Disclaimer: I, and the owner and operators of this forum and accompanying website, in no wise endorse the users of this forum to partake in the dangerous and often stupid activities described in this thread, and are not responsible for injuries incurred by those who partake in activities similar to those described.  This thread is for information purposes only… In other words, there’s no reason for you to be stupid.  A bunch of other people and I have already done that for you. :shocked:

 

What do a couple of paratroopers do in their spare time while stuck in the middle of the Sinai desert at an OP/LP? Beat each other with sticks!

 

My best friend and I are medieval battle enthusiasts, and when our unit shipped out to the deserts of the Sinai peninsula with the Multi-national Force and Observers, we made sure our wasters, a copy of R. Ewart Oakeshott’s A Knight and His Sword, and plenty of Aspir-Cream were securely packed in our A-bags. Our combats were fully intended to be the regular run of the mill, violent, testosterone fueled sport in which female deprived men engage, but in the end we learned much about what medieval foot combat must have been like.

 

With a woefully small amount of resource material pertaining to hand-to-hand combat techniques germane to the Anglo-Saxon/Carolingian periods, the best way to discover technique and strategy is to actually engage in active re-enactment. The unofficial forum of our desert forays freed us from the constraints of safety rules that, for good reason, govern most modern re-enactment groups. While the lack of safety rules provided us with a unique educational perspective in hindsight, it was not initially driven by our desire for knowledge, or a gallant attempt to delve into the minds and lives of medieval man, but was due to our utterly violent, testosterone fueled, male stupidity. Our platoon sergeant eventually ordered an end to the combats during our last rotation, mainly due to swollen knees, black and blue arms, calves and thighs, and at least one broken rib, all of which seemed to have a rather poor affect on our PT scores. In other words, don’t try this at home.

 

Hand to hand combat, when two contestants are bent on killing each other, is something very different than what Hollywood has depicted over the years. What we found bore out Oakeshott’s assessment that medieval sword and shield foot combat resembled dirty boxing more than fencing. Foot work and quick reflexes has more to do with victory than flashy sword work.

 

The following posts on this thread is a consortium of sorts of my reflections on these desert combats, set up in an instructional format for ease. Despite the didactic format, I don’t proclaim myself to be an expert on the subject, and I’m certainly open to various opinions and the experiences of others. I’m not familiar with SCA combat first hand, but I’ve read some very interesting articles by those who are. I think that our experiences are similar in many ways, and I would love to hear from those of you engaged in re-enactment.

 

Most of our combats and practice was one-on-one, though as our deployment continued, many of our mates made up some hockey stick wasters and shields of their own. Group combat (more historically likely) turned out differently (and much more dangerous) in many respects than one-on-one combat. For the purposes of this thread, I’ll deal first with our one-on-one combats, then group combat and shield wall tactics.

 

During the coarse of our desert experience, we started using terminology with which most might not be familiar. Most are self-explanatory, but to clear up any confusion here are some preliminary definitions of some terms in our encoded language:

 

Back stroke: a backhanded swing at an opponent’s sword side.

 

Chuck: originally, throwing one’s sword at an opponent (or innocent by-stander) out of frustration or anger, but it soon came to refer to throwing anything nearby at an opponent (or innocent by-stander) as an affective means of attack.

 

Down stroke: an attack that comes from over the head and down.

 

Glancing blow: an attack designed to hit the opponent’s shield, but to follow through, glancing off the surface of the shield, in order to set up for a back stroke or up stroke.

 

Middle/high/low: used in conjunction with shield or sword side; middle refers to the body from the armpits to the knee, low refers to the knee to feet, high refers to armpits to top of head.

 

Prying: in general a stabbing motion that’s goal is to get your sword between your opponent’s shield and body.

 

Shield side: the side of your body protected by the shield, left side.

 

Speculative combat move: I’m referring to combat moves that we developed in the desert.  These may or may not have been actually used by medieval warriors.

 

Sword side: the side of your body where you hold your sword, right side.

 

Up stroke (or rack): an attack that comes from below, designed to strike the opponent in the groin.

 

A funny feeling: a good indication its time to quit for the day.

Material

 

The US Army provided us with some armor in the form of flak jackets and kevlar helmets. Of course, one can’t pluck the old shield from the wall and stuff it into the typical A-bag. However, the MFO maintenance boys at South Camp (a couple of Welshmen who did nothing but laugh at us when they found out what we were up to) provided us with a couple sheets of half inch plywood and a reciprocating saw with which we crafted two Norman kite shields (minus the boss). The straps for the shields were provided by a leather merchant in Nama Bay (which was a little pricey, but my friend, Craig, was an E-4 millionaire… unmarried, that is). We attached the straps with bolts, nuts and washers, and we found some upholstery nails to attach scraps of an Army blanket to the back for padding. In the course of a single afternoon we had fashioned two usable and fairly handsome (if you are willing to over look the hex bolts) kite shields. We ended up having to repair these shields often, and even made a few new ones before our six months was up. That’s alright, though. Historical shields were disposable anyway.

 

The quality items that we did manage to bring with us were our hickory wasters. Mine resembled typical Norman swords, circa AD 1066 (with 32” blades, straight 6” cross guards, and 4” handles). One of Craig’s wasters was a bit longer, by at least four inches with a longer grip. In practice, there was really no discernable advantage to the longer weapon; in fact, I found this longer waster to be a bit ungainly, and he conceded the same. Quickness, not reach is the name of the game, as I will explain.

 

Hickory is an excellent wood for wasters. It’s durable but strong and can take a pretty heavy beating. This not-with-standing, we managed to break more than one. Luckily, we packed a few spares. Granted, the rough and tumble aspect of our combats can get pretty expensive, considering that our wasters can cost upwards of a hundred dollars a piece. As an alternative, you can make descent wasters out of hockey sticks, as some of our mates ended up doing, but they are more rigid and, as a result, break easier. Our hickory wasters also weighed more (about 2 to 2 ½ lbs.) than the hockey stick wasters (about a pound). The difference though is inconsequential, considering period swords of the same size would have weighed about four pounds. You fail to get a realistic weight no matter which you might choose to use.

