Research and Discussion Forums

The issue isn't really about how low an individual hand is. The issue is that both hands are low. It’s hardly unheard of for a boxer to drop his lead hand. What is anathema is not keeping the other hand where it can protect the head. So, while a boxer may let his lead arm dangle while keeping his p...

As the final coup de grace, consider bullfighting . This was a form of gladiatorial combat, and it did take place in the MA. It was no cheaper than man-vs-man (especially man vs man using prisoners of war) but it was more socially acceptable - the aim was to kill an animal for entertainment, not a ...

The three most popular ringen throws (to judge by the frequency they appear in the manuals) generally will not result in damage to the enemy (although I do know of one instance where a guy got his skull cracked, which he hit rather forcefully on a concrete floor; but you can't always count on havin...

There are a few points I would like to address. But the real point is that the risk of gouging and other desperation moves makes closing unwise in a life and death situation. If your contention is that historical fighting should avoid wrestling all together then I’m sorry to have to tell you but hi...

As the final coup de grace, consider bullfighting . This was a form of gladiatorial combat, and it did take place in the MA. It was no cheaper than man-vs-man (especially man vs man using prisoners of war) but it was more socially acceptable - the aim was to kill an animal for entertainment, not a m...

Mr. Curtis, I am going to ask you the same thing I asked someone previously: what "Medieval society" are you talking about? I have limited my discussion to the Empire during the time of the "Pax Romana" from 90 AD-180AD. The "Middle Ages" stretched from appx. 476 until...

Interesting because historians that I have read link the decline of the Roman army and the subsequent fall of the Western Empire with a decline in the tax base. A small and inefficiently used tax base is also thought to be a cause of the rise of feudalism. Tax bases are as much about the transporta...

I do it all the time on people wearing fencing masks right at eye level. It works as a good lever snapping the head back and obscuring vision long enough to get my grapple in. Possibly the palms apparently aimed at the throat were aimed at the chin, either as a knockout blow or as a helmet-wobbler?...

We seem to agree on the main issue, which is this: "ME: I agree that these events were (in part anyway) religious and state festivals, but the point I was trying to make was that the Romans invested their state resources into training, housing, feeding and keeping trained sportsmen such as box...

My bet is that Ringen avoided BJJ grappling for exactly these reasons. In a real fight against a desperate opponent, going deliberately to the ground is a good way to get maimed. There are dangers to any range of fighting. However, when it comes to grappling (either standing or on the ground) any a...

Hmmm...not sure we are talking about the same thing. What I was trying to describe was that the Romans had a large empire and used part of their tax base and remunerative input to sponsor large scale sporting festivals, including boxing and gladiatorial combat. The size of the empire doesn't really...

... the fightbooks tend to depict the free hand so low as to be useless for strike defense, although quite useful in blocking an opponent who shoots in for a takedown. Lower than a C18 or C19th bare knuckles boxer? As in figures 2 and 3 from http://ahfaa.org/boxingstance.htm - ...strange extended l...

It's hard to believe that someone who writes and reasons as badly as Klens-Bigman has a Phd, but I suppose it's possible... Given that we've been left detailed handbooks with engravings for, say, C16th rapier fighting, and actual weapons, it's hard to argue that the situation for western arts isn't ...

I would caution people when reading this though about over-generalizing von Hutten’s experience as representative of the noble or knightly life. The sentiment in the second paragraph of this document is indicative of the fact that it is a product of the Holy Roman Empire, which was particularly tur...

Hi Pete: Don't forget that the Roman world had the civilization to sponsor large-scale athletics, like the boxing, wrestling and pankration described by Steve. Europe in the MA really did not have this luxury. I have to disagree somewhat. The MA probably had a much, much *greater* surplus than the ...