The hero and villain are fighting hand-to-hand, breast-to-breast, each has the the others hand in a grip (probably keeping a weapon away), grunting, snarling and straining at each other in a "fight to the death" and yet neither has the wit to either head butt the other or put the knee into the other's crotch. Am I the only one who finds this odd? (or do I just naturally gravitate towards "fighting dirty"?)

On the subject of weapons (see Bunnahabhain's post above):
Wet gunpowder still works (unless it's important to the plot that it does not), likewise flintlocks work every time (again, unless failure is important), flints never need changing, ammunition never gets mis-loaded and nobody EVER has a hang fire discharge.

W