08-22-2008, 11:35 AM
Not a phalanx but fairly typical crush in reenactor combat with small groups. See:[url:244r7hzy]http://nvg.org.au/gallery/albums/miklagard/Armidale_1998_b.sized.jpg[/url]
I wasn't there for that friendly stoush but a year or so later a good friend and I were involved in a public combat display where we and others played very ...um friskily. We charged and crashed shields a couple of times and the crowd roared as the melee continued. But instead of doing our usual safety routine where you fake the charge and sort of walk around each other we did it for real -just to make a louder noise. The crowd loved alright. Especialy when the shield cracked together and his slid up the surface of mine tilted it on the arm strap, and lodged in my mouth like an oversize cookie - cracking off 7 teeth at the gumline. The kids loved the blood and wanted to see it all again. Playing like that does generate a lot of force.
I wasn't there for that friendly stoush but a year or so later a good friend and I were involved in a public combat display where we and others played very ...um friskily. We charged and crashed shields a couple of times and the crowd roared as the melee continued. But instead of doing our usual safety routine where you fake the charge and sort of walk around each other we did it for real -just to make a louder noise. The crowd loved alright. Especialy when the shield cracked together and his slid up the surface of mine tilted it on the arm strap, and lodged in my mouth like an oversize cookie - cracking off 7 teeth at the gumline. The kids loved the blood and wanted to see it all again. Playing like that does generate a lot of force.
Peter Raftos
