Fundamentals: Following Through

We talk about following through with swings fairly regularly, but what does that really mean?  Following through is continuing a swing until its force is fully delivered to the target.  When teaching newer fighters about the concept, instructors often explain this as aiming beyond the target.  For example, if one wants to hit the opponent's shoulder, they should aim their shot to go through the shoulder into the chest. By mentally planning to have the shot hit well past the target, the body's motion used for the swing ends up carrying on beyond when the hit actually makes contact.

Why is continuing the swing after it hits important? Every time a part of swing is stopped or slowed prematurely, it loses power.  Even adjusting the angle of attack can reduce the power of the swing. Changing the speed or direction of a swing forces your body to do extra work.  This combination means that a swing that you "put a lot of effort into" may end up still hitting light.  In turn, that causes your perception of an opponent's call of "light" be tinted by your own inflated feeling of how hard you swung. So not only are you hitting way lighter than the effort put into the swing would suggest, you are also building up a feeling that your opponent has a high hit tolerance.

As I've mentioned in Overswinging, the bounce of a shot helps aid in recovering or comboing it.  By not following through, you fight against the force used to swing the shot in the first place, and get rid of some of that bounce.  By not following through, you are essentially wasting energy, either by swinging extra hard to compensate for the wasted effort to get a sufficient hit, or by swinging a wasted shot that will end up being light.  Through a long day of fighting, that wasted energy will take its toll.

You will notice above, I mention that the body must continue its motion as part of the follow through.  This is important, as some out there don't explain that simply letting the sword motion continue isn't the same as following through with the swing. From the moment your body stops the motion, the shot loses power.

From the moment your body stops the motion, the shot loses power.

Lets look at an example. A common situation where I see this regularly is with min reds. As I've mentioned before, they aren't really suited for breaking shields efficiently. This is made even more true when the user doesn't follow through with their swings.  Many times I have witnessed a min red user attempting to place many shield shots in rapid succession, only to have them all called light.  The problem is that by trying to fit in as many swings as possible, the user ends up having to stop their body's motion before the shot has connected.  Essentially, their body ends up starting the motion for the second swing by the time the first has hit.  Not only are they reducing power by not following through, they may be further hindering the hit further by pulling their arms back to prepare for the second swing before they've even hit.

In order to deliver a good, solid shield hit here, the min red needs to keep their body motion until as much of the force of the swing is transferred to the target as possible.  Attempting to block a counterswing or recover to guard are often causes of not following through.  This means, for min reds, that often the choice is between being able to block, or delivering enough force to be a solid hit.

Following through doesn't only apply to slashing weapons.  Stabs have a stark contrast between a good hit and a light hit.  Without any follow through, a stab might touch the target, but it won't always be sufficient. Even with only a short bit of follow through, however, the force goes up drastically.  Stabs, then, should be aimed to be stabbed "through" the target, not stop on them.

A common cause for stabs landing light from not following through is actually range.  At max range, the body can no longer continue the stabbing motion, which causes it to greatly reduce power as it approaches this range (as different parts of the body reach their limits of extension or twist). Roughly, the last few inches of reach that can touch a target will have a significantly lower impact than a shorter ranged stab.  Those "last few inches" turns out to be about how far of a follow through is required to land a solid hit.  By reducing that follow through, you reduce the hit force proportionately.

One thing to note here, is that following through also might result in excessive hits in some cases.  For example, a close/medium range stab with full follow through, to an opponent that is unaware, will likely hit on the side of excessive.  The same is true for backstabbing with a sword.  By choosing specifically not to follow through with the entire body, one can scale back their hit force for their opponent's safety and generally courtesy.

Theory "Thursday": Aggression

A good number of fighters play the wait and see game, filling their spot in the line, but waiting for someone else to break the stalemate. It is a very defensive mindset that can work in some situations, like while defending a bridge or other choke point. The problem is what happens when the enemy breaks the stalemate. When that happens a vast majority of the sport wants to back up, letting their line get pushed back. There are definitely times when that is okay, but why let them dictate the tempo of the fight?

Before I go too far and forget to mention it, remember that aggression isn't blindly flinging yourself at the enemy in hopes of scoring a hit. There are times when a well placed rush can have great effect, but trading your life for a small chance to take a limb or piece of armor isn't a good trade for your team. Diving into a group of enemies has a low chance to succeed, especially without armor and support. If you feel the need to just go in, try to look for a gap, rather than going strait up the middle.

Aggressive fighting can be as much about forcing the enemy to consider you as a threat as it can be about rushing. In considering the range game, we see that fighters will add some margin of error to how they perceive your range, including how far you might lunge or step. Top tier fighters will allow just enough margin to let them react to your aggression, but newer fighters will underestimate the range. Once you have entered this zone, they are forced to pay attention, at least to divert some from whoever they may have been fighting.

This notion of threat range means a single fighter might be able to support more than one person merely through their presence by being a threat to multiple enemies. In the case of equal numbers, a skilled fighter might choose to take on a little extra risk, from the person across from them, in order to apply extra pressure on a second enemy. With some luck, the extra pressure might allow an ally to rush in with a little extra safety.

As far as targets go, often spears become a target that has to be rushed or allowed a wide berth. The key to rushing a spear is timing. The two main openings left to you are either while in the process of deflecting a stab, or as soon as they have switched to a different target. Ideally, the spear will be between you and the shieldman guarding it. Remember, though, to keep your guard as you rush. You may need to swing at the guard first, before engaging the spear directly. The goal being, at the minimum, keeping their weapon at bay until you can hit the spear user.

One advantage you will find in being the aggressor is that many fighters will lock up when rushed. While they might maintain their guard or rotate to counter you, many of them will fail to move their feet. This is especially true if you change direction mid-rush. I'll look at offensive footwork in more depth on a later post, but for now just remember to play the angles.

Sometimes, all it takes is a gentle (or not so much) reminder from one of our allies to get us to spring to action. As the new school year approaches, I'm reminded of all the times I've heard "swing, swing, swing!" yelled as some form of encouragement to new fighters. All too often, it seems, even us veteran fighters might need to remember that very thing.

