I find the best method is to try to describe the action for example "XXX swings the spear quickly, blunt end first towards YYY's midsection in a non-lethal manner." it may end up longer, but it's more descriptive, but you get to remove that element of non-fantasy from it.
There are times I will look a modern term up as well, to get a less modern version or use the definition in a more descriptive manner as well.
Hope this helps.
I'm a scrublord when it comes to my posts, but I honestly prefer information to be conveyed in clear to understand words. Especially if I'm trying to interpret an action to respond to. Making a comparison to a baseball bat tells me a lot more information than trying to make a description of every movement. I can immediately imagine what swinging a baseball bat looks like. Easy to picture every movement that's occurring instantly, I can imagine foot placement, movement of the hips posture, and pretty much any other part of that action. In order to convey that same message without an analogy there has to be a lot more words used and then my brain has to process a lot more especially if the information turns out to be extremely vague.Â
To be honest long posts that have have information that could be said in a much more clear and direct manner ruin the mood for me. I lose the feeling of a sense of time passing. Especially if a post feels like it has a lot of unnecessary filler because the standard seems a person's skill as an rper is judged on the length of the post. Really just use the amount of writing it takes to tell the story.