 

More to follow  :icon2:

The adrenaline rush of one on one sword fighting is absolutely addictive, and it can also get you beat up pretty bad.  “Having at it” is awful fun, but if you don’t know how to stop your opponent from “having at it” all over you, you are going to be very sore by the end of the day.  Keeping this in mind, I’ll start with some basic defensive principles that we picked up in the desert the hard way.

 

Parrying with the sword.

 

For the most part, it doesn’t exist.  First of all, our wooden wasters, like the actual swords of the day, simply could not withstand the constant abuse of blade on blade.  When direct attacks were received on the blade it would leave a nasty notch and make me wince.  At any rate, your shield side is opposed to his sword side; most attacks from his sword will be coming on your shield side.

 

This is not to say that blade on blade didn’t happen (cross guards are there for a reason), or that at times it didn’t happen by design.  After all, swords had cross guards for a reason.  This brings me to the first of our speculative combat moves: “catching”.

 

Catching refers to catching your opponent’s weapon on the cross guard of your sword, away from your body.  This move only works if your opponent attacks your sword side middle or high with a back stroke; sword side low causes the attacker’s blade to run down your sword away from the cross guard (note: never parry a sword side low attack with your sword, though this would seem to be a natural defense… its not very effective and will destroy your waster).

 

Once your opponent’s sword is caught against the cross guard push his sword away from you.  This seems rather simple, but it does carry with a couple of advantages.  First of all, by tangling up his sword you take away his primary offensive ability.  Secondly, because his body is crossed (because he would have been attacking you with a back stroke) and placed off balance, you make him concentrate on the pretzel he is becoming, not on you.  Its natural in combat for your opponent to push back.  We called this sword wrestling.  If you capitalize on the situation quickly, it holds no advantage to your opponent to sword wrestle because your sword, not his, is on the inside.  If he’s concentrating on the wrestling match, more than likely he’s not paying attention to his shield or body position.  Because he coming at you from the back stroke, most of his body is exposed anyway.  Simply go from the sword lock to a swing at the head.  If you act faster than he’s thinking, you’re going to give him a bloody nose.  An alternative to this is to kick him while he’s sword wrestling (maximum effect would be achieved by a swift kick to his unprotected groin with your left foot).

 

Sometimes blade on blade is unavoidable, especially when combat gets up close and personal.  If you end up in a position where your sword and your opponent’s sword are tangled together, by all means use it to your advantage if you can.  If you are physically weaker than your opponent, though, don’t try to sword wrestle him, always keep yourself and your weapon as free as possible.

 

In general, parrying should be avoided at all costs, especially when attacks are directed to your shield side.  Attempt to block all attacks with your shield; that’s why you have it.  It’s alright to reposition yourself to block blows on the sword side with your shield, in fact this can work to your advantage.  When you can’t use your shield, ducking, dodging and jumping are far more effective, not only does a thoughtful dodge get you out of the way, it can also position you for your own attack.

 

The Shield as a defensive tool

 

That seems pretty obvious, but as I will demonstrate, the shield is also a weapon.  Basically, though, the shield’s primary purpose is defensive, and it’s a very effective defensive tool if used correctly.

 

Surprisingly, we found that using the shield for defense has more to do with foot work and body position than moving the shield with the left arm.  This is fundamental.  Our shields, made out of 1/2” plywood and measuring about four and a half feet tall, were kind of heavy, even for us strapping paratrooper studs ( :cool: ).  At first we were wearing ourselves out by moving our shields side to side with our left arms.  We eventually realized that turning our whole bodies, while keeping our left arms generally in the same position, was far more energy efficient, and accomplished the task much quicker.  It is faster to pivot (with sort of the same motion used by soldiers to left and right face) and twist at the waist, than to swing the shield side to side with the arm.  Keeping the left arm tucked up next the body in relatively the same position also keeps the shield close where it is most affective for absorbing blows, and makes it harder for your opponent to grab or pry your shield away from your body.

 

Likewise, the same principle applies to attacks that come from above, such as high swings and down strokes.  Instead of dramatically lifting your shield, try bending back at the waist.  Even a slight bend brings the shield up considerably, and positions the shield in a glancing position.  We found that the greatest advantage to this was on the counter attack.  Starting your swing with your waist bent slightly back forces you to put the strength of your whole body in to your own swing.  This can, however, bring with it a distinct disadvantage, as I will demonstrate latter.

 

Defense, though, is only half of the shield’s story…

 

Ducking, Dodging and Jumping

 

Even though the shield is your best defensive tool, your best defense in general will always be moving.  If you don’t move, then your shield doesn’t either.  Positioning your shield takes movement, but also, it is sometimes more advantageous and efficient to simply get out of the way all together.

 

Ducking, dodging and jumping can be very effective for two reasons.  First, your opponent is expecting to hit something; when he doesn’t, it can throw him off considerably.  Take for example a batter in baseball.  When the batter swings, his follow through twists his whole body.  Now when your opponent expects this follow through to be stopped, but it isn’t because you ducked, this forces him to twist in the same manner, bringing his sword side, not shield side, directly in front of you and open to attack.  By dodging a down stroke in the direction of your opponent’s shield side (dodging right), you position yourself with his sword and right arm between you and his shield, leaving him open to an attack.  Secondly, it gives you more freedom.  Constantly thinking to block causes you to hide behind your shield, limiting your vision and freedom of movement.

 

There are some attacks that you can’t block.  One is usually low back strokes following a frontal glancing blow.  The glancing blow is a sort of half-attack/half-feint that forces you to commit your shield to the shield side.  The glancing blow is then followed by a quick back stroke at the legs on the sword side.  The only thing to do, if you allow your opponent to get this far, is to jump.   If you are going to jump, jump!  That means jumping up into a fetal position; you have to get your legs higher than knee high.  Also, always jump toward the direction from which the attack is coming, otherwise you will land on your opponent’s sword, or worse, end up straddling it.  Don’t hop.  Hopping back isn’t going to get you out of the way, and it leaves you in no position to counterattack.

