Spear techniques

sams said:
Years ago I worked in a small group of construction workers. One of the fellows had a sister who was being raped in front of their house. Well this fellow [ no slouch] used his .38

6 shots, ..........dead, dead and dead. He did 6 years because the judge said it didn't need 6 bullets to stop the rape. :mad:

Sam S.
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I'd use a slege hammer and pulvarize the skull after the 6 rounder. :mad:
 
Danny is right on this one...and every house should have a broken closet rod or two...strategically placed.
 
Or just keep a ho handy.

Er, hoe. Those flat ones about 5' long should be perfect.

J
 
Spectre said:
Or just keep a ho handy.

Er, hoe. Those flat ones about 5' long should be perfect.

J
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Haven't kept a hoe handy since I moved up to the land of big bears and no snakes.:D

ta heck with strategically placed broken closet rods. If I didn't impale myself on one, my wife would. (she's even clumsier than I am, and that's sayin' some!)

Of course for that matter (speaking of my amazing feats of skill and grace) I could imagine myself trying to exit my bedroom and turn into the hallway with a 7' long spear, the whole time my wife hissing in my ear "why couldn't you just use a .38 like a normal man??!!"
 
okay.....ya gotta get a bit close to stick 'em but....


yeah...gotta have a gun after all.
 
Spectre said:
This is surprising. (Given your penchant for destructive testing.) I was there when Byron broke a CS Bushman by nothing more than throwing it at plywood.
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Try another. That doesn't sound right. Granted, I'm probably not throwing them as hard as Byron, but I'm probably not throwing them as straight, either.

I did manage to force a Bushman to take a few degrees of set; I corrected this by chopping it into a block of wood and bending it the other way. There were no further problems. If I had to take a guess it was a bit soft at the junction between the blade and the shank, and my bending and unbending work hardened it into the sweet spot. For an item that's essentially a rolled-up piece of sheet metal with a street price of around $10, one can hardly expect a precise heat treating protocol. ;)

I also used it to teach the girl next door how to throw. While she obviously wasn't delivering the same level of power as I did, you can imagine that some of the throws were less than perfect. Hell, a lot of mine were less than perfect. That's probably how it got bent.

My original plan was to gradually ratchet up the level of abuse until the poor thing died but I didn't want anyone accusing me of being a shill for Lynn. :) I continued to kick the idea around last spring and summer but life got in the way, as it often does. I'm behind on enough projects now that my plans for immortality will have to succeed if I'm to finish them all.

Still got the Bushman, though.
 
I found my two books....fist one is Hans Talhoffer Medeival combat. If you don't have a sence of humor and ar willing to suspend some serious disbelief, and come with some backgound knowlege...not the book for you. Other than that its a hoot. Two guys floating around with all different kinds of weapons. Fun to look at, not the best teaching aid, if you see it in the book store take a look.

Number two Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship. Much better book, full of photos of two guys with all different types of weapons. The do cover some spear work. This one is geared for out door combat, not infighting in the house or confined spaces.

Not sure who will look but these can be fun.

Patrick
 
Talhofer requires suspension of disbelief? How so? Remember, you're looking at a single plate (or possibly two) depicting a technique's beginning, end, and everything in between, with minimal verbiage accompanying it. They make a lot more sense when actually demonstrated or performed. This was probably the goal of a fechtbuch in the first place: to refresh the memory of a student who'd trained with the master, without revealing any secrets to someone not in the know. This continues to frustrate students today as we can't be completely sure that we've interpreted things correctly.

That particular manuscript is not one that I would consult for spear work in any event; while some of the poll axe techniques would translate over, many would not.

Another warning about most of the Germanic stuff from that period: it was assumed that the fighter would already be an accomplished grappler and many of the close ranged techniques end in a clinch, throw, or lock; even techniques which do not specifically end this way often present the option or set up a good opportunity for it. The average individual today, confronted with potential violence, probably does not (and should not) desire a wrestling match with an assailant.
 
Bruise never fails to dissappoint.

Spears are formidable, ditto on the gunpowder for practicality. I'll usually take a spear over most traditional weapons, except bow & arrows.
Not all were long, the Zulu have an ingenious short spear that can get around shields. The Chinese have a flexible spear that can be whipped around shields to strike vital targets.
 
Do it while running naked, holding a spear, and screaming, "This one's for you, Charlie," and Tarantino will make a movie out of it.



munk
 
well, that home defense thing is tricky. the zombies might have body armor and stuff. i'm led to believe that people who tend to wear that stuff sweat at the idea of someone with a cross-bow on the other side of a door.

body armor typically is for bullets and all that. yah? doesn't stop arrows, cross bow bolts, blow darts, flechets, or spears well, eh?

make shift spears... just happen to have some sharpened rebar laying around. for your fencing projects ;) use two to practice two sword forms (just like in a book), or that single one to work out muscles.

do they make a bayonette for shotguns? some nasty armor wearing zombie, pound a few slugs in it, knock it down, poke holes in it, remember to remember to remove the head, and separate the limbs - zombies have that nasty habit to regenerate. find the magic sword and jewel, save the kingdom.

the one undervalued feature of a spear, or even a big stick... it's quiet.

bladite
 
Bladite said:
do they make a bayonette for shotguns?
bladite
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in WWI the Allies had teh M1987 Trench Gun. A pump action 12 gauge with a bayonet lug. Saw one at a gun show in Springfield 2 weeks ago, with bayonet attached ... tvery impressive. There's a finality to its looks, especially if you are in front of tehbarrel.
 
Bladite said:
do they make a bayonette for shotguns?
bladite
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zombie head.

Jake
 
On a different note, there are virtually NO spears that I know of that were designed for throwing, and certainly not at stationary wooden objects.
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Sorry to be a bit late, the Roman Pilum was designed exactly to be thrown at a (semi)stationary object (wooden shield). Quite a few were used during the centuries.

TLM
 
TLM said:
Sorry to be a bit late, the Roman Pilum was designed exactly to be thrown at a (semi)stationary object (wooden shield). Quite a few were used during the centuries.

TLM
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True, but later on they were designed to bend when they connected with the target(shield). This served two purposes;
1. Made the shield heavy and unwieldy causing the holder to drop it thereby losing a vital piece of defense.
2. They were no longer usable, so they didn't come back at the thrower.:)
 
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