Theory Thursday: City Fighting

I mentioned city fighting a little bit when I talked about choke points. I feel like it is a good time to take a closer look, especially with Okfest in the not too distant future. I'll highlight a few specific obstacles I've seen over the years.

Of course, city is a pretty loose term here. Most cities we see at events are more like a series of fences or a maze. However, these obstacles still serve to breakup the fighting field into corridors that at least give some sense of that style of combat.

While each section of the line engages in small scale fights over each choke point, the strategic plan must involve maintaining control over area. To do this, sections need enough coordination to block of access to the "safe zone" in their backfield via control of individual corridors. Even the smallest approach being left undefended could end in disaster for the team, especially if sections no longer have a view of their allies.

The maneuver phase of battle takes on a slightly different role. Rather than simply approaching the enemy and redressing the ranks, it becomes far more of a race to capture territory quickly. Even without any knowledge of the layout, having more territory gives you space to fall back on and better chances of controlling advantageous areas. With prior experience, pushing in quickly might give your team a chance to take key sections or corridors that lead directly to the enemy's backfield.

As the layout becomes more maze-like, or entrances more spaced apart, it is easier for a team to lose coherency of command and communication. This is where reserves can prove vital to success. By staying off the frontlines, they not only provide some security against enemies making it through, they also can gain a better view of the big picture. Reserves may find an area that allows them to maintain visual contact with more than one section, letting them balance out reinforcements against spikes of attrition or faltering lines.

Strong points often reside around junctions and along uneven corridors. These can often allow a team to control how many fighters can be on the front, increasing your own frontage on attack or reducing the enemy's on defense. For example, a corridor that narrows at one end forces the front to shrink in order to fight on that end. This funnel shape allows a smaller force to control the corridor.

Junctions of several corridors (T-junctions, etc) will often force one side to fight through what is essentially a kill pocket in order to get through. Even if the enemy doesn't fall into the trap, it will deter them from pushing that area. In this case, the stalemate might allow a few to sneak off to bolster other sections. However, having a large force controlling the area left in a stalemate might be a disadvantage, allowing the enemy to hold up a lot of fighters with a small force.

Hairpins offer a few unique opportunities.  The first and most obvious is to fight on the defensive, slowly falling back while trying to pick off a few enemies, keeping a large force engaged in a protracted fight.  These are often used as outer defenses for towns or castle layouts for that very purpose.  One very successful strategy is to station archers and spears just around the bend, catching the first batch of enemies off guard with the extra range and extra strong line as they round the corner.  Fair warning, those close to the inside of the bend are very likely to be within swinging distance quickly.  Even though blind swings around corners are usually forbidden for safety reasons, that won't stop a few "nearly blind" swings from peeking around the corner.

Complex junctions might even span a large portion of the town, connected by the main corridors through it.  In the case above, red team's position is pretty rough.  To engage with the full force up top, they'll have to fight on a very wide front in two directions.  Depending on the scale, vision gaps might make it very easy for blue team to take advantage.  Meanwhile, blue team just needs to fend off the small side corridor to maintain a fairly strong defensive position across the whole city section.  Even though they don't control the large area in the middle, they are preventing the red team from establishing a foothold on their side of the gap.

Double tapers aren't something seen at most events, but I like the idea.  I may just have to get one set up at Okfest this year.  Holding the middle isn't any different than a single taper, but for either side to take it and then push out is more difficult.  It ends up being easier to teams to hold ground as they move towards the middle.  This also means that it may be more difficult for them to maintain a fighting withdrawal.

Theory Thursday: Range Game and Support Weapons

I talked about range last week from the perspective of a typical sword and board fighter. This week, I thought it was appropriate to look at support weapons and how they play the range game.

Because of the extra reach, glaives, spears and most other red swords have very favorable advantages in the range game. However, most of them suffer at close range. Even skilled fighters only have a few options at close quarters, especially with longer weapons.

The extra range increments for a support weapon somewhat overlap with the breakdown from last week, with the following additional considerations:

1. One handed range. The maximum reach of a weapon is when it is held with one hand.

2. Two handed range. This varies with the distance between hands. If the hands are right next to each other, it is still shorter range than one handed range.

3. Short range. When the opponent is inside the typical range that the haft padding would be in a normal stance, requires changing angles to hit safely.

4. Close range. When you can no longer effectively use the weapon because your opponent is too close.



The ghosted image shows roughly where my glaive might end up if I were to rotate my shoulders into a one handed stab.  There is also more overlap between one handed and two handed that depends on hand position.  The overlapping zone is roughly the same size as the distance between my hands.

Original Photo by Ellie Apland

Therefore, it is the support weapon's goal to keep their opponent outside of close range, or kill them before they get there. This leads many newer users to always attack at maximum range, to try buying themselves time to get a second attack in before being inside their opponent's range. This can work, but isn't always as favorable as it seems.

Attacking at full extension also means your recovery has to start at full extension. This means more time recovering the shot, rather than attacking or blocking. Larger weapons make this even more of a hindrance. Common practice for experienced fighters is to wait at the fringes of a support weapon's range, then rush when the shot is dodged or misses. This is very visible when looking at spears and glaives doing single handed stabs at a target standing just at the very edge of maximum range.

Of course, there are a few tricks support weapons can pull off that are harder to do with a smaller weapon.  It is harder to predict the range of a longer weapon, at least the margin of error is higher. That means they can catch someone off guard who thinks they are safe. It can be extremely effective to try to deceive ones range by changing grips, stance, or shifting your weight. Use these factors to start with shorter ranged attacks, then switch to increase range when the opponent feels safe.  With a long enough weapon, one can also get away with taking a step towards the target, assuming the step doesn't have the drawback of bringing them within range of their opponent.