 

Blocking, ducking, dodging and jumping are always done intelligently… or at least ideally they are.  The general rule of defense is: always defend yourself in such a way as to provide you some sort of offensive advantage.  You can block, duck, dodge and jump blows all day, but you win a fight only by landing your own blows.

Now that we have established some general principles of avoiding the black eye, lets look into some ways of delivering the black eye. Before we can get into specifics, though, I should discuss some of the more general points first.

 

In the introduction to his Fechtbuch, Hans Talhoffer wrote that the art of combat is not for the timid. This is very true. Approaching sword and shield combat without an aggressive attitude is the best way to insure landing on your bum.

 

A good method we utilized in the desert to get us into the proper state of mind was employing a fair amount of trash-talking. Trash-talk was probably one of the more historically accurate aspects of our combats. The medieval battlefield, for the most part, was much more quiet than the modern battlefield. There were no blasts of gunfire, no explosions of artillery or grenades, and no thundering roars of low flying jet-fighters and thudding helicopters. In fact, the pounding of horses’ hooves, the thudding of shot from trebuchets or mangonels, and the shouting (often times, screaming) of the combatants were the three loudest things in a typical medieval battle. Much of that shouting would have been various and sundry insults with accompanying gestures. Indeed, most of our modern obscene gestures have their roots in the medieval period. I’m sure most people are by now familiar with the real reason why the Scots wore kilts, as was so vividly demonstrated in the movie, Braveheart. :D

 

All insults aside (thinly veiled and otherwise… heh! I do own a kilt and sometimes wear it… with underwear, of course :Iluvscotland: ), as in all things about life, what you say doesn’t mean a darn thing unless you back it up with action.

 

When Craig and I first started, the extent of our combat moves was pretty much summed up by “swing and  block.” I would swing my waster, he would block with his shield, then he would swing his waster, and I would block with my shield. Needless to say this was very boring, and was pretty pointless. It would have been more beneficial to arm ourselves with an ax and direct our energies toward a tree. When we finally decided to stop playing lumberjack, and started to really try and hurt the other guy, we realized that there was more involved than just swinging a sword. Not surprising, just as with defending yourself with a shield, attacking your opponent has more to do with your whole body than just your sword.

 

The first, and most important, realization is that your sword is not the only weapon in your arsenal, and it’s not the most lethal. In addition to your sword, your other weapons include: your shield, right hand, legs and feet, body, and head. Your most lethal weapon is quick thinking. The most effective method of attacking your opponent is using all these weapons in concert; a landed blow is usually the result of a series of attacks from more than one weapon.

 

Using all your weapons in concert is much easier once you discover how to move for maximum affect. Unlike modern fencing, shield and sword combat turns out to be a much closer and a more personal affair (not to mention about a hundred times more violent). You are not just trying to land the point of your weapon on your opponent’s chest.  You are trying to overpower him, knock him down, deliver blows that would, if you were armed with a real sword, cut off his arms or legs, or cleave his head. In general it’s much easier to drive a weapon into an opponent’s chest if he’s laying flat on his back (of course, our fights came to a stop just before the coup de grâce… well, usually). In later posts I will explain how to attack in such a way as to establish a rhythm that maximizes all the weapons at your disposal.

 

I’ve read that expert instructors emphasis the “fighting stance” as the first principle to teach. Craig and I were definitely no experts, and as you can already see, I didn’t start this discussion with explaining a fighting stance. Not that the experts are wrong… far be it from me. However, we did find that we were moving around way too much to worry about our fighting stance. In fact, I suspect if you do worry about your fighting stance, your probably going to forget that your best defense is moving, and then your opponent’s fighting stance will probably be approximately on your bruised and bloodied face.

 

That being said, there are a couple of things that should be pointed out about body placement in general. It’s best to stay in a slightly crouched position, and keep your movements quick, small and powerful, like a boxer. Think jack-hammer instead of wrecking ball. Don’t over extend the distance between your feet, as this will decrease your balance and make it easier for your opponent to get his sword or foot between them.  We learned rather quickly that the first cardinal sin of shield and sword combat is allowing your opponent access to this particular part of the body. Likewise, if your feet are too close it will decrease your balance and make it easier for your opponent to kick both of your feet out from under you with one trip. Keeping your shield forward for maximum protection is always a plus, and this usually means your left foot will be in the lead. We found that with practice we naturally moved and stood in ways that were most comfortable and beneficial.

 

Here is as good a place as any to explain how we “scored” our combats. Scoring is rather misleading. Nobody really kept score. However, when someone landed a blow that would have obviously caused some major damage if we were armed with real swords as opposed to wooden wasters (hits that would probably have left something vital hanging off or laying on the ground), we would say that that person “scored a hit.” A scored hit would bring that particular fight to an end, and we would start over again (if capable).

At this point I can get more into some specifics.

 

As already mentioned a successful attack is one that arises from using all your many weapons in concert, and it usually arises from a series of attacks. There is a certain natural rhythm to combat that arises from using your attacks in concert, like a boxer who establishes a rhythm of punches and jabs, setting up for a devastating hook or upper cut. As in boxing, this rhythm is designed to wear your opponent down.

 

The most beneficial series of attacks that is easiest to learn and use is the speculative combat move, the swing and shield punch. A shield punch is simply what one would imagine… a sort of quick left jab. Because your shield is strapped both at the hand and just below the elbow, in order for a shield punch to do any good, you have to be somewhat close to your opponent. (I will supply an additional post on how the straps of a typical Norman kite shield would have been arranged.) Likewise, the power for the shield punch comes from the shoulder and the body, not the arm as in a boxing jab. For the shield punch to carry real punch, it should be accompanied by a step forward with the left foot so that you can put the weight of your body into it. Because it is natural to start the series with your left foot forward, you will have to swing first, step forward with your right foot, then deliver the shield punch with its corresponding left step forward. A good rule of thumb is to always drive forward with every attack you attempt.

