Belegarth

So for my Senior Project I have started a Gladiator School in my Highschool. Most of the participants are newbs, but they learn really quickly. Do yall have any pointers towards making my school a success? What should we focus on if I want these guys to be battle-worthy by the time the frost thaws? (in Montana, that could be anywhere between early March to late April)

The rules and techniques. like any other sport, everything else will come once you get a good grasp of the basics.

Start them on single blue. anyone can swing a stick but to know how to block with one, that can make all the difference.

I'm with Cyric and Vokor; learn the rules, and learn how to use a single blue before branching off into more complicated venues.

One of the most severe problems that most newbs have is their inability to work as a group. I see this one the field every practice, all the newbs trying to play hero and getting annihilated while the Urukhai form up and clean the field. I think that if they learn to operate as a unit early on, it will greatly enhance the playing ability for the future. We've been working on the basic techniques for about a month or so now, they can all swing a stick and hold one properly, they just need some more experiance now. I guess the question now is should I focus on making them exceptional as individual fighters or flawless as a unit?

In the Midwest, the last couple Illinois events, we win with numbers and teamwork. The The UH from my realm are not outstanding fighters. We fight agressively and selflessly. To break an opponents line or take out a enemy leader or badass, we are willing to lose individuals to achieve unit success. We focus on being soldiers not warriors. By that I mean a warrior is concerned with individual glory while a soldier focuses on unit success. For example. a soldier in a shield wall would pass up an easy kill if it endangered the intregrity of the wall, while a warrior would go for it.

But also because of our unit size and longitivity, I would match out best seven fighters ( I am not one) against any seven Belegarth or Dagorhir fighters. Individual skill enhances chance for personal survival, stengthening unit chances for success.

Being a UH Warleader, when training with my realm. one of us vets would organize the inexperienced fighters into the classic UH block. The vets would be otutnumbered ( 2 to 1, 3 to 1, 4 to 1 etc.), so that the inexperienced fighters would die in droves but only be able to win if they fought with teamwork. As practice went on the inexperienced fighters would realize that a lot of unskilled but agressive fighters could take down a skilled, tanked out vet or if they were passive the inexperience fighters would be slaughtered like sheep in a pen against a boundary.-Nix

Personally all these things would be great to work on for anybody.

not just my poll response

I would say technique with groupt tactics being a very close second. Fr noobs they almost go hand in hand. With me being fairly new myself, I find myself surviving longer and fighting better when my skills are going good and I am fighting with group I can sync with.

They are now beginning to be able to hold their own in a fight, but it's their group skill that needs working. They just don't have any "team spirit". They all have just fine individual gusto, but they lack that drive to be and do better as a team. How do I make them better soldiers?

execute some as examples to the others

Install a command structure. Have a buddy system. For every 3 troops a "team" leader, for every 12 have a "squad" leader, for every 36 have a "plattoon" leader. It is the responsiblity for every leader staring at the lowest level to inspect "his" troop to make sure that they have the necessary garb and equipment to complete the misson before every melee. That task should take a minute. The leaders after getting their men squared away, report for a leadership briefing, another minute, retrurn to their trooups and get them lined up while breifing them. The process should take less than five minutes. Keep your subunits intact, it builds teamwork. Make sure that everyone in every mele knows the general plan and the change of command. The exact numbers for subunits is not important, the structure is. As incentive after each practice award the subunit for best garb, most aggresive, best disciplined, etc. Take leader on a trial basis. If they get the job done lead them. Don't be afraid to releave leaders that can not get the "job" done. Every month in the National Guard, I had to make sure that my troops were ready, and if they were not they learned to regret it. -Nix

While I like Nix's suggestion, I think you should start out with the smallest team possible--two. Have each person pair up with someone else. Have them fight together as much as possible, both against other teams of two and against each other. Have both fighters take turns being in charge of the team. Challenge them to figure out how to fight together effectively, especially when they're outnumbered. Have them fight against teams of four and six. Then start scaling it up...Take your pairs and group them into teams of four and so on while developing a command structure.

