I've been curious about spear and shield techniques for a while but mostly since I've re watched Troy and 300. Most of what I can find video wise is boffer larp crap or people attempting to imitate the movies in very unrealistic ways. I have no illusions about epic duels but I have to assume that there were certain techniques that were practiced just like any other combat weapon. Also I am sure that since spear and shield was mostly used by troops in formations that there was little focus on single combat aspects and when it did get to that point the spear was probably dropped and a sword drawn, but when you think about hoplite groups and skirmishers they went in with spear and shield as well as other thrown and melee weapons so there had to be some sort of training that was oriented towards single combat even if it wasn't as prominent as it became with the sword. Aside from the chinese spear fighting vid I posted in the CMA forum, which was two handed spears, I've only been able to find guys in replica armor flailing at each other with varying levels of skill and aliveness.

YouTube - Allen teaching Hoplite shield and spear (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjjU6tSUp34)

This one looks like they are trying to imitate the movie Troy. No speaking or narration.

YouTube - Boeotian Shield Usage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeKuy36OG_g&feature=related)

Guy seems to have a decent idea of mechanics of using a shield. Some vids of shield construction in his channel.

YouTube - lucha individual (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmW2UgLt6j8&feature=channel_page)

Sadly the closest I could find to any sort of "alive" spear and shield stuff that didn't involve cardboard shields and foam weapons, though other vids in the channel have foam tipped weapons.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Spartan307

This guy has a decent collection of documentary vids on several different warrior cultures definately worth a look. Haven't had a chance to watch them all but have seen the ones about the battle of Thermopoly before and it seems to be based more around historical reality than legends and fantasy.

I sometimes work a steel buckler into the mix when sparring with weapons. Shields are neat.

The problem is that the only techniques we might ever glean at are from shards of pottery dating from Ancient Greece, mostly. Despite being an overly popular weapon in the past, by the time fechtbuchs even began, the spear & shield armament combination was relegated to peasants, which I doubt where taught anything but basic formation drills.

You could always purchase Cold Steel's Self Defense with a Spear, which is funny in itself

Wouldn't the Phalanx depend more on training men to fight as part of a unit as opposed to fighting individually?

One of the better texts on the subject matter:
Amazon.com: The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece: Victor Davis Hanson: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Western-Way-War-Infantry-Classical/dp/0520219112)

I'll ask some of my friends in Athens if they know of anyone doing this sort of thing with any degree of seriousness. The closest project I can think of off the top of my head, especially for single combat, is the Italian effort to revive gladiatorial combat:

YouTube - Ars Dimicandi - i Gladiatori (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDCOILg_9QY)

I'll ask some of my friends in Athens if they know of anyone doing this sort of thing with any degree of seriousness. The closest project I can think of off the top of my head, especially for single combat, is the Italian effort to revive gladiatorial combat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDCOILg_9QY

Watching the guy use the trident and net seems like it would be similar to using a shield and spear at least as far as using a pole weapon one handed. What are the "rules of engagement" for that kind of gladiator competition?

What are the "rules of engagement" for that kind of gladiator competition?

"Try not to kill each other."

What are the "rules of engagement" for that kind of gladiator competition?

I can't tell you much. I tried to set up a training session with some of these guys the last time I was in Rome, but it didn't work out so I ended up training parkour instead.

You could always purchase Cold Steel's Self Defense with a Spear, which is funny in itself
Cold Steel's fighting with the spear doesn't really account for the use of the shield in one hand (just sometimes transferring to a secondary weapon like a knife to counter someone grabbing your spear). It seems that if you actually got some training spears and shields with the correct design you could figure things out pretty well if you have a background in weapon arts. Might be fun to make some of them shields.

I doubt the spear would be dropped the soldier would have wanted a reach advantage thus a sword especially the short sword of the roman empire would be employed only has a last resort weapon.

I doubt the spear would be dropped the soldier would have wanted a reach advantage thus a sword especially the short sword of the roman empire would be employed only has a last resort weapon.

Actually, the Roman army was the only standing army* ever which used the sword as a primary weapon. Unlike the greeks beforehand, whose phalanx relied on spears first and swords secondarily, the romans used their spears almost exclusively for throwing, relying on their short, heavy and ugly gladii for close combat.

Actually, the Roman army was the only standing army* ever which used the sword as a primary weapon. Unlike the greeks beforehand, whose phalanx relied on spears first and swords secondarily, the romans used their spears almost exclusively for throwing, relying on their short, heavy and ugly gladii for close combat.
Which period of Roman history are we talking? What about the pilum, wasn't that used as a primary weapon before the gladius?

Ive done my dissertation and am doing my postgrad research on the practical nature of Greek warfare, because most scholarshi[p on the matter is based on theoretics and assumptions with no real weight behind them. The best up to date secondary material on the matter available is 'Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities by Hans Van Wees', 'The Western Way of War by Victor Davis Hanson' as posted above is a very outdated and theoretical intepretation of Greek warfare, stating that Greek warfare mainly conformed to set rules, entire hoplite battles in the Classical period consisted of drawn out scrums ( the othismos), and that hoplites needed no weapon training, all weightless theories which have now been disproven.

Which period of Roman history are we talking? What about the pilum, wasn't that used as a primary weapon before the gladius?

The pilum was exactly that- a heavy, throwing javelin designed to be thrown when closing in.

http://www.valleymartialarts.com/images/xh2031.jpg

See how the metal tip is rather long? This was intended so that if the Pilum didn't hit its mark, it would bend so as not to be immediately usable and re-throwable by an opponent (something that often happened to Greeks).

We're talking classical Rome, mostly- early Rome is too Greek, and late Rome (200 AD etc) is slowly changing towards more medieval terms (lots of mounted cavalry, for starters).