Why do 1st Century Roman groups avoid combat

[Robert Vermaat]

I think we are now looking at three types of 'combat':

First:

choreographed public demonstration which is highly organized and perhaps rehearsed which can be fairly safe even using blunted steel weapons.

This may give the public an idea about Roman movements on the battlefield. However, it’s only possible for larger group (by that I mean 15-20 or more) who have had plenty of time to rehearse. As I’ve learned from experience, it’s nearly impossible even if you have a day to practice when the groups involved don’t know each other. The result is a bit like equipping a group with plastic shields – it looks nice from a distance, but no more.

Second:

"free play" battle where there are scoring rules of some sort and which often substitute "Safe" weapons for steel ones.

This is next to useless for Roman groups. No matter how many times I see videos of this from Medieval groups who even practice this for many times each year, the result is always the same: the ‘scoring’ and the safety involved always comes down to a one-on-one, even when dozens of people are facing each other. Almost always, the semblance of a unit is lost and a melee ensues.
For Roman re-enactment it’s next to useless, but I immediately agree it is great fun for all involved.

Third:

blunt tipped projectiles thrown at a defensive formation to demonstrate it's effectiveness

As with the above, the usefulness is limited by the aspect of danger. It may give an audience some idea about missile coverage during a battle, but because no danger can be involved, it can’t be anything real.

Whether either of these combat recreations could ever be valid ways of testing theories about how battle was ACTUALLY conducted is a matter for debate. Limitations of numbers of participants, level of training and the modern necessity of not actually killing or maiming anyone are a few of the factors that limit both the testing validity and the accuracy of the reenactment.

I agree wholeheartedly there. I’ll go a bit further, I think that no practical lessons can be learned because the conditions in which we practice ‘battle’ are totally different from an actual battle.