you have to stand near them then they come alive, hit and roll is the best, oo with that special sword you get in that wooden house in the woods.There is a lot of statues on the roof if i remember correctly, one statue is in the first part when you enter venice, another is in the part where you get that african warriors and one was in the palace, cant remember where the rest was.
I hit and rolled,hit and rolled,hit and rolled until my hand went dead. You can't kill the thing its impossible. I think theres a bug in the game. I put the game in the "WAIT FOR A FIX FILE" bin. Good luck