A note on safety is due here. Gripping a two handed with your hands close together near the pommel increases range, but drastically reduces control. There are very few times it is worth the risk for a few extra inches of reach. Also, because your hands are so close, you will lose leverage and slow the speed you can return to guard. Avoid throwing this type of shot unless it is a fairly static target with the lowest risk of hitting someone's face. Leg sweeps can work here, because it is fairly safe to the target.  Some extra control can be gained by moving the upper hand during the swing, giving you some margin to correct the final direction of the blow if the target moves.  The same words of wisdom apply to one handed strikes, using the second hand as long as possible to help keep the strike on target and removing it as that arm reaches maximum extension.

During a field battle, range control is much easier, using your own position relative to your line to dictate how close an opponent can get safely.  In one on one fighting, it requires much more work.  If you are using a longer weapon like a spear or glaive, your opponent is going to want to rush you.  You have to use footwork in order to create openings and shut down angles that they might attack from, remembering that range depends on the distance from your shoulders to the target zone.  As such, and short/close range, you have to actually get your shoulders farther from the target to hit with a large weapon, especially if only a small portion is striking surface, in the case of glaives and spears.  This also causes your upper body to be farther from your opponent's attacks.

To do this, you either have to step, lean, or change your angle of attack.  Stepping away from the opponent's sword arm greatly increases the range advantage, and can give you a better angle to counter their attacks, especially if they originally threw a wide shot or wrap.  Shifting your weight away from them moves your shoulders back, giving you around half the distance between your feet in extra range to play with.  These two combined can make for a considerable change in range and angles.

Changing the angle of attack is more about shot selection than the range game, but I'll point out a couple of things about it.  Normally, the distance from shoulder to target is the primary focus of the range game. However, at closer range, a wider shot selection opens up from wrap shots and extreme high crosses.  You are now attacking based on where your hands are, using your arms to change the angle of attack, and thereby changing the distance between your hand and target.  For example, with a minimum sized two handed sword, raising your arms above your head and throwing a cross shot to the opponents arm can be done at very close range, even more so if one leans to the side.

Another option when inside the short/close range is to choke up on the weapon, to an extreme amount in some cases.  This brings your strike zone back within range without moving yourself.  With a glaive, you can hit safely at nearly point blank by holding near the striking surface with one hand and near the middle with the other.  Spears are slightly more difficult, but you can place good stabs up close by moving your front hand closer to the tip.

Theory Thursday: Range Game Basics

I've talked a little bit about the range game here and there, but I haven't really broken it down. Sir Kenneth has a great write up, but it is buried deep in the dark abyss of the Bel boards. If I can find a link, I'll put it here.

Lets start with the basics, your range. Your own range will eventually be second nature to you, especially after using the same weapon for a long time. However, a few key points:

1. Your maximum range is when your arm is at full extension parallel to the ground

2. You can increase your range by moving your center of mass towards the target. This includes lowering it for legs shots.

3. The position of your shoulders affects range. In line with the target brings you closer. Squared up loses range.

4. Footwork is vital to controlling range. Stepping towards the target during a swing adds a substantial amount of range.

With a static target (guinea pig), from your normal stance, hold your weapon strait out towards them. Step forward until you can just barely touch. Now point your sword down towards the leg. No where close to being in range. Now bend your knees, shift your weight forward, and twist your shoulder towards the leg. Notice how much extra range you just gained, without even stepping in.

Once we know are own effective range, lets look at our opponent. Start with the target's torso just out of reach with your weapon extended. Now have them do the same. Notice
that either of you are in range of each other's arm. This should be a good reminder of how your opponent's range changes based on what targets you present.  Also illustrates the danger inherent in swinging at targets outside of your range.

Now of course, weapon choices vary greatly from person to person and place to place. You and your opponent might have a drastic difference in range. Lets look at the ranges each of you can be at:

1. Both out of range and safe by a few steps. (like the maneuver phase of a line fight)

2. Long range: neither are in range, but two steps gets you in target.

3. Mid-long range: easily within a step of being in range, both are now at risk of being rushed. (stalemate phase of a line battle)

4a. Mid Range: You have a longer reach and are the only one that can strike.

4b. Mid range: your opponent has a longer reach and is the only one that can strike.

5. Short range: Both are in range to swing freely.

6. Too close: both are so close that neither can swing effectively. (maybe wrap shots)

There are a couple more, but they are specific to polearms and other large weapons, more on that later. As we can see, 4b is a terrible place to be. Spot 5 can be pretty rough too, especially against a skilled opponent. Foot work must be used to get yourself out of bad spots and into a more favorable position. In the case of 4b, you have to move through the range to strike, or constantly move back.

I'll talk a little more about moving in and out of range in a future post, but this is largely the foundation I learned as a new guy. It is at least a good place to start if you haven't considered much about range before. If nothing else, Kenny would be happy to teach you through negative reinforcement using his longsword.

Theory Thursday: Defensive Footwork

This is a more detailed write up about footwork.  I am trying to build a stronger guide, using this post as a starting point.  Please comment if you think there is something missing or that needs clarification.  For now, I'm just looking at a person's center and where it moves, the feet will follow.  If someone needs more specific "put your feet like this" direction, I can eventually make some graphics for it.

Today's topic is using footwork on the defensive, when your opponent is being aggressive. We'll start using a simple duel between two right handed sword and board users as an example, with the fighter in red being the aggressor.  I'm not too worried about the specifics of where your feet are at each step, only your general stance (shield or sword foot forward).  If you move from point A to B, your feet should stay as close to one stance or the other as possible and get there in a comfortable way.  If you feel you are crossing your legs or moving awkwardly, try pushing off of the other foot or pivoting.  You need to be balanced between your feet at each step.

To start, lets look at our options if they simply advance directly at us, a very common approach.  There are four basic directions we can move, and four angles combining them.

The basic layout for our example. Actual sword and shield position, as well as the feet themselves, are beyond today's topic.  This is just enough to give you the rough idea visually.

