Spears are better than swords (longer version)

The longer version of the tests of spear versus other weapons. All of all 65 bouts, plus extra commentary.

Thanks to all those who took part, and especially Matt Easton for inviting me to the event, and Alex Abdolwahabi who was the main cameraman.

Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.

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[littlesherlock]

The spear was so good that even when we got guns, we just turned them into spears again with bayonets.

[flashfm]

"The pen is mightier than the sword." True, if you enlarge the pen considerably and sharpen the nib.

[YungSettings]

People also often forget that spears require a lot less metal to forge, which makes it much easier to mass produce and arm a medieval army.

[Adam_okaay]

I think a 64% win rate with a tremendous disparity in spear skill shows quite a lot in context.

[gilbertthegreat]

After thousands of years of weapon development. A pointy stick, the first weapon man created, is still one of the best.

[yuriyromaniw]

"... He forms a plan... And he's dead."

Perhaps a good way to sum up human existence.

[clarkzhang]

“The main problem with this method is that it doesn’t work.”

[stresseddeku]

"What a man lacks in style he can make up for with extreme violence" had me cracking XD

[JohnSmith-vghb]

If only we'd done this instead of football at school

[SimicFishCrab]

How we think we fight: Pink legs
How we actually fight: Yellow socks

[Wertsir]

“Swords are the weapon of heroes, not a spear”

Odin, Leonidas, Romulus, Izanami, Joshua, Cú Chulainn, and practically every character in the Illiad: Are you challenging me?”

[SA_Vengarr]

There was a quote from Plutarch about how young men gravitated to the sword seeking personal glory--and how, if they survived long enough, they would inevitably take up the spear.

[egg_runner]

"he has shown that what a man may lack in style he can make up for with extreme violence"
I think this is one of my favourite quotes

[AnonymousOnimous]

"The only problem with this technique is that it doesn't work." If Monty Python did medieval combat reenactment.

[mostevil]

Double bonus points for the overly dramatic deaths.

[goji]

Keep in mind that most of these guys don't have a lot of experience with a spear, they are experts in swords.
And yet the spearmen did better in most situations than the swordsmen.

[jotarokujo]

How to win agaisnt a spearman:
Ignore hits

[sammyjones]

Looks like expression should really be "live by the sword, die by the spear"

[davidharing]

Spears usually won, with FAR less training. That second part is really important I think and it's not addressed as much as I'd like.

[TheDakkaman]

2:31 “Huge treatises have been written on using [swords]!”

Aye, because a sword’s so useless you need several dissertations to figure out how to make it work.

*drops spear-shaped mic, assumes t-pose with spear to elongate arms*