Warfare has been a part of humanity for a long, long time, and it’s been changing from the first moment the simplest of weapons were picked up to cause harm. Ancient warfare is outdated in a few ways, but it’s still interesting enough that taking a look at how it’s portrayed in the movies becomes an intriguing hobby. This time around we get to look at pole weapons, which might appear to be a little tougher to wield, but there are a couple of big advantages to pole weapons, and one of them is the fact that they allow a fighter to maintain a distance from their opponent while presenting a dangerous challenge. Of course, being able to get inside that range comes with the understanding that such an advantage can be taken away by someone skilled enough to negate the reach that a pole weapon can grant to a fighter. Of course, if the person using the pole weapon is skilled enough they can deal with this limitation since a pole weapon can be used in a few ways, and is only limited by the user.
The pitfall of seeing pole weapons used in Hollywood movies is that much like anything that’s taken from reality, there are moments when the usefulness of such an implement can be highly exaggerated, or limited in a very big way. The clips that this expert goes over are some of the best examples that the movies have to offer, but the fact that he tears a few of them apart is interesting since it allows a person to open their eyes to the reality of what can and can’t happen, and a lot of it makes a good deal of sense. The idea that a spear, halberd, or other pole weapon isn’t bound to be a flimsy implement is far more rational than thinking that the edge of the shield can chop through a spear shaft.
A person that has been studying their craft for decades is far better suited to understand, comprehend, and judge the reality of something that they see in a movie that has to do with their field of expertise. When it comes to polearms, this guy does sound incredibly wise when speaking on the use of pole weapons and his observations are great since the fact that a spear isn’t technically classified as a slashing weapon, though it is possible. The main power of a spear or pole weapon tends to come from the fact that it terminates at a sharp tip, which makes it a piercing weapon that deals more damage by being thrust than being swung about. Granted, it’s not going to feel good if someone takes a spear tip to the face, but the idea of using pole weapons in a battle, especially one on one, is to inflict the most damage in the least amount of time, and in this case, a straight thrust takes less time and energy and can deal the type of damage that will be far more effective than being smacked about with a spear tip. In a one-on-one battle, Hollywood fights tend to go for more dramatic movements that involve a lot of spinning and not enough straightforward thrusting.
The average pole weapon is something that can give a great fighter an even greater advantage since knowing how to move about and how to keep yourself set and balanced creates a much deadlier enemy for another person to stand against. Pole weapons are a bit difficult to get used to when using them in a fight since in close quarters they do become limited given the fact that they can become caught on anything that’s within their reach. While I did mention that it’s up to the user to be as deadly as they can be, there are several factors that can limit those that are using pole weapons in a fight. The reach can become a liability in close quarters, arrows can be a huge problem when there are more than a few being aimed at a person wielding a pole weapon, and when someone gets within the reach of the pole weapon it becomes a huge issue since longer weapons are not necessarily meant to be used in close quarters.
At the end of the day, a pole weapon is kind of archaic in a lot of ways since warfare in the modern era has more to do with firearms and other weapons that are designed to maximize the distance between one opponent and another. Back in ancient times, this was one of the weapons that managed to swing the advantage of a battle in a big way. So long as one knew how to use such a weapon, they could maintain their distance and would be difficult to defeat.
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