09-06-2012, 03:38 PM
Great videos Rado. Loved it.
Being from Alabama I have seen re-enactments of the civil War. It is a different world altogether ad in that period 90% of the fighting was at long range and only a small portion close-in hand to hand. Using no live rifle or artillery round it's easy to make a lot of excitement with smoke and noise to spare.
It's just the opposite with Roman or any ancient fighting as most and sometimes all is close-in hand to hand. Movies like Gladiator make massive displays but they require much rehearsal and are a result of thousands of little film snippets pieced together. You can't do this with a live mock battle.
I think most of us agree that mock fighting is dangerous in itself using anything harder than a piece of foam. A shield can cause injuries to another participant simply due to it's rigid structure. Even with all the disagreements here all points made have been valid. The whole process is a risk to life limb and property which the participants who volunteer for the job have to weigh in their minds.
I can seriously identify with both sides in this discussion. I would love to "play war" but I don't relish the idea of being injured and much less killed. Maybe a bruise or two but please leave out cuts and broken bones and the like :-)
Being from Alabama I have seen re-enactments of the civil War. It is a different world altogether ad in that period 90% of the fighting was at long range and only a small portion close-in hand to hand. Using no live rifle or artillery round it's easy to make a lot of excitement with smoke and noise to spare.
It's just the opposite with Roman or any ancient fighting as most and sometimes all is close-in hand to hand. Movies like Gladiator make massive displays but they require much rehearsal and are a result of thousands of little film snippets pieced together. You can't do this with a live mock battle.
I think most of us agree that mock fighting is dangerous in itself using anything harder than a piece of foam. A shield can cause injuries to another participant simply due to it's rigid structure. Even with all the disagreements here all points made have been valid. The whole process is a risk to life limb and property which the participants who volunteer for the job have to weigh in their minds.
I can seriously identify with both sides in this discussion. I would love to "play war" but I don't relish the idea of being injured and much less killed. Maybe a bruise or two but please leave out cuts and broken bones and the like :-)