Kyrian

The game that I use is pair them off in 2s and using a single blue each. every person has a partner and they move apart. A respawn point is created where they return to wonce they die. Upon reaching the respawn the players wait untill another player joins them before leaving as a team. Old team mates are no longer team mates unless they make it to the respawn together. Dead fighters hold their blues on their heads as they walk to the respawn so they can be IDed as dead.

As part of the Gladiator School I've set up an Officer Academy to train the leaders of the group to lead effectively. The main (and only at this point) text we are using for referance is the Art of War by Sun Tzu. Do ya'll have any suggestions for more reading material that deals with leading a medieval war unit?

You might want to look at some of the SCA sites to look for information. Here are a couple to check out:

http://sabletower.homestead.com/files/index.html

http://scamelee.freeservers.com/

...And now for some modern stuff...

This is some information I picked up while I was in the Army. The field manual FM 7-8, the infantry rifle platoon and squad, http://www.armyrotc.vt.edu/cadets/fm7-8.htm, can give you some ideas on tactics, troop leading, and organization that might be helpful.

The Principles of War (from U.S. Army doctrine)
Mass: Concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time.
Objective: Direct every operation towards a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective.
Offensive: Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
Surprise: Strike the enemy at a time, at a place, or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
Economy of force: Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
Maneuver: Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.
Unity of command: For every objective, ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander.
Security: Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage.
Simplicity: Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding.

The Rogue Warrior?s Leadership Code (This was written by Richard Marcinko, who has written several books and is one of the founders of Seal Team Six, the counter-terrorist unit.)

I will test my theories on myself first. I will be my own guinea pig.

I will be totally committed to what I believe, and I will risk all that I have for these beliefs.

I will back my subordinates all the way when they take reasonable risks to help me achieve my goals.

I will not punish my people for making mistakes. I?ll only punish them for not learning from their mistakes.

I will not be afraid to take action, because I know that almost any action is better than inaction. And I know that sometimes not acting is the boldest action of all.

I will always make it crystal clear where I stand and what I believe.

I will always be easy to find: I will be at the center of the battle.

U.S. Army Core Values (as adapted for the unit?It makes for a good leadership code):

L oyalty: Bear true faith and allegiance to Belegarth, your realm, your unit, and other members of your unit.
D uty: Fulfill your obligations.
R espect: Treat people as they should be treated.
S elfless service: Put the welfare of Belegarth, your realm, your unit, and subordinates before your own.
H onor: Live up to these core values.
I ntegrity: Do what?s right, legally and morally.
P ersonal courage: Face fear, danger, or adversity (physical or moral).

And some tips for the beginning fighter from a tactics class I taught:

-Situational awareness
--Always check behind you.
--Warn other members of your team.
-Communicate!!!!!!!!!!
--Brief everyone before battle on the plan?Make sure everyone understands what?s going to happen.
--Review prior battles.
--Observe units and fighters to learn their patterns. Communicate this to your team.
-Strength in numbers
--Try to engage single opponents with at least 2 or three people.
--Pull crippled fighters together.
-Avoid engaging the enemy?s strengths.
--Engage at your maximum effective range?Use missile weapons and spears/polearms to whittle down the enemy.
--Isolate and eliminate stragglers.
--Don?t give the enemy openings in your formation to exploit.
--Gimp and go. Focus on the unwounded fighters first.
--Don?t hesitate to engage targets of opportunity.
-Stop all missile weapons or else they may continue and hit someone else.
-PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! Individual ability adds to a team?s success.

Thank you, I copy, pasted and printed that to show my students what honor on the field looks like.

They are coming along nicely, grasping the concepts, working together and everything, but they still waste alot of energy doing pointless things. They will just swing, not at anything in particular (perhaps the opponents sword) but will waste alot of effort in the process. How do I get it through to them that they should only swing when they can injure or kill? They just get so excited!

And do you have any ideas for how I could make a Belegarth Fighting Gladiator Show not only rewarding for the participants but entertaining for the audience as well?

I deleted your double post--Kyrian