On Training for Melee
Sir Mord Hrutsson the Green

A unit is, no matter what size, is made up of individuals. In single combat the matter is a test of skill between two individuals. The level of skill is not really called into question since the result of the fight is a demonstration of individual skill. In melee combat the matter is a test of skill between several people whose ability in fighting varies from person to person. The purpose of training as a unit is to combine the individual skills into a winning unit.

The first activity of melee training is making sure that all the fighters are safe. A person who cannot block a blow or cannot deliver a blow to a legal area is a danger in the confusion of melee. Ideally, unqualified novices should not fight melees. This condition is not always practical, but a novice should be able to demonstrate some skill in blocking and a complete knowledge of all the legal and illegal target areas. They should also know how to die safely in a melee. If a fighter cannot demonstrate the above, he or she should not be allowed to fight.

The second activity of melee training is a review of the rules of recognition. If there has been a change in the rules these should be brought to the attention of all participants. Such a review will cause less contention in the future.

These two activities done, the unit can then begin training. There is no hard and fast method of training for melee. Sometimes the best way to train is to simply fight melees. But much of the rest of this essay describes a series of exercises designed to help you get started. If you need to make modifications, by all means do so, but try to remember your goal in melee training is to win as bunch of individuals contributing their skills.

The first exercise, which I call the endless bridge, was invented by Laird Master John the Pell. The endless bridge is an exercise usually used at the beginning of training. Divide your unit between veterans and novices. All the veterans are one side of the bridge that is no more than four or five people wide. Clearly define the boundaries of the bridge. All the novices are on the other side of the bridge. The novices have endless lives. They may be killed, walk back to a resurrection point, and then reenter the fight. The veterans must hold the bridge with only one or two lives. The exercise is at an end when the novices have cleared the bridge of the veterans. The point of this exercise is to build unit cohesion. They begin to learn something of working together, while the veterans begin to remember how to work together.

The second exercise is chomp drills. Again divide your unit between veterans and novices. Depend upon the size of the unit, take your best two to five fighters and have them stand along a line. Each picked fighter should be 15 to 20 feet apart. Take the rest of your fighters and divide them into teams of two. The teams attack the picked fighter. The teams should have only five or so seconds to maim or kill the picked fighter, who may not take more than one step in any direction. This exercise teaches efficient aggression. Extreme caution must be exercised during chomp drills. Picked fighters can easily tire. Teams can be overzealous. Rest periods should be provided for all, and marshals must be everywhere.

The third exercise, which I call the line, was invented by Baron Sir Tristan Von Halstern. Divide your unit between shields and all the other weapons forms. The shields form a shieldwall along a line from which they can neither retreat nor advance. If they retreat, they are dead. If they advance, they are dead. All they other weapon forms, that is to say the glaives, spears, two swords, single swords and, now, combat archery, are the opposing unit. The two units fight to the death. This exercise teaches the shields cohesion through mutual support while teaching all the other weapon forms the art of picking apart a shieldwall. This exercise can be varied. For instance, you can give the shields a glaive or a spear. Frankly, as a shield, I find nothing really more satisfying than killing spear or glaive who has come in my range.

The fourth and final exercise is probably the most important. This exercise is simply walking as a unit. Set up your shieldwall and place all your fighters where they would be at the beginning of a battle, and then walk them through whatever maneuvers they are expected to perform. Do this without helmets but with what weapons they are going to use. By walking the unit can discover what speeds it is able to perform and still remain cohesive. By walking the unit figure out what spacing works. By walking maneuvers, such as flanks or charges, can be slowly rehearsed and then fine-tuned. By walking commands can be rehearsed, learned and then used effectively in the heat of battle. Walking things through may seem at first silly, but it increases the awareness and the skill of all fighters. While all of the above exercises have their place in a long term training schedule, walking alone should be used at all times.