 

As soon as you deliver the swing, immediately follow with the punch, and as soon as you deliver the punch immediately repeat the process. The goal isn’t accuracy (though swings should be generally directed to your opponent’s shield side high), but delivering a continuous storm of blows, one after the other, to drive your opponent back, throw him off balance, and eventually bring him down or score a devastating hit.

 

Perfecting the swing and shield punch, working out the timing and corresponding footwork, isn’t as easy as it sounds. Just like the boxer who has to spend a lot of time at the punching bag in order to work out his own rhythm, the sword and shield combatant would have had to spend hours practicing to get the right combination of speed, foot work and balance that a successful warrior would require. Once you have your rhythm and footwork down, though, you can then begin to add variations and surprises to the basic model. Its important that you get to this point quickly during the course of the fight. Remember that while you are attempting to establish a rhythm, so is your opponent (if he’s as smart as you), and if you don’t do anything but the swing and shield punch, your rhythm becomes telegraphing.

 

One of the most surprising and dramatic maneuvers is when your opponent is expecting you to take your swing, instead grab the top of his shield with your sword hand (carefully as not to drop your waster), side step to your left, and pull his shield across your body and down; at the same time, kick his legs out from under him. The sudden lurch forward, accompanied by the trip, if done with enough force and confidence, should be enough to send him face first into the dust.

 

Another common variation to the swing and shield punch is to make one of your swings a glancing blow off his shield and instead of another shield punch, deliver a backstroke to his sword side. As it turned out, the hardest backstroke to defend was against his sword side low, about knee level.

 

Another handy variation is to deliver a number of successive down strokes. After the second or third down stroke, we found that the defender has a tendency to bend backward more than he should (the disadvantage that was mentioned in the above post). Instead of delivering a third or fourth down stroke, telegraph the swing, but instead of delivering the blow with the blade, drive the pommel of your sword into your opponent’s shield, push down and attempt to jump onto his shield (or side step and attempt to kick his feet out from under him). The force of your whole body coming down on his shield, coupled by the fact that he is already bent backward more than usual, should be enough to bring your opponent to the ground.

 

Most of the time, though, the more simple the variation, the more affective. For example, replacing your swing with a backstroke to his sword side high can be devastating if done quick enough. Use caution when applying this variation, though, as it is susceptible to catching. If your opponent does manage to catch your blade, he will, of course, attempt to force you to your left. Resist this. Instead step to your right quickly, and allow your blade to slide free of his cross guard. Once it is free, the spring caused by both of you applying pressure will cause your blade to snap at his face. The resulting black eye or flat lip is something to chuckle about for days. Substituting a down stroke with a rack can be very devastating. Mixing up your repertoire with the swings is crucial to success.

 

In addition, by simply adding a kick to the scheme can wreck havoc on your opponent by distracting him, or throwing him off balance. Kicks should be used with equal caution, though. Your legs are legitimate targets, and throwing them at your opponent carelessly can cause some pretty nasty bruised shins. Craig was some kind of belt at Tae Kwon Do, and in the beginning he tried some pretty wild kicks. While he could kick my arse unarmed, I found that my waster was much faster than his feet (with a better aroma, as well), especially when he would attempt to kick my midsection or higher.

 

More to follow about the feint, breaking the other guy’s rhythm, the best places on your opponent’s body to attack, some hints about the ever affective rack  :Eyecrazy: , and some comments about physical fitness (like I should talk).

I have a knack for being gullible. It’s a honed skill, trust me. However, it isn’t such a great skill for shield and sword combat, believe you me. My comrade in arms soon picked up on this little fact, and used it to my chagrin… over and over and over and over again.

 

The feint can play an important role in shield and sword combat, and it deserves some space dedicated to it exclusively. It can be a very effective means of adding variation to your rhythm. What constitutes a feint can be kind of ambiguous to explain. For example, there are some feints that are as simple as a jerk of the sword or shield, and others that are more involved, such as the glancing blow mentioned above. The best definition I can think of would be: any movement intended to appear as an attack for the purposes of tricking your opponent in order to set up a real attack. This definition is a pretty big umbrella.

 

I’ve already, of course, mentioned two feints in the coarse of the discussion thus far. The glancing blow, and telegraphing the down stroke followed by a pommel to your opponent’s shield to topple him backwards.  Other feints include:

• the standard half swing followed by a real swing to some other portion of your opponent’s body.
  
• a fake shield punch.
  
• a jerking motion.
  
• a simple grunt or shout.
  

You can probably think of more. There should be no limits to your creativity.

 

When to use a feint is easier to explain. The best feint comes from the spur-of-the-moment. It’s not something you plan for in advance. After you get a lot practice you will start to develop some instincts that you will have to come to trust. If you think to yourself “my next swing will be a feint” it won’t be a very effective one, as I came to learn. If you want your feint to surprise your enemy, it should almost come as a surprise to you as well. A helpful hint: I did notice that feints work extremely well if your opponent has gotten himself into a defensive mindset, and not as well if your opponent is sparring very aggressively.

 

A feint works to your advantage only if you are quick to follow it up with a real attack. Remember, quickness is everything here, just like in boxing. A feinted half swing to your opponent’s shield side high, followed by a backstroke to the sword side high or low is an interesting and sometimes successful variation. However, the change of direction from shield side to sword side is a lot of distance for your sword to cover, and you are invariably taking valuable time away from your real attack (not to mention any back stroke naturally pushes your shield to the side and away). A glancing blow instead of a half swing is usually the best bet. At the very least, a half down stroke would serve you better than a normal swing.

 

Instead, practice half swings high followed by full swings low on your opponent’s shield side, or the other way around. By doing so you are able to follow up your feint much quicker. Real attacks low are much more likely to score a hit because there is less of your opponent’s shield around his legs (because of the natural construction of the kite shield), and this is compounded if your opponent nibbles at the feint and brings his shield high and his left foot forward.

