Warrior Challenge

Mark · May 7, 2003

Nice overview. I guess throwing a Pilum (sp?) is much more difficult than they though. Especially with all the armor and still having the shield on their off-arm.

Ranger REG · May 8, 2003

RE: Pilum

Okay, up until now, I thought the pilum's primary purpose is to stick onto enemy's shield and become a burden (the metal shaft is malleable so that it would bend under the weight of the wooden shaft). The second is to impale the enemy from a distance.

Now, according to the expert on the Warrior Challenge the pilum is basically armor piercing so that it would penetrate and pin the enemy to his own shield.

Which is true?

Mean Eyed Cat · May 8, 2003

Don't know-

What I want to know is - what was up with that sponge "thingy?" I'm not sure, but I thought the guy said it had to do with a particular body function-

And did the Roman's not wear socks or sock-type garments? Man, that would be tough just wearing sandels all the time.

Ranger REG · May 8, 2003

Well, I can tell right now, the spongium is not for scrubbing the latrine.

And yes, they issue one per 8-man squad, or contubernium.

Ranger REG · May 8, 2003

Mean Eyed Cat said:
And did the Roman's not wear socks or sock-type garments? Man, that would be tough just wearing sandels all the time.

No, I don't believe they wear socks. They might have worn rabbit skins over their feet if the weather is a bit chilly (as the Warrior Challenge: Romans is shot in England at Hadrian's Wall). But they never have as much comfort as the modern army have now.

jasper · May 9, 2003

the sponge is tiolet paper. They danced around it. Now I know the supply sgt may only issued 1 to the squad. But I would buy one of my own.

Henry · May 9, 2003

Yes, I saw the sponge, and watched in horror as the guy was scrubbing out the dishpans with it.

How does he know one of the men didn't try to "go native" with the thing?

Overall, I enjoyed it immensely. I really hope to see the other two warrior's challenge (the viking one and the medieval knight one).

Incidentally, does anyone know what happened to Conquest? It changed time slots, or is gone currently.

Mean Eyed Cat · May 9, 2003

Here's next weeks show:

“Knights” (Part 2) follows two Brits---a mounted policeman and a polo player---as they train in 15th-century military arts, then face off in a tournament. They're both horsemen, but neither has ever ridden in a 50-pound suit of armor before. They must also learn swordplay and falconry, as well as joursting, on which the tournament will turn. But even on the ground, “an armed knight is like a small tank,” says one instructor at Castle Bolton in England's Yorkshire Dales, where some of the training takes place.

Ranger REG · May 17, 2003

Seen Warrior Challenge Part 2: Knights. Was intrigued with the knight's fighting technique and the overall use of the sword, which is not always very sharp. In fact, in one maneuver, they're taught to reverse their grip and hold the blade while doing an overhead pommel strike if not hook the opponent's sword with the crossguard. This Norman Waller (hope I got his name right) happens to be a renown ancient combat expert.

Gizzard · May 18, 2003

I've seen both the Knights and the Romans Episodes. Very good. For me, I happily watch the show just for the visual detail. I'm always just a tiny bit sceptical of the experts; it's hard to judge how much they "know" for sure versus how much they "guess".

(An excellent example of that phenomenon is another great Nova called something like The Mysteries of the Ancient World. All the experts are sure they know the secret of building a Great Pyramid or a Stonehenge. At least until someone gets a camera and films them trying. ;-)

I think next week is the Norse. That should be fun. It looked like about 12 guys running amok in a village.