How to use a Gladius in RL???

[AlexanderSextus]

the hoplite shield is held by putting the forearm thru a small loop and gripping the handle at the end, making the forearm the support for the shield.

sooo...the scutum is held by a horizontal grip in the center and thats it? sounds tiring....did the scutum have, like a shoulder strap or something??? it seems that to hold that really big shield with one hand with no forearm support or strap would wear you out pretty quick.

or those legionaries were just badass and the weight of the shield was nothing to them. Clarify this for me plz??

-thanx guys i didnt think there would be so much time spent on this topic. good stuff!!

[cmacq]

The scutum grip may have been designed for certain types of movements only. For example to rest it on the ground with a left hand boss grip and the bottom edge backuped by the left foot in defense. Or one would thrust it forward and tilted to use the leading edge, or vertically to use the boss in offense, to jam or setup a target. Never to move it side to side to parry or attack. In formation fighting fore and aft moves are OK, but side to side moves not so much. Side to side moves would get in the way of the files left and right at some point. While fore and aft moves also helped to keep the interior lanes between each rank clear. I think these are the very basics?


CmacQ

[QuintusSertorius]

the hoplite shield is held by putting the forearm thru a small loop and gripping the handle at the end, making the forearm the support for the shield.

sooo...the scutum is held by a horizontal grip in the center and thats it? sounds tiring....did the scutum have, like a shoulder strap or something??? it seems that to hold that really big shield with one hand with no forearm support or strap would wear you out pretty quick.

or those legionaries were just badass and the weight of the shield was nothing to them. Clarify this for me plz??

-thanx guys i didnt think there would be so much time spent on this topic. good stuff!!

That's one of the reasons legionaries trained. It's also why the "professional" legions trained with double-weighted equipment, although the later scutum was a little lighter than the earlier ones.