For those reading this blog for the first time I'd like to begin by stating that the following are my thoughts and ideas on heavy fighting. As the art of fighting itself is an ever evolving game, so are my own approaches toward it. There is no one right answer, but as a wise man once told me, there are even more wrong answers! =)
Southern Army Practice - recap
This past Sunday was the East Kingdom Southern Army practice, run by the southern region unbelted commander, Sterling. First and foremost I'd like to say that it was a very well run, very productive and fun practice and I think we got the most we could have out of a January practice.
We began with 2 on 1 drills (keeping the same pairs together. The 1 was always an experienced shieldman). We then advanced to 3 on 2s before moving outside where there was a bit more room. From there we moved to 4 on 3s, and then eventually I think we might have gotten as large as 5 on 6.
Total attendance was ~12 or so fighters of varying ability levels.
Attacking on 45s (and other lessons learned).
The key to winning a 2 on 1 engagement quickly and safely (ie without dying) is to attempt to engage the single fighter on 45s. There was one situation where I noticed the pole fighter of the pair was attacking to the open side of his opponent while his partner (a shieldman) was standing directly in front of their opponent. This was likely due to experience with single combat. On their next engagement, the partner shifted 45 degrees off to the shield side of their opponent making the pair much more effective. By shifting over to the 45 position, this exposes the entire left side of the opponent's body. The only way to defend himself is to maneuver away from one of the fighters.
The key to winning as the single fighter is to try to turn the engagement in to a 1 on 1 fight by maneuvering to get one opponent to to stand in front of his partner. If the pairs are doing their job correctly, they should never allow this to happen. As the single fighter moves around, each person in the pair should be aware of their role in the 45s attack. In general, which ever way the single fighter moves, the paired fighter on that side needs to be sure not to rotate in place, but rather to slide in the direction that the single is trying to move. In essence, you are trying to "herd" the fighter, much like a sheep dog team or pride of lions would.
Pole Arm Fighting:
Rory brought up a good point at the practice with regard to pole arms. Pole arms really should key off of the shields until they have reached a level of ability and confidence to be able to face champion level shieldmen by themselves. What this generally means is that they should place themselves in positions where they have shields protecting them from getting run down by enemy shields, while being close enough to support their team in an instant.
From this position you are really looking for one of two things. 1) Find the quickest "cheap shot" available to you. If that's not available, then 2) hit an enemy anywhere above his knees. Every now and then you'll hit him as he drops is guard, but more often than not you will prevent him from taking an easy swing at your teammates.
Most pole fighters will begin in this position. There is an advanced technique that I want to present that I personally use, but understand that I have learned many hard lessons over the years fighting this way. I will actually fight in front of the shields provided that I have the longest weapon in the engagement. This accomplishes two things; 1) It allows me to take free attacks on my opponent while they are at range and 2) it forces my opponent to commit to attacking me, which makes their maneuver predictable and makes it easier for my teammates to counter. Talen and I were actually very successful with this in the 2 on 1s (I was fortunate enough to get a teammate who has fought with me a lot over the last year) as well as in the 3 on 2s with Talen and Simon.
This technique is also highly successful even with multiple poles/spears within the unit. The trick is to figure out when a unit charging you is going to outmatch your poles/spears and kill you in quick fashion, or when you have an objective that requires and punch through the other line. In those instances, the poles/spears need to get out of the way and let the shields do their job. Also, you may be working with a unit that doesn't understand this strategy, in which case following your commander's plan/philosophy trumps whatever unorthodox technique you might have. Nevertheless, if you live long enough in any open field battle, you will find yourself in a small skirmish situation like what we practiced last Sunday. Every technique will find its place in battle if understood well.
Anyway, I am definitely looking forward to next month's practice!
Please feel free to read my other blog posts, particularly my melee fighter's manual: here
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