 Basic Directions

We can choose to move forward (yes, towards the guy rushing you).  This is probably a set up for a bash and/or wrap shot.  This is the most aggressive of the defensive strategies, and the least likely to add any measure of safety from the opponent's attack.  If a bash is the intention, shifting your weight forward after sliding towards them will offer a little more power to the bash.  With luck, the bash could cause them to stop their attack or even be knocked down.  If you managed to merely come to point blank range without much success, a backblock can prevent a number of attacks, especially if they don't have a stabbing weapon.
The opposite end of the spectrum is to move backward in line with their rush.  This helps to keep the distance originally preferred, but if they are rushing, back peddling is slower than their run.  That means they can still close the gap.  This does, however, buy time and potentially cause them to be in range of someone else during a line fight, much like a staggered gap.
The remaining two basic directions are sideways.  The difference between sword side and shield side vary a good deal in their advantages and disadvantages.  Moving directly to the sword side greatly reduces the available targets your opponent has, usually leaving only the shield side leg vulnerable.  There is also an opportunity for a wrap shot to come in around the shield.  These two open targets are shared by you and your opponent.  If your stance is usually shield foot forward, this is a good time to switch stances, pushing off with your shield leg and then sliding it around behind as you move over.

Moving directly to the shield side opens up the target's sword arm and torso to attack, but also exposes you to the same attacks.  If you fight sword foot forward, this leaves you extra vulnerable.  It is perfectly reasonable to switch stances to shield foot forward, rather than rotating your torso.  This cuts off some of the angle, but keeps your torso free to rotate into strikes.

Basic Angles

The four basic directions combine to make four distinct angles.  Each one offers a unique advantage or opportunity.  More often than not, the angles offer better positions than the basic directions.

The two forward angles offer an aggressive counter to the rush, without directly running into the opponent.  In a larger fight, you might even be able to turn the tables and end up behind their line.  Moving this way towards your shield side greatly opens up both fighters.  Just like moving sideways, switching to shield foot forward is recommended during the move.  A lot of fighters are tempted to throw a high cross towards their opponent's chest when moving this way, but it exaggerates the already considerable risk to yourself.  Stick to safer shots like the short cross, or the slot shot as you move across their guard.  Target the arm or shoulder.

Moving forward to the sword side makes you and your opponent quite vulnerable to wrap shots and leg sweeps. Switching to sword foot forward does help a little, but the opportunities still exist.  Because you've cut off a large number of angles that could reach your torso, you can let your shield favor over a little towards your opponent to reduce their chance to throw wrap shots.  Throwing a wrap shot during the move will usually result in it landing on target as both of your complete your move.

The two backward angles can drastically change the fight.  Moving back and to the sword side is the most defensive move.  It takes you the furthest away from their sword. Depending on which shots they decide to throw, this move may make it easier to sneak in a slot shot or a leg sweep during the move.  On the line, it also causes them to angle their sword side towards your team, leaving them exposed to attack.

Moving back and shield side is less defensive, but gives you a better angle on their sword arm.  Switching to shield foot forward is recommended, but not as necessary as other shield side moves.  Short crosses are probably the safest shot to throw here.  Your team gains less of an advantage to the opponent's rotation here, because they will usually have to swing all the way across themselves to target them, leaving the friendly fighter exposed.

Staring position in the middle, each frame gives you a look at where you and your opponent are likely to end up after their one move towards you.

Conclusions

So, which move is the best one?  I generally prefer to back away towards my sword side, depending on the surroundings.  However, your opponent's nature, shot selection, and skill all come into play deciding which one to use.  Fighting against an opponent who is great at wraps, I might chose to back away to the shield side.  Against an opponent with a weaker guard or less skill, I might be aggressive and go forward to my shield side.  It is really a matter of what you need to do to accomplish your goal.  If staying on the defensive is a must, using any of the backwards moves is a good idea.  If your team needs you to make something happen, being aggressive might be necessary, forcing you to move forwards.

All of this so far assumes one move.  In the future, I'll look a little more at chaining moves together into more of an actual plan.  For now though, try practicing with a friend, taking turns playing the aggressor.  After/as they advance, try moving in one of the eight directions.  Pause and take stock of what has changed in the fight.  Where are your feet?   What is your shield blocking?  What targets can you see?  What did you gain?  These questions are what you should be asking yourself each time your practice.

Theory Thursday: Strategies of WAR (the event)

Today we are going to take a look at a large scale battle as a case study. War is a great event near Indy, you should check it out if you get a chance. For the entire day, two teams battle it out to control 5 objectives in two rounds of regen battles. Holding the objectives gives you points based on time held that vary by the type of objective, the enemy castle being worth the most points and your own being worth the least. Each team has a mobile respawn point, or two, called Valkyries. They have a limited supply of revives before they have to return to base to recharge.

The basic layout of WAR.  Not quite to scale.  Note that neither team starts with
an objective.  The castles are just marked for clarity.

Given the terrain and objectives, the fighting is a long series of fights over choke points. Support weapons and good leadership are essential for winning this type of fighting. Of course, thanks to the scale of the engagement, communication between areas is spotty, at best. Objectives may fall with little notice.

The path near the lake is usually a hotspot of fighting, given that it is nearly the midpoint between both respawn points. The junction between this path and the dry riverbed, in particular, is often highly contested. Usually, whichever team has managed to take the side path has a slight advantage, allowing them to attack from an extra wide front and push the enemy back. For the forest side, losing here can be disastrous, allowing the enemy to block off the main route out of their base.

Typical engagement.  Both teams fight over the main choke points.  Blue team
started on the plains, giving them a little easier access to the lake and riverbed objectives.

There are, of course, other paths the forest team can take, one of which will put a force directly behind the fight at the junction, and another that leads out to an objective. This really highlights the importance of leadership and battlefield awareness. Seeing the enemy coming and responding quickly prevents them from gaining too much extra advantage. The flanking route can be shut down by a small force, and the other objective can be held with a few reinforcements. If the forest side pushes too heavily through the woods, rather than the path, the main attack has a good chance of getting to their castle.

If the lake path battle shifts in favor of the forest team, the dry river bed and lake objectives become new choke points. The plains team ends up having to split their forces and can't easily shift reinforcements from one to the other. However, if they break the enemy on one path, they have an easy shot at the other path's flank.