 

As stated above, the use of feints is a matter of instinct, but also style. Craig was very good at the feint and it played an important role in his style of combat. He developed a good instinct for reading his opponent’s mood (whether his opponent was sparring defensively or aggressively); he didn’t use the feint so often that his opponent would come to expect it; and he was always quick to follow a feint with a hard and practical attack. His feints were simple, and were followed by simple attacks. On the other hand, I used feints (or at least half swing varieties) far less and never developed a style that depended on them. My style of combat was a bit more aggressive, and I found that I could accomplish equal, and at times more effective, results by delivering double attacks or other dirty little tricks instead of half swing type feints. This, like most of the topics that will follow, is something for which you will have to get a feel.

Technique, I suppose, plays a big part in any kind of combat. Obviously, we developed technique in the desert. Above I explained a specific kind of technique that we developed for establishing rhythm, the sword swing and shield punch. After a lot of experimentation, we found that this technique was the only one that proved useful. It emphasizes, at least in my mind, the most important element of shield and sword combat: driving forward. On the other hand, winning a fight always involves overcoming your opponent’s technique in one way or the other. In this regard, the winner of a fight is someone who either performs his technique better, or prevents his opponent from using his technique.

 

Practice is the only way to hone your technique, but preventing your opponent from using his technique hinges on attitude, physical prowess and savvy while your fighting. In the course of a fight, you should always attempt to break your opponent’s rhythm. If you don’t, he will simply drive you backwards (definitely not the direction you want to be moving) and he will eventually score that devastating hit or make you eat dirt.

 

By far the best way to break your opponent’s rhythm is to establish your own. As I mentioned above, though, once you do establish a rhythm, don’t get lazy. Immediately go for the kill as soon as you perceive yourself in a rhythm because the longer you wait the more likely your opponent will break your rhythm and establish his own. Our combats, at least the really good ones, were dances, sometimes one getting his rhythm, then being thwarted, and then the other establishing his rhythm.

 

How do you get from point A to point B, though?

 

It is difficult to establish a rhythm when your opponent is attempting to do the very same thing, especially if he is a very aggressive opponent. This is the greatest advantage to being aggressive. You will find that in the course of a fight you will develop an instinct for varying your degrees of aggression. You will come to recognize times when an all out thrashing is in order, and times when rushing in will hasten your fall. This instinct is something that we gained only after a lot of practice. However, my opinion is, it is better to ere on the side of aggressiveness than on the side of timidity.

 

In addition to aggressiveness, physical strength necessarily plays a big part in the whole thing. Those who say style or technique is more important than brute strength have never tried sword and shield combat. The truth of the matter: physical prowess is just as important as technique. In fact, strength is a prerequisite for the techniques we developed in the desert. Many times the difference between you having the rhythm or your opponent having the rhythm is your ability to hold your ground. This takes body strength. Endurance should also be on one’s mind. Some fights will end quite fast, but others can drag on for a long time. Endurance may be the only factor that in the end wins a long drawn out fight. Note: I’m not necessarily talking about size, though size is also an advantage. Short guys or slim guys can condition themselves so that they have a high degree of both strength and endurance. Soldiers spend a lot time training physically, especially infantry soldiers. We found that the general training regime stipulated by the US Army was excellent for developing the kind of strength and endurance necessary for sword and shield combat. I will post about this latter.

 

Aggressiveness and strength aside, there are certain methods one can employ to break his opponent’s rhythm. I call these methods tricks, and most of them could be considered “dirty.” A good rule of thumb is, do whatever you have to do to win (though usually it’s a good idea to practice a little constraint if the thought of spitting comes to mind). Chivalry is fine for directing one’s life in general, but it ends when the swords are drawn and the other guy is trying to kill you.

 

Tricks come in all shapes and sizes, and some I thought up and used on the spot only to forget afterwards what I did or how I pulled it off. There are, though, a few I do remember and used often enough to warrant mention here.

• When your opponent gets into an aggressive rhythm and really starts to drive forward, step to your right (when side stepping in general always think about going right; it’s a good habit that keeps you as far from his sword as possible) and allow your opponent to go past you. If this is all you do, he will probably be able to stop himself, so to make sure he keeps moving past you, apply some gentle persuasion like a good shove or trip, or better yet, a savage swing across the back of his head.
  
• If you find that you’ve stepped back, stab at your opponent. Stabbing isn’t a good habit to form as it usually indicates that you are too far away from your opponent, but the point of your waster coming at your opponent’s eye is usually enough to say: “Hey! Back off!”
  
• Related to stabbing, is prying. Prying is attempting to get your sword between your opponent’s body and shield. In reality, this accomplishes very little offensively, but its annoying as heck to your opponent because it gets him all combobulated as he attempts to untangle himself from your sword. Caution should be used, though, because prying usually moves your body to the left and the best method of discombobulation is for your opponent to take a swing at your sword arm. Like riding a roller coaster, try to keep your arms and legs safely behind your shield. Also, another method of discombobulation is for your opponent to simply grab your waster between his left arm and chest and winch it away from you. While being annoying can be fun, don’t over do your prying.
  
• As your opponent steps into his swing, punch him in the face with either your fist or the pommel of your waster.
  
• When your opponent delivers a shield punch (a moment when his shield is slightly compromised as a defensive tool) stab low and deliver an up stroke between his legs using the edge of his kite shield as a guide.
  
• Grab him. Grappling, especially if one of us dropped his sword, actually occurred more often than one would imagine. Holding your ground against your opponent’s onslaught usually means you get pretty close to your opponent, sometimes so close that swinging and punching are no longer feasible, leaving as the only option attempting to wrestle your opponent to the ground. For Craig and I there was nothing in the least artistic about grappling; the presence of shields made impossible any semblance to Judo. If we did find ourselves in a big old bear hug, though, we didn’t hesitate to drive our pommels into each other’s heads (the nape of the neck, actually), deliver a knee to the groin, attempt a choke hold, or stomp on a toe. Biting was fair game too.
  
