In Max Brooks’ World War Z, there is one all-too-brief mention of Mkunga-Lalem—“The Eel and The Sword”—the premier anti-zombie martial art.  It’s never mentioned again, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would look like.

I figure an anti-zombie martial art would be mostly open handed (since there’s no point in punching a zombie) and most of the focus would be on not getting grabbed and subsequently bitten.  So here: two techniques from my imaginary guide to Mkunga-Lalem:

In Fig. 12, zombie approaches with arms outstretched, defender simultaneously steps forward with the right foot and parries out and downward with the left hand.  The sword in the right hand follows the left hand down, and then follows Z’s arms up to the neck for a clean decapitation.

In Fig.13, zombie approaches with arms outstretched, defender simultaneously steps out and forward with the right foot and parries Z’s arms to the side with the left hand.  Defender immediately catches Z by the wrist and pulls him across his front and to the side in a wide arc, throwing Z off-balance, followed by a clean chop to the skull.