Red team pushes out of the junction, hoping to make ground on the river
bed and lake objectives.  they go pure defensive on the woods objective.

If the red team fails to hold out on both flanks,
they are in danger of losing the fight all together.

Should either team reach the enemy castle, they are often going to be forced to fight on two fronts, the castle entrance and the nearby respawn point. This is especially dangerous of the enemy has a Valkyrie stationed in the castle as well. If the attack can't push into the castle quickly, it will eventually be overrun by respawns as its own numbers dwindle.

Blue team made it to the enemy castle, but now has to deal with all those
respawns.  Looks like they'll have to play it safe and hope to get reinforced.

Winning the castle fight is rough and time consuming.  If the rear of the force (supply line, essentially) is secure, Valkyries and reinforcements can make from the respawn point it to help keep the fight going.  It seems that fighting cautiously and using the few respawns carefully is a key to success.  Should then enemy Valkyrie nearby run out of respawns, that is the moment to put pressure on the castle and hope to take it.

Once inside the enemy castle, holding it is a matter of holding a single choke point for as long as you can keep respawns flowing.  If you are extremely lucky, and have taken their castle while holding the path to their respawn point, you can more easily reinforce the area and keep them at bay.  Just be sure to monitor other points for forces funneling around the lake through the woods.

In our example, blue team's castle is a little harder to attack.  It is very difficult to cut off its reinforcements from their starting point because the open area allows them to easily flank a group.  This means that red team would need to spread out and bring many more people to act as a rearguard for their attack.  If your group isn't good at maintaining a strong, spaced out line, you will have a hard time here.  That's why the teams switching sides between the two rounds can be extremely important.

If you aren't sure what to do, make sure you are fighting over a point or keeping the enemy away from them.  There is no sense fighting over a piece of woods near their base if they hold all the other points.  Try to avoid getting stuck in one area.  If you get bogged down, look for alternative routes and easier targets.  Sometimes, changing where you attack will draw a larger force than the enemy can afford to send.  For example, this post talks about a pair of people attacking a base by themselves, but managing to draw a sizeable force to deal with them.

Choke Points

If you've been to a few major events, there is no doubt you have seen a bridge, city, or castle fight. All three have one theme: choke points. Anywhere that forces people to fight across a small opening without any way to flank it fights about the same. These are the most intense, and dangerous, battles we usually see.

What separates this type of fighting from most others is the difficulty of causing decisive action. Unlike field battles, where there are gaps and flank routes, choke points are usually decided by attrition, to a degree. The stalemate phase ends up being the majority of the fight, until numbers dwindle on one side or the other to the point that gaps can form.



Xemeo's face shows just how intense fighting over a castle can be.
Photo by: Ellie Apland

Obviously, this type of fighting favors long range, heavy armor, and large shields. Support weapons do a great majority of the work. Spears and glaives focus their efforts on killing the front lines, while archers and javelins focus on taking down the enemy support and targets of opportunity. This can leave most shieldmen on the defensive, blocking arrows and spears while protecting their support.

However, the role of the sword and board user isn't to be underestimated. Individually, they are extremely vulnerable, especially if they were to push forward. As a coordinated group, they can push forward, one step at a time, to apply pressure on the enemy. This can force the enemy line to engage and open up their defenses to swing, giving your side an opportunity to dish out some damage in counter. Experienced groups often move together well, pushing up to the call of "step" nearly in unison.

Choke points are one if the times when using a kill pocket formation can give your side a great advantage. Defending a bridge is usually better accomplished from the friendly side of it, forming a kill pocket just outside of the crossing. The edges should just be in swinging distance of the bridge as the main force is in a semicircle between them. The goal is to end up with more fighters on the front than the enemy can possibly achieve as they cross the bridge. It also opens up angles for archers and support weapons to abuse. Note that you may need some reserves to act as archer guards and block arrows for the edges of the pocket.

Casualties will happen, of course. Anyone legged is in a pretty dangerous position on the frontline. Headshots happen most often in this situation, many times from shots directed at other people. If you are uncomfortable here, back away and let fresh fighters fill in the front rank. The dead need to clear the area as soon as they get a safe moment to do so. Lingering around the middle ground during such intense fighting is just asking for injury. As the front lines fall, shields need to step up and protect the support. Anyone capable should pick up fallen support weapons and get them into action immediately.

Individual action can sometimes help force a decisive action. The full armored charge of an individual can distract and reposition targets so that the line can push forward and inflict heavy casualties. On a rare occasion, the fully armored rusher might squeeze through intact, albeit with his armor mostly gone. This minor breakthrough is only likely to result in a few support weapons or archers being taken out of the fight, but that is usually a good trade for one person.

Once the numbers begin to thin and one side is reduced to only a single line of defense without reserves, the other side will often push one side of the choke point in force, using their superior numbers to force a major breakthrough. Attrition had already decided the battle, but this charge can reduce casualties and hurry the situation along. Because choke point battles are often part of a larger fight, finishing them quickly can help apply pressure in other battles across the field.

When battles are fought across several choke points, sometimes it is best to fight defensive on most of them, applying extra forces as they are needed to either boost defense or flood a gap. Situations with three bridges, for example, might see a large reserve force wait behind the middle bridge. Fighting defensively across all three, the commander waits to see a battle begin to turn in his favor and dispatches reserves accordingly. Archers, in particular, are often switched between bridges to apply extra force quickly.

 

City battles are similar to the three bridge example, in that once one section has fallen, flankers have free run to back stab other sections of the line. City fights are just a complex series of choke point battles. Unlike the bridge scenario, the array of corners and paths opens up flanking attempts and gaps in the enemy line. Vision gaps are somewhat more common in complex city layouts. Any section that pushes up too fast may be exposing their flank by moving past a side corridor that connects to the enemy backfield.  Teams that have a better awareness of the city's layout are at an advantage, being able to quickly get to the most advantageous positions in the maneuver phase of the battle.