• Foot stomping deserves exclusive mention. The initial reaction of having your foot stepped on is to step back, and causing your opponent to step back is the best method of breaking his rhythm. (This, however, was for the most part outlawed in our fights due to a recurrent stress fracture in my right foot that more than anything threatened my military career.)
  
• Chuck your waster. In most circumstances this is an utter act of absolute stupidity, but with a little bit of savvy, it did occasionally work to the chucker’s advantage. For the most part it singled “I’ve had enough!”
  

These are just a few tricks. Never limit your creativity and adaptability.

 

The use of tricks aren’t limited to just breaking your opponent’s rhythm. Tricks are also used to get yourself out of a fix. If you should drop your waster or get it yanked from your hand, always try to get it back. If you can’t, don’t go without a weapon for long. We found that the most readily available weapon was dirt, and if the Sinai has anything, it has a lot of dirt, nice sandy, sting the other guy’s eyes, dirt. Dirt also came in handy when we got pushed or wrestled to the ground. I even started a fight with handful of dirt in my right hand. My first swing was accompanied by a shower of sand, and the effect was very pleasing. It only worked once, though.

 

There are some things that might seem to be pretty good tricks, but we found out that they simply didn’t work.

 

The bum rush is one such maneuver that simply does not work. This may be surprising (it certainly surprised me) especially if one thinks in terms of the calvary charge, or the battles depicted in the movie Braveheart. Foot combat is nothing like combat on horseback (and the role of the calvary charge with couched lance is questionable nowadays anyway), nor is it anything like what we see in Braveheart. Throughout the medieval period, infantry soldiers, the ranks of which may have been swelled by a larger than surmised number of professional mercenaries, were much better organized and systematic than the charging mobs depicted in this particular movie. The bum rush fails because all the defender has to do is play matador and use the rusher’s own forward momentum against him. Why take the brunt of a bum rush, when you can simply step to the side at the last moment and watch the attacker stumble past you? Secondly, the bum rush gives the attacker no advantage. He has no control over the point of attack, and no control over his body position once, and if, he makes contact.

 

As already mentioned, kicks above the waist (actually I would venture to caution them to knee height or lower just to be on the safe side) needlessly and significantly exposes your legs. All those throws we learned in basic training were rendered impossible due to the shields, so Judo is definitely out. Craig and a couple other guys at the OP/LP had a lot of experience with eastern martial arts, but this fact gave them absolutely no advantage in sword and shield combat. Well, to be fair, Craig did have a pretty nasty side kick (to my sword side middle), that occasionally caught me off guard. Eastern martial arts are effective, there’s no doubt about it, but for the most part Craig concluded that mixing it with sword and shield was akin to mixing oil with water.

 

Another thing that might be tempting to use as a trick is to spin around, like a whirling dervish. Absolutely worthless! First, we found that the best way to get hit on the back of the head is to turn your back on your opponent. Second, no matter which direction you spin, your attack is so obviously telegraphed that the only way your opponent could possibly fail to block the swing with his shield is if the narcolepsy has kicked in and he’s snoozing on his feet.

Omission

 

I apologize. In the last post I forgot to mention a rather important method to break your opponent’s rhythm. Actually, this was a grievous error on my part, because it is one of the most common and obvious methods. I’m talking about the counter-attack. A counter-attack follows quickly after either a swing or shield punch, and will work if the counter-attack lands before your opponent’s next attack. A counter-attack can take many forms, a swing, a shield punch, and many of the tricks mentioned above (punching, tripping, kicking, etc.) would qualify as counter-attacks. However, the counter-attack, to be successful, has to be quick, so usually the best bet is to keep it simple and to the point.

 

 

Swollen knees. Gawd, I hate swollen knees!

 

When we first started, our knees got so terribly beat up, we both managed to add over a full minute to our two mile run… this was none too popular with my platoon sergeant. There were a few reasons for this. First of all a kite shield is more narrow toward the bottom, which means your knees and legs are more exposed. Secondly, until you get used to using the shield, you will invariably bang your knees against it (especially true for those times you have to jump). Third, in the beginning, we really sucked at sword and shield combat.

 

Because our knees became so tinder, the knees, of course, were favored things to attack (because at heart, what we really wanted to do was cause the most pain). In doing this, we formed a bad habit that took the rest of the deployment for us to break. Once we started to learn good ways to defend the knees and learned how to avoid self injury, constant attacks to the knees and legs became pointless. Its easy to see a low attack, making them easier to defend against. See shield parry below.

 

By far the best place to attack is the head. Attacking the head has many advantages. Everyone has a thing about their head; we all know, subconsciously and consciously, that there’s some pretty important stuff inside that skull (well, at least its important for most people), and that skull ain’t made of titanium. A sane person is a bit more protective about his head. By attacking your opponent’s head, you play on this protectiveness, and it can act like a sedative to an overly aggressive opponent. For the same reason, consistent high attacks can get your opponent into a defensive mindset making him more susceptible to feints, tricks and surprise variations. Secondly, by constantly attacking high you force your opponent to block high, which will limit his vision, force him to give more exposure to his legs, and deny him the vision and freedom of movement required by most tricks and effective counter-attacks.

 

Once you get your opponent into a defensive mindset, and you have him blocking high, then you can go for the feint half swing high, and then take a full swing at his knees. Or you can double swing, the first one high, followed by a quick second swing at the knees (my preferred method as opposed to the feint). Or you can hook your foot behind his left foot, pull his foot out from under him and give him a powerful shield punch. Or you can do whatever you think up on the spur-of-the-moment. There should be no limit to your creativity.

 

Conversely, the worst place to attack consistently is the midsection. This is the most protected portion of the body, where the meat of the shield is, and where a person naturally holds his sword. More than likely you aren’t going to land a hit to the midsection, and you aren’t going to put the fear of God into your opponent by concentrating your blows in this region. Likewise, if your opponent has the skills, consistently attacking low will yield little advantage.

 

Does this mean that you won’t attack the midsection, or that you should always concentrate on attacking the head? Of course, not. Adding variation to your attacks is always a good idea, as long as it is done with moderation and intelligence.

