1:53 PM on January 17

KRATOS! The ultimate dual wielding video game badass!
posted by milqman at 2:03 PM on January 17

Belkar Bitterleaf from The Order of the Stick webcomic. Here's an awesome-looking reimagining of the character on DeviantArt.
posted by Vorteks at 2:08 PM on January 17

One of the leading characters from 80s British series "Robin of Sherwood" was Nasir, a saracen who fought with two swords. There seem to be a few videos on Youtube that show him fighting.
posted by NailsTheCat at 2:11 PM on January 17

"V," or Guy Fawkes, the (anti?)hero in "V for Vendetta" did some dual-wielding with knives in the Wachowski movie version, at least. Particularly so in his face-off against the Secret Police Chief and his flunkies in the last act, but also in other scenes, I'm pretty sure, such as his rescue of the heroine in an alley, and his attack on the TV station. Many of the knives were wielded and then thrown.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:18 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]

Jack from Power Stone
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 2:29 PM on January 17

Anime? In the "Dog Days" franchise, Eclair uses two short swords, and Noir (a ninja) often uses twin daggers.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:54 PM on January 17

Inda, in the book (and series) of the same name by Sherwood Smith. His fighting style is based on a martial art primarily used by women which has a lot of Aikido-style "use your opponent's mass and momentum against them" techniques. For the two dagger fighting, it is especially noted that the daggers are angled up close to the forearms, rather than held out like swords.
posted by kyrademon at 5:03 PM on January 17

The novel Shantaram had some detailed knife fighting in it - actually I just found one relevant chapter online, here.
posted by mannequito at 5:30 PM on January 17

In World of Warcraft rogues are dual knife/dagger wielders. Scroll down that page a bit to "Rogue Talents" and click on the different talents (Assassination, Combat, Subtlety). That may give you some ideas of the types of skills a dual wielder can have. There are probably videos on YouTube to see rogues fighting. (A good rogue is something to see and a bitch to fight against.)
posted by deborah at 9:50 PM on January 17

Joscelin, a character in the Kushiel series (fantasy books), fights with two daggers and has been trained since childhood by monks of the "Cassiline" order. Both his fighting style and his daily exercise regimen are described in the first book of the series, Kushiel's dart.
posted by meijusa at 10:50 PM on January 17

You guys rock. This is incredibly helpful. Many thanks!
posted by wintersonata9 at 9:38 AM on January 18

P.S. If I didn't mark your answer as best, it's because it's a fighting style that my character would not be able to emulate, e.g. "Pauses, then summons 10 swords that home on the opponent." Also, agreed that Kratos is a badass, but my character does not have extendable blades welded to her forearms. :)
posted by wintersonata9 at 9:44 AM on January 18

Dude, Musashi! A real-life 16th century samurai who arguably invented the two sworded fighting style. In the novel, look for the passage where he has the idea by watching a drummer beating the drum with two sticks. Then study his insights in the actual fighting manual he wrote.
posted by Tom-B at 2:56 PM on January 18