Update on the Spatha and Gladius fighting techniques!

[Martin Wallgren]

It does, many thanks. I'll probably aim to find a middle way - something to spar freely with, but which looks authentic enough at a distance for the public. For real training, we seem likely to blunt steel.

It certainly teaches caution :-) )

Yes! it does!

When we do public things we always do it in modern trainingclothes and explain that it is the techniques we try to illustrate not the outfits. We use steel and waisters on those events. I feel it´s better to use obviusly modern clothes than half authentic kit (Reconstructed clothes and armour, and wooden ductaped swords and shields with safety rims and stuff) to make the audience grasp the fightingtechniques instead of snigger and mumble about " I don´t think the romans had ductape or icehockeyhelmets, haw haw haw!".

We also try to get through that we use is educated guessies(sp) on how the roman would have used their weapons. We explaine how we have got to the conclutions on this and so forth. But mostly we just practice without audience. Very good tools for sparring. We practice about three times a week for two hours and if we would use only our steel swords we would have to buy new ones too often. The nicks and dents have to be filed of after every sparingbout for safety reasons and the wear is great under those circumstances.

Just my contribution to the cause!