[Regia-NA] Regia Combat (was Greetings)

[Nicholson, Andrew]

>I would mainly like to focus on the
> vikings. I know this is not the right question to ask
> to get started, but its an itch that needs to be
> scratched. Has anyone here been in the RA combat? and
> what is it like?
>=20

It's so much fun that I still enjoy doing it after 17 years :).

No two battles are ever the same, and the competative element really
provides incentive - not just to fight well, but to support your =
comrades.

Since we used rebated steel we do ensure that blows are not landed
full-weight, but pulled at the last moment. It is a fine art to make a =
blow
go in fast enough to get through the enemy's guard  (and look =
believable to
the public) but be able to brake it enough for it to land no harder =
than a
light slap, which is the required weight of blow.

Choice of weapons and the deployment of assets can also make a =
tremendous
difference between a good hard fight and a massacre. The best, =
well-armoured
warrior is still going to have trouble if two or three spearmen gang up =
on
him, and can circle round his shield.

Some weapons, such as the dane-axe, require special combat rules as it =
is
not possible to use them the way they were intended in a 'safe' =
fashion.

For a newcomer's views I'd ask Mark and Chris to chip in, since they =
came to
Shrewsbury and plunged straight into it.

Gu=F0rum