11-14-2012, 02:41 PM
Quote:Thorsten post=324267 Wrote:I would say he would appoint the new recruits subsequently after:
1. fighting character
2. looks
3. size
He wouldn't buy slaves, that do not fit the criteria for the types he currently needs.
The problem with the fighting character is, that it is hard to judge just by looking at a person.
Unless you were a Retiarius one would say looks weren't too important a consideration as you would be helmeted for the duration of the bout.
I hope the following picture explains better how I think it happened. It answers your criticism about the looks-part.
Of course I did not use all gladiator types. But I believe you could classify all by this scheme.
However I would change step 3 to "skills&size". It is easier to train a spear-affine man to become hoplomachus rather than Thraex.
Quote:Fighting character in slaves could be judged by how they reacted to slavery and on what grounds they had become slaves in the first place. A strong personality, a strong body and a willingness to survive shines through. A good lanista would certainly know what to look for in the humanity presented before him, or he would be a poor lanista who's fighters lost too often, voiding his investment.
This is not the point of the fighting character. These are the basics to arrive in the "slave pool" as I called it in the diagramm. Fighting character is rather describing the performance during the actual figthing; i.e. the Secutor taking a lot of beating by net and trident and only defending, before being able to do a move by himself. If the lanista choose somebody who easily gets angered, this person would open up his defense to run after a faster opponent with greater range. The outcome of this should be clear.
Quote:I presume gladiators were at first trained in different styles, till a style most fitting that individual was found and he progressed to perfect it.
The Carnutum experiment did it differently. They had basic fitness training for all types. Then they had basic fight training, for everybody togehter. Like wrestling, grappling and learning how to fall.
They did this every day and in the afternoon, the different weapons worked on their individiual skills. They worked with inter-type teams. So there would always be a retiarius training with a secutor, showing him his weaknesses and vice versa. In the arena however this secutor would never fight "his" retiarius. This achieved great fighting skills over a very short period of time.
If you train different weapons, especially when you just learn how to use them, you really get messed up. I know this, because next to gladitorial combat I do Messer-fencing and when I did one of them exclusively I know for sure that my measure and my movements do not work well for the other any more. Subsequently I take a good beating. This makes me believe that after a week or maybe two, within the ludus, you are appointed to your type and you stick to it. Let's keep in mind that the lanista, the doctore and the other were doing this kind of choosing and appointing as proffesionals on a regular basis. I don't know what you guys do for a job, but if you do something regularly, you develop an eye for certain things, other do not see or understand, wouldn't you agree ?
[attachment=5791]AuswahlschemaKmpfertyp.jpg[/attachment]
