Best games as practice for combat

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DropBear RE:Best games as practice for combat 5/8/2006 4:39:26 AM

Some would say that war is a good preperation for International Rugby or AFL, not the other way around. link

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Godofgamblers dropbear 5/8/2006 6:01:41 AM

there's an old canadian joke like that: 'there was a riot when suddenly a hockey game broke out...'

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Godofgamblers cricket... what's the point? 5/8/2006 6:03:06 AM

without meaning to be offensive, tell me what the point of cricket is? it is like a religion in many countries. in some ways it is likea parallel world. people don't follow politics, they just follow cricket. what skills does it develop?

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southern cross RE:Best games as practice for combat 5/8/2006 7:17:05 AM

Lacrosse was invented by Native North Americans to prepare for war. Tough, quick, teamwork is vital, and very much a thinking mans game.

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Heorot RE:Best games as practice for combat - GOG 5/8/2006 7:50:33 AM

The Indian sport you were referring to is Kabadi. The offensive player in action has to say KabadiKabadiKabadiKabadiKabadi etc to demonstrate that they are exhaling. see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabadi

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olive greens Buzkazi, Tug-of-War, Cricket, and the real best... 5/8/2006 10:13:05 AM

GoG, different cultures approach combat in different ways... sometimes even within a single culture people treat combat in different ways. I suppose buzkazi most closely reflects Central Afghan (i.e in the plains beyond Hindu Kush) approach to warfare (bloody and predatory). It is probably the embodiment of all that makes a steppe-warrior. The Great Hunt of the Mongols was also a near-perfect replica of their combat style. Imperialist tradition cultures may find Chess/Go to be a "game": Persia, China, Japan, Russia being prime examples. But even as they play Chess in Kremlin, the primary tool of expansion - the Cossacks - are closer culturally to the Turko-Mongol hordes Kremlin seeks to sunjugate... including the games they play. This has some strategic relevence even today: Iran and China, obviously are problems... but how the play chess may not be much indicative of how their troops play whatever-it-is-that-their-point-men-play. While we are at cavalry, lets also finish up on some more derivatives: Pig-sticking with lances - a very expensive and dangerous British-Indian sport; Polo began as a training game for young Mughal-era princes and knights; When the East India Company hired Indian cavalry, it decided full-polo is too expensive for common troopers and settled for Tent-Pegging. Field Hockey was developed by a combination of older Irish hockey and Indian polo rules for the infantrymen. Tug-of-war, originally a Navy-centric game: On sea it had its obvious purpose in grappeling, but more commonly in controlling various heavy objects liable to being tossed around by the sea. On land it has become iconic of 17-19th Century European-style combat. Even cricket has more combat relevence than, say soccer or rugby. Old Flashy would say that wicket-keeping at Rugby (the school) taught him the patience required for recce and counter-sniping work (lol!!!)... and, of course if he were an infantryman he would have added something to the effect of "Yours truly became and expert at throwing grenades by fielding at Lords etc etc etc". Now what good would rugby, soccer or football do to you in combat? Intercepting combat dispatches, you say? Try running at the speed of light in air these days... while recce lessons from cricket are still just as good, he would argue. I of course think its all B$. Hide-and-seek... is still the best preparation for combat {and Flashy, if he were honest, would agree}.

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olive greens Indian games and combat 5/8/2006 10:35:33 AM

I myself would choose an Indian (or is it Sikh?) game whose name eludes me. I saw it played once and it looks like the most punishing, pulse pounding game i have ever seen. It looks a bit like Rugby, martial arts and Aussie Rules all rolled into one except that you have to hold your breath when you play (!). (I am counting on our Indian friends to enlighten me on this one) I am not sure if you mean a sport like kabbadi or a martial-art like Gatkha. Kabbadi is a South Indian-origin sport, while Gatka is a North Indian martial-art with strong Sikh connections. Kabbadi, with for its raider-strategy, could be considered a decent war-preparation, I suppose. But so could any number of competetive sports. Physically, its challenging, but I will rather take simple boxing anyday. Personally, I think it violates one of the fundamental principles of combat by "rat-holing" against multiple opponents. {On a side note, Hide-and-Seek is again superior in this aspect by supremely emphasizing focus on one target at a time}. Gatka, as a martial art, is completely unsuited for combat (as are all "martial arts"). At best "martial arts" are good physical conditioning excercises and a handy tool for bullying civilians.

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mspurrell RE:Best games as practice for combat 5/8/2006 1:48:33 PM

I think some of the best training might not be a game but would be farming or even chopping trees. Both is hard work and works out your arms and legs which would help you in the army in terms of carrying a lot of weight and being able