Regardless of what type of choke point you encounter, your goal is to maintain a strong line and win the battle of attrition.  Cautious fighting can pay off, but you still need to inflict casualties to the enemy.  At some point, you may be forced to have your line be aggressive and push up into the fight, accepting that you may lose some fighters.  As long as your team works together and keeps in a tight formation, you should be able to keep the pressure on and start winning the fight.  Just be mindful of safety, of yourself and anyone else that is legged or dead in the middle.

Outnumbering!

This post only looks at one case of outnumbering, but it is a pretty common scenario. I think I'll do a part two and look at some others.

Your team is winning, the line battle is already won. Just one legged knight to deal with to win the day. You and four of your friends surround him, waiting to strike. You circle like vultures on a corpse, then it happens. One of you strayed too close, and is cut down. The other four push in as the knight spins and strikes, furiously clinging to life like a cornered animal. The moment passes, and the five of you are dead.

Surrounded, but not quite dead yet.

 

Five to one odds should have given you an advantage, how did you lose? Maybe the knight read last week's post about how to fight outnumbered, not that it would have helped too much in this case. More likely, the five of you, despite moving in together, weren't working together. Each fighter waiting to swing when the knight's back is exposed, only to be blocked by a well timed and practiced back block or spin. Because each of you was fighting with the goal of waiting for an opening, the more experienced fighter going to use that as bait to get you out of position.

Surrounding someone is sort of standard practice. Makes sense, a fighter can only see around half of his surroundings at a time, and can really only block two sides at any given time. The problem becomes that now, each of you is spaced out, and can quickly become vulnerable to attack without having someone in reach to help out. That is assuming all of you stay out of range until there is an opening.

There are a few options for winning a fight like this. The first is simply to all push in and swing. Note that head level swings, cross shots, and high wraps have an extra chance to hit someone in the head, especially someone who is legged, spinning, and being hit from three more directions. Try placing shots from the side, maybe around 45 degrees. Going vertical will probably be a headshot and going horizontal has a good chance to skip off of a shield into the face.

If each person steps in and swings in a safe way, regardless of how open the shot is, one or two are likely to make it through. From the front, slot or cross towards their arm, they are likely to back block with their shield and expose this area. A swing to the shield, therefore may easily turn into a face shot here, as they will be prone to spin into it. The two on the sides should swing for either an arm or the good leg. The one behind him should swing for the legs, because a back block will stop most other options.

The key is to SWING. Too many fights are lost because no one swung a sword, other than the guy who is outnumbered. I have seen fighters take down whole sections of a line without ever being swung at, when all it would take is one shot to have stopped them. I am, of course, not saying you should charge in and flail your sword about, just that you should be sure to take the chance and put a good, solid strike towards your opponent.

Of course, that is a great plan, until your quarry begins to move towards one side of the circle or the other. Feel free to act as the bait and slow up a little, or even back up, if the knight pushes your way. Hopefully your teammates will have a chance to catch up and all swing while he's fighting you.

 

 

The other option is to work in pairs, rather than spreading out. This means that the knight will have to fight outnumbered in either direction, rather than picking off one person at a time. In our five person example, the fifth fighter can either group up with one pair or roam free. If he chooses to go his own way, his goal is to stay alive and be a distraction. If he strays too close, he's the easiest and most likely target.

With the paired approach, each group should fight somewhat defensive as they move in, trying to ensure one or the other has a block for incoming swings. The most common advice is to attack from a 90 degree angle from each other. That way, one pair is less likely to be fighting without support. Each pair can position themselves so that one of them is to the outside, for a better angle of attack.

Being a huge fan of glaives, I feel I have to mention the other option, let support weapons do the work. Post up just out of range (accounting for a lunge) and let the spear or glaive fight those you outnumber. If they decide to rush, put yourself between them and the support weapon. Stay safe and guarded and work off of whatever openings are available. Next week, I'll cover a bit more about working with support weapons, but it seemed like it was worth mentioning here.

Regardless of the strategy, stay together, work with your team, and communicate. Swing, swing, swing. Safely. And don't assume that wide open back will stay that way.

Outnumbered!

Your line has failed to prevent the enemy's decisive action, but have cost them a number of lives. It is left to you as the last hope of victory against staggering odds. You've survived this much, what could the last few of them do? You charge strait in, glory just a few swings away. The five of them in range swing at you, obliterating any hope of success, and deliver a few extra hits to make sure you are dead.

Fighting against two people seems hard enough, but outnumbered 3:1, 5:1, or even 10:1 are odds that can be overcome. It takes a good bit of time, energy, and a smidge of luck. Granted, one new guy against 10 veteran fighters probably won't stand much of a chance, but the strategies I present here would at least give him a little bit more hope.

The first thing to understand when fighting outnumbered is that a lot of people can swing at you. Fairly obvious. The goal is to reduce that number to something manageable, ideally one, but two being somewhat acceptable. The bulk of the effort required to win the fight is in maneuvering around their group, trying to catch someone out of the pack or get them into a single file line.

But wait a minute, how is the lone swordsman going to outmaneuver a pack of enemies? Well, that brings me to the other thing to understand about fighting outnumbered. People fight more cautious when they are in the pack. If each of them were reckless, it would leave more openings for you to exploit. Instead, the average Belegrim will stick together and try to keep the whole group facing you as a line.

Making the odds a little more even requires one of two things: forcing the enemy into their own way, or reducing their ability to keep up with you. By circling, you force their line to wheel about its center. If they want to keep a strait line, the fighters on the flanks have to cover a good bit of ground to keep up. By changing direction, you can often catch someone on the flank advancing too far, still trying to catch up to the rotation the other way. Even if they aren't open to a kill shot, tagging a leg or arm does help substantially over the course of the fight.

If you do manage to leg one of them, they may be forced to abandon their teammate as you move away, reducing how many people you have to fight. There is one danger, that you might lose track of the legged opponent(s) as the fight progresses.  As long as you are occasionally checking your surroundings, you should be able to draw the mobile fighters away from their injured comrades (which is hopefully a growing number).

