Caer Adamant Fighter Practice - Working Together

Excellent practice today.  We had a total of 13 fighters on this fine 60 degrees and sunny afternoon.  After doing some warmups and some singles fighting we got together for some melees.  In general, everyone did well and I thought the practice was very effective and enjoyable for all.

Having said that, as usual, I'd like to focus on a couple areas where improvements can be made.


Spear Superiority vs Spear Inferiority

We had several 5 on 5 (give or take) melees in which one side had significantly more spears than the other.  In this situation, there is a very clear strategy for each side.  The side with the spears wants a static battle, so they should wait for the other side to come and fight them, hoping that their opponents will be ineffective in the press.  The side without the spears needs to press, usually at the point where the spears are located.

I was normally on the side without the spears.  We did a decent job of pressing, but it probably could have been better.  There really needs to be full commitment to the attack, knowing that once inside, the fight is going to be 5 on 3, with the spears being taken out.


Spears on the Flank (bad)

I saw this happening a few times, and this is almost always a bad position to be in.  The blame lies on every individual in the unit.  The spears should know that they should not be out on the flanks, yet there should also be at least one person in the unit to say something to the spears when they see this happen.  Here's one example of why this is a bad idea:

In this instance, it really wasn't too difficult for the pole to get two quick kills.  Had there been a shield facing the two spears, it would have been even more effective for the green team.


2 on 1:  Match the Foot Speed of your Partner

Part of why we practice is getting used to how our friends fight.  One thing I noticed today is something that I've noticed in just about every pair of fighters that does the 2 on 1 drill for the first time in their life.  Both fighters in the pair just rush in as fast as they can with little concern for what their partner is doing aside from maybe understanding that one will be attacking on the left while the other attacks on the right.

We had too many fighters standing in line and waiting their turn to really address it as it happened, which is something I hope we can do in the future.  In the past, I've actually stood in place and not moved at all just to see what my partner does.  Clearly I'm doing the wrong thing in that scenario, but if my partner leaves my side, well, that is wrong as well.

The whole point of the 2 on 1 scenario is to be able to engage the single fighter as a pair.  What the single fighter wants is to be able to fight each fighter in the pair one at a time.  Sprinting into the fight faster than your partner only allows the 1 on 1 to take place.


2 on 1:  Forming the V just before Contact

The last point I want to talk about is is something that Sir Thorson brought up, and that is at what point does the pair form the V to attack on the 45s.  Many fighters will form the V too soon, which is actually not really a V at all.  Its two single fighters hoping to engage their opponent at the same time.  The problem here is that it allows their opponent to move toward one side or the other and, again, creating the 1 on 1 that he wants.

Anyway, I think we accomplished a lot today, but I also see a lot of potential for accomplishing so much more in the future.  It really was exciting to see everyone work so well together, learn, fight, and have a good time.  I certainly get at least as much out of these practices as everyone else does.  Thanks to all of those involved!