 

Protecting the head

 

Wear some sort of head protection. If you don’t wear any other armor, always wear something on the head. If you don’t you might get severely injured, of course. Also, though, to get as much realism out of your fights, you won’t want to worry about inflicting such severe injuries. If your opponent isn’t wearing any head armor, you won’t be as inclined to target the head, and deliver effective blows.

 

We had Army issue kevlar helmets, but these provided no protection to the face or neck. This didn’t stop us from attacking the other guy’s face or neck, but we weren’t all that bright. While it would provide no protection to the neck, a football helmet with a lineman’s face mask and a plastic visor would probably work well enough against hickory or ash wasters.

 

Historically accurate head protection is hard to come by, even from what I’ve seen on SCA sites. If you are shooting for historically accurate helmets circa 1066, take a look at MacKenzie-Smith’s Norman spangenhelm. I’ve ordered a few pieces of armor from this company, and its very good hand made stuff, and they will make the piece according to your specifications. There’s no substitute for you doing your research. However, I’ve never purchased this particular piece of armor, and I’m not sure what kind of lining and strapping comes standard with the spangenhelm (though, I don’t think the chin straps pictured are all that attractive; period pieces would have been tied, not buckled). Like I said, though, if you send him a discription and explanation of what you want, he will be more than willing to make it for you (for a price, of course). Make sure that whatever you use has an adjustable crown (that allows you to adjust how high or low the helmet sits on your head) so the helmet doesn’t limit your vision or expose your forehead, and that it fits snuggly around your head and has strong chin straps so it stays still. Stability is very important, especially if there is a nasal or other kind of face protection. If the helmet moves around, nasals and face plates will rub your nose raw. Its also a good idea to let your armorer know if you have a big nose! No matter what kind of historically accurate head protection you decide to use or if you wear a maille coif under the helmet, always wear a heavy and thick arming cap against your head. When I say thick, I mean thick! At the very least the quilted portions should be 3/4th of an inch thick. It might be best to make it yourself to be sure. Though the thick quilting can be hard to sew, in general they aren’t that hard to make, and can be done quickly with a sewing a machine.

 

During the fight, the best way to protect your head is with the shield according to the methods described above. Usually, your opponent’s attacks, if swings, will glance off the shield, and might still hit the top of your helmet. That’s OK; such a hit isn’t a score, but just a glance. This is the reason why you are wearing a helmet. High swings to your shield side are the easiest to defend. Pivot your body (waist and feet) to the left, and bend slightly back. Don't exagerate these movements... it doesn't take much repositioning to effectively block. If you defend properly, you will still be able to see your opponent clearly. Don’t be cowed by successive down strokes, as this will cause you to hide behind your shield and will naturally cause you to bend too far back. Many times its more beneficial to dodge a down stroke (side-step it) than to block it.

 

The shield parry and protecting the knees

 

I read somewhere that back in the days of yore warriors, especially Vikings and Anglo-Saxons, would parry blows from bladed weapons with the edge of their shields. They did this in order to catch their opponent’s weapon in the soft linden wood of their shields, and once caught they would use their shields to pry the weapon from their opponents’ hands. This seemed to be a fairly practical theory, but after I did some research I became skeptical. There’s some evidence that shields were made from planks of linden wood, glued together (possibly with dowels) and held fast by an iron strip along the back, but this evidence is sketchy at best. Truth is, we haven’t any hard evidence that most shields were made of linden. Medieval people could make very strong and durable glues from a variety of sources, but the planking of the shields, no matter how strong the glue was, was naturally weak in comparison to a laminate or solid piece of wood. This is born out by iron edging added to the circumference of the shield, not to add strength, per se, but to help hold the planks together. Would prying a weapon from an opponent’s hand be worth the risk of a bladed weapon separating the planks of the shield? In addition, the more common weapons on the medieval battlefield, in regards to foot soldiers, were spears and axes, weapons that usually wouldn’t get caught in the edge of a shield. No doubt, many axes and spears ended up embedded in shields, and even though the defender may have taken advantage of the situation to pry the weapon from his opponent’s hand, I don’t think this was an actual practiced method. (The Roman pilium was designed to stick in a shield, its soft iron haft would bend to the ground making the shield extremely difficult, if not impossible, to use.) The evolution of the shield, with the addition of concave, also indicates that blocking, not parrying, was the intended purpose of the shield.

 

For this reason alone, I don’t think it’s a good idea to parry your opponent’s attacks with the edge of your shield, but for one exception: the kite shield, because of its design, is very effective for “parrying” attacks to your shield side low or back strokes aimed at your left leg when your left leg is in the lead. I don’t think this was a happy accident, but an intended design. Unlike the large rectangular Roman shields, and the round shield, it is easy to swing the bottom, pointed end, of the Norman kite shield.

 

To parry a low blow, simply pivot your left arm down, across your chest. The motion will cause the bottom of the shield to swing up and left quite a ways. Its fast, simple and energy efficient. You can also swing the bottom of the shield to the right, but physiology won’t allow you to get as much swing to the right. In addition you can strain or throw your shoulder out by attempting to swing your shield too far in this direction. Because of its limitations and in order to avoid injury, its best not to over use or depend on the shield parry to defend against your opponent’s back strokes low. This being said, it can be swung enough to the right in order to protect your left leg if it is in the lead. Once you get the shield parry down, you will find that your knees won’t get so swollen.

I’ve pretty much covered the basic nuts and bolts of what we discovered in the desert. I'm going to shift gears a bit with this post in order to highlight the historical merit of our experiment in sword and shield combat.

 

The historical veracity of this experiment in regards to actual combat is, admittedly, a bit questionable. On the other hand, I’m convinced that one-on-one sparing was an important exercise for the knight and mercenary, not just during training, but throughout their military careers. With the absence of physical trainers and exercise programs, the physical practice of martial skill would have been a necessity in order to maintain the high levels of strength, endurance, quickness and combat savvy that the typical medieval battle would require. The Battle of Hastings lasted at the very least nine hours. While not everyone would have been fighting at every moment, a constant series of pitched skirmishes and clashes over a nine hour period would have called for a high degree of physical and mental conditioning that only practiced warriors could achieve.