As the pack begins losing mobility, legged opponents will clump up and the group begins having a hard time rotating. This will eventually lead them into forming a circle. If you had a teammate, the circle causes a number of potential vision gaps. Even solo, you may catch someone who is having difficulty tracking you as you reach the opposite side of the circle. Changing directions, in this case, may allow you to get a quick kill.

A note on aggressive groups: despite the fact that the group is pushing against you, you still have an opportunity to win, but with a great deal of effort. Instead of circling towards them, you need to circle away. As you backpedal, angle away from one flank or the other. That flank will have to push harder to circle past their line. In such a way, this is much the same fight, but with everyone on the move.

One other common scenario is when a large number of the enemy has been wounded and only a few mobile fighters remain on the team.  Often, those with mobility will fall back towards their wounded comrades, especially if a skilled fighter is about to fight them in the open.  They'd rather seek support than risk giving up their teams only mobility if they fail.  In this case, the outnumbered fighters might actually have an advantage, but are still in for a rough fight.

I use a 6 on 2 situation for an example.  A knight and one of his teammates are outnumbered, but facing four legged opponents and a couple of mobile ones.  If the mobile fighters had chosen to engage the knight and his friend in a 2 on 2, they would be at a disadvantage.  So instead, they choose to cover the flanks of their wounded allies.  In this case, the two outnumbered fighters split up, hoping to draw the two mobile fighters away from the wounded to fight them one on one.  If the knight can get one in the open, he should be able to kill them and then roll around to help his ally.  Even if he doesn't, with the two of them circling the pack, each one might find someone's back in the process because the enemy has to split their attention between them.  Once the mobile fighters are taken care of, it is a matter of slowly picking off the legged opponents while the two fighters circle around them.

The moral of the story: don't give up.  All those odds stacked against you just mean you are in for a hard fight.  If you lose, go down in a blaze of glory.  If you win, gain a sense of accomplishment.  Just keep fighting.

Next week: how to use numbers to your advantage; or how to prevent everything I just said from happening.

Decisive Action: Weak Points

Last week I talked about gaps, but I forgot to mention weak points. Unlike a gap, a weak point is still defended, but offers a chance for a skilled/lucky fighter to push through. Also, they are good opportunities for support weapons to breakthrough with concentrated effort. Weak points allow a well organized group to cause high local attrition, and potentially a minor/major breakthrough.

Two new fighters post up just within sword reach of each other, leaving just enough space for a fighter to pass through. This isn't as spacing gap, because they are still within distance to cover the gap, but it is a weak point. The combination of good shield placement and good timing can allow a skilled fighter to push through unscathed. This is largely because newer fighters are less likely to cut off the advance and will stay in their positions as the shock trooper presses in.

Now, what if you were to put a spear user between those newer fighters? Problem solved, right? Well, sometimes. Outside of exceptional spear fighters, it only slows the advance down a little bit, and actually causes the shock trooper to have to act sooner, rather than standing in the spear's optimal range. It also will likely cause the new fighters to spread out a bit to give the spear some room. The shock trooper just has to get inside of the spear tip to turn this fight into the same type of fight as before.

Those of you that know me probably know this is one of my favorite weak points to exploit. It takes good timing and quite a few steps, but can sway the tide of a fight pretty quickly. It also has a high likelihood of getting you killed when you try it.  That being said, a solid push into the spear formation is going to give your team time to push up while they are occupied, and even against skilled opponents, there is still a good chance of doing some damage. 

That's me, rushing a spear, while trying to stab the adjacent knight with my down sword.  No one said it would be easy.
Photo by: Ellie Apland

Another weak point commonly seen is a section of the line that lacks shields.  Whether a number of fighters that have lost an arm, several florentine fighters, or some red users, they still are creating an opportunity for some attackers.  During the maneuver phase of a line battle (before anyone is in range to attack, except the stray arrow), spear and glaive users should position themselves to strike at this type of weak point.  The shieldless have much less defense against reach weapons and should be easier to cut down.  Arrows seem like an obvious choice to attack here as well, but the continuous pressure of a spear may be more suited to kill the weak point.

Then there is "the javelin guy".  Javelins are good for putting some threat out towards support weapons and killing high value targets, but they aren't going to help you much when you are being rushed.  Sometimes, a javelin user keeps their javelin aimed towards a polearm long enough that the enemy can get into range to rush them.  At this point, he either has to decide to throw/drop it and swap weapons, or try to survive by blocking with the javelin.  This becomes an especially good target if the fighter to one side or another is preoccupied or looking the other way.  I'm also not trying to say javelins are bad, but remind people that when you have one out, you are as much a support weapon as a lineman.  Try to keep yourself in a safe spot if you are going to hang onto it for a while.  Or don't, and I'll be more than happy to rush your way.

One last weak point for today, the range weak point.  What's this, a whole unit has short swords and no support weapons?  Well, I guess my team should pull out their long swords and polearms.  Any time you can simply outrange a group of enemies, it is going to help boost the attrition your side causes.  Much like the situation of shieldless enemies, bringing up polearms and other reach weapons gives your team a huge advantage.  By maintaining control of the range, your side can dictate the flow of battle and swing more aggressively, without being easily countered.

The whole goal of spotting a weak point is to figure out how to use it to cause as much damage as possible to the enemy.  You just need to out kill them locally in order to start gaining some advantage across the whole line.  A lot of the time, by applying concentrated pressure to a weak point, you will form a gap in their line, allowing you to crush their team.

When you notice a weak point in your own line, you need to either reinforce it, or fight defensively. During the maneuver phase, try to redress the ranks to spread shields to where they need to go and eliminate any other weak points you notice early. As far as smaller weak points go, they will be harder to notice until it is too late, but with any luck, a small bit of reserves will at least have a shot at preventing too much damage.  For the larger weak areas, playing it safe will buy some time for your own line to gain advantage elsewhere.  Because the enemies goal will be to kill you quickly, yours needs to be surviving.

