When learning the combat system, it is useful to remember the two-letter rule: Every combat command is two letters long.
The first letter specifies which location the command should use: ‘l’ (left hand), ‘r’ (right hand), ‘f’ (feet) or ‘h’ (head). The second letter is the action performed, and the choice of actions depends on your combat table. To view a combat table for any location, use the ‘?’ action, e.g. ‘r?’.
Make sure your weapons are sheathed (‘sheathe all’), and try throwing a punch with your right hand by typing ‘rs’ (right strike). Next, try a jab. A jab is a combo technique - a fist move followed by a strike: type ‘rf’ (right fist), then ‘rs’ (right strike) as separate commands - remember the two-letter rule! There is also a hook combo, a fist move followed by two strike moves - but you’ve already done the first two for your jab, so to follow up with a hook, all you need to do is another ‘rs’ (right strike).
One special exception to the two-letter rule is enhanced moves, where you can add a ‘+’ after the second letter - but best not to worry about those for now.
To view the full combat table for your right hand, type ‘r?’. On the first line you’ll see a list of one-letter commands - these are the options that can be typed after the ‘r’, with their cost in action points listed in brackets afterwards. Below the valid commands is a brief definition of what each command means, and underneath that is a table of fighting techniques.
Each time you type your two-letter command, the second letter is added to a queue, which is then used to determine which technique you’ll perform. You should be able to see the ‘fs’ jab (which you performed with ‘rf’ followed by ‘rs’) as well as the ‘fss’ hook (which you performed with the second ‘rs’), as well as various other techniques. Try some of the other commands, and then try doing the same with your left hand (exactly the same process, but the first letter of the command is ‘l’). Then type ‘draw all’ to draw your weapons, and see what combos you can perform with them.
You may also find it useful to read ‘help techniques’ and ‘help assist’.