 

Today, the theory of conscripted peasants making up the bulk of medieval armies is being seriously contested, for good reason, by medieval military historians. The Battle of Hastings is only one such example. At Crécy the English longbowmen were not only skilled with their weapons, but demonstrated an amazing amount of discipline to stay their ground with trees as their only bulwark in the face of the charging French chivalry. At Bannockburn, King Robert’s schiltrons depended on a level of team work, discipline, and confidence that could only be achieved by intense mental and physical training. An infantry man, called to hold a fifteen foot pike to take the brunt of a charging horse and stop it cold, all the while staying in tight formation despite fallen knights and horses thrashing about, clearly points out a degree of physical conditioning beyond what could be achieved by working a plow team or thrashing grain. The ability to scale a ladder to the top of a battlement, then fight a pitched hand-to-hand battle, takes sheer strength, not to mention a mental capacity and courage hardly to be found in a peasant unwillingly accompanying his overlord on a foreign venture. At the siege of Constantinople the Christian defenders were able, in the course of a single night, repair and re-fortify sections of wall that took the Turks days to decimate with their cannons, not just once, but over and over again. Such acts of discipline and physical stubbornness was repeated throughout the medieval period and beyond, such as at Harfleur and during the first siege of Rhodes.

 

Knights, the calvary of the medieval period, would not have been exempt from such physical and mental demands. There are many examples of knights at practice, not least of which is the tourney, of course. However, what is often overlooked, is the continued emphasis placed on the importance of foot combat. An integral part of a knight’s training was instruction on mounting and dismounting a horse. A wooden horse was used to train the squire to mount and dismount from the sides, back, and even the front of his mount. Such training would be pointless if the knight were expected to remain on his horse at all times. At any rate, on the typical open field medieval battle one would see the death of more horses than men. Staying on the horse was important, but a knight also had to survive when he was off his horse. Horsemanship isn’t like driving your sedan. It requires not only knowledge and skill, but physical prowess as well. There’s no such thing as an out-of-shape Olympic equestrian. The medieval calvary man would have required the same degree, if not a higher degree, of physical conditioning as today’s Olympians.

 

Only by sustaining a program of physical and mental training, were medieval warriors able meet such demanding requirements, and the most obvious and easiest method to achieve this level of physical and mental conditioning would have been one-on-one sparing. On-one-on sword and shield sparing has many physical and mental benefits for a warrior. First, its an excellent cardiovascular workout. Thirty minutes of hard fighting, I would venture to approximate, is equal to about a five mile run. Second, it hones upper and lower body strength, working arm and shoulder muscles, waist, hip flexors, and calves, and with the addition of head armor, the neck. Third, it forces you to move and think quickly, and these, as any soldier will tell you, is absolutely critical for survival on the battlefield. Fourth, it forces you to overcome and perform beyond pain. While serious injury is always a bad thing in play and during the real thing, minor injuries teach you how to manage pain and how to perform your duties despite pain. This is important for a warrior of any era. Fifth, it forces the warrior to face and react to another live person, to overcome fear of the other. That’s a training benefit that no pell could have provided.

 

There is yet one more advantage to sword and shield sparring that I’m sure was not lost on our medieval ancestors. It promoted esspit de corps. I seriously doubt that upon a visit to Agusta you will see grown men bashing each other with wooden sticks (well, perhaps on rare occasion one hitting another over the head with a putter), or failing to keep score cards. However, such activity wouldn’t be at all surprising between infantrymen (or at least not surprising to infantrymen). It provided us a necessary mental and emotional exercise, crucial to soldiers, in which we were able to prove ourselves… not to prove one individual better than another (we never “kept score” and no one arose as “the best”), but to prove an individual’s metal to his fellows. We knew our and each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we knew how and when to help one for the good of the whole. My squad’s deployment to the MFO saw each of us return with an Expert Infantryman’s Badge, a feat not accomplished by any other squad in our battalion, and something that we each were recognized with by an Army Achievement Medal. My squad won the M-60 gun competition, and our OP/LP was awarded division and MFO coins for the most improved site during our deployment. I attribute each of these accomplishments to the time we spent, hitting, hurting, and laughing together while fighting. The Army that spars each other, learns to fight together.

Copious and notes .... sounds like you had alot of fun Gillaume ... I am a reenactor myself with about 12 years experiance .... steel weapons, full contact .... I personally would not dream of any contact fighting without armor and a good quality helmet ... I would love to discuss all the pionts you raised but I dont have the time now It would take me days  ... so thats for the future ..... I will however be happy to answer questions on the matter .... tho work takes me out of town for quite long periods so dont worry if I take a while to reply ......

Just a general note on Sword fighting of the peroid (I think you covered this) is that the steel the swords were made from was not strong enough ... It blunted very quickly and swords could break (In modern times we use EN45 sprung steel for safety even then in my time I have seen many swords break)...... The cost of a Viking sword at the time was the modern equivilent to buying a house now ... so they became treasured family hairlooms handed down father to son .... A sword in this era was more a stutus symbol than a weapon .... It would defiantely be the last resort in battle and as such unless the owner was incredably rich would not spend a huge amount of time training with it (hence the sword thecniques did not develop until later ..... generally regardless of rank the most common weapon was the spear ... not thrown but used as a stabbing weapon directed at the faces and legs of the enimy .... close in Vikings favored axes and skeggoxes and the Saxons favored Scrameseaxes (the weapon for which they get their name)

A scram  is a single edged knife with a sharp point it could be anything from a few inches to 2 feet long used as a stabbing weapon or the back as a crushing weapon ..... a man in chianmail was well protected from slashing attacks so the job of the agressor was to either try to break bones through the armor or push a sharp point between it ....

I look forward to discussing this topic with you Gillaume ....

 

Cool forum BTW