Decisive Action: Gaps

Many a line has met their doom because they failed to cover a gap, allowing a flood of enemies into their backfield to cut down the rest of the line. I talked a little bit about maintaining a strait line last week, but one always has to have an eye for gaps. Keep a watch for gaps in your own line and the enemy's.

The most obvious gap is a spacing gap. This usually occurs when wings or anchors fail to communicate or must cover a wider distance between the core and flank than they have the manpower to support. Fighters should avoid being separated by more than twice the distance between the lines to help reduce the chances of someone making it through the gap. Communication across the line and shoring up thin spots in the line early will prevent most instances of this type of gap.

Several other types are less apparent to the untrained eye. Stagger gaps and vision gaps are fairly similar, but stagger gaps are the extreme case. A vision gap is one that forms because two adjacent fighters are fixated away from each other, meaning neither of them are watching their middle. A decent fighter can push up quickly and kill one or both of them on their way through the gap. A stagger gap happens when both sides have vision gaps that overlap, causing the lines to stagger if one flank pushes.

The simplest cure for vision gaps is keeping your head on a swivel and using your peripheral vision watch the surrounding area. Staggered gaps give you two options, either exploit it to kill the enemy line, or fall back out of the danger. More often than not, the first side to recognize the danger will be able to utilize it to crush the enemy.

One other gap is the "L" or angled gap. This is more common to see when a larger force has been engaged by two smaller forces from different sides. Each flank of the larger group turns to face the respective enemy, forming an "L". Much like a staggered gap, this leaves a weak point in each line near the corner, especially when the smaller forces are only temporarily aligned to take on the large group. Angled gaps can also be seen near the edges of a kill pocket in extreme cases.



For this diagram, I assume the two smaller forces combined probably have more fighter in total.

Defense against angle gaps can be nearly identical to that of a kill pocket, backing away from the corner and extending the line to force the enemy into a strait line. This can be particularly effective when fighting two desperate allies, forcing their flanks to have to worry more about each other. Sometimes, it is entirely possible to have one wing wheel around the corner, towards the enemy. A successful push like this may even force them backward enough to get them into an angled gap. It also might form a staggered gap if the flank has to wheel about their center, rather than around the corner.

Obviously, gaps are dangerous. A good deal of the time, however, they are dangerous to both sides. Good battlefield awareness will let you spot them early and take advantage, or at the very least prevent the enemy from doing so. Just covering the gap can sometimes be enough to deter someone from pressing in against it. You'd be surprised at how often you'll go to kill a gap, only to meet an enemy about to do the same to your line.

Decisive Action: Envelopment

My crudely drawn diagrams will eventually get better, I promise.

All of you experienced veterans of Belegarth are well aware that full encirclement of an enemy force is extremely rare and hard to pull off in our game. The scale is too small, allowing each person greater awareness of the big picture. The forces are generally too evenly matched in skill and numbers for one side to have enough of an advantage to attempt such a difficult maneuver.

The only time we usually see full encirclement is during the cleanup phase of battle. Well after the decisive action, a group of mobile fighters will encircle a group of wounded (legged) opponents. Not exactly as epic or decisive as the Battle of Cannae.



Source: The Department of History, United States Military Academy.  Copied from Wikipedia.

So why talk about it? Because a smaller scale of it happens all the time. One of the most useful tools in a commander's playbook is the kill pocket. The simple change in formation requires a few fighters to step back off of the line, forming a U shape. Any enemies inside the U are easy targets, even if they aren't fully encircled. Kill pockets are widely used to defend bridges and castle entrances, or to attempt to lure support weapons into the trap.

The reason a kill pocket works, is because those in the middle have to fight against three directions. It is nearly impossible to defend against spears and support weapons coming from both sides and the front, let alone deal with the shieldmen protecting them. By concentrating their attacks towards the middle, those using the kill pocket can cut a hole through the enemy line, causing a major breakthrough.  Of course, in the open, those on the top of the U are somewhat more exposed and must defend themselves from opponents on two sides--those inside the pocket and those in front of them.  It is important for those fighters to fight defensively and keep the edges of the pocket intact, otherwise the enemy might take advantage of this weakness and push against them.

On the open field, wise commanders will spot the trap, and either pull their forces out of the kill pocket, or deploy shock troops and reserves to press into it. If that second option sounds dangerous, that's because it can be. Depending on the composition of the pocket, sometimes those at the bottom of the U are stretched thin enough that a burst of shock troops can break through. This is extremely effective when the defenders don't have reserves, allowing your team to press through the pocket and roll the enemy flanks from the center in a major breakthrough.

Source: Crudely drawn diagrams.  Blue dots are standing in for attackers (aka, the good guys).

Another fairly common sight is aggressive or heavy flanking forces rolling around a flanks, causing the enemy wing to bend backwards. Usually, it is preferable to have the wing extend to stop flankers, but a strong rush of them is often enough to force the wing into the defensive. In extreme cases, the line will curl backwards on itself enough that the main line and wing are standing nearly back to back. At this point, even if they aren't fully encircled, the defenders are going to be cut down in short order.

For the defenders, their first option of extending the line gone, need to choose a new plan quickly. Everyone that will soon be encircled can fall back, reforming a shorter, stronger line and fight the flankers. This will sometimes work, but it requires those on the wing and core to be aware of the danger early. The other option is to pressure the opposite flank hard, ideally bending it back in equal measure. This causes the two lines to rotate around the middle and allow the line to reform before being crushed. Of course, they'd have to act quickly to overcome the challenge, otherwise the center may not have enough time to escape.

More Dots!  Blue dots are trying to salvage the line and regroup against a strong enemy flank.
 

In general, try to keep your own line strait across the field.  When you need to add a bend to your line for any reason, try to make sure that you are causing the enemy to fight against multiple directions without exposing your backs--don't curl back upon your own line.  Kill pockets are useful, but do have weaknesses on the edges.  Try to use them more when the enemy has to come through the middle.  For those newer fighters, instead of retreating back behind your line, try spreading out away from them--maintaining decent spacing.  Your team would much prefer it if you didn't escort the enemy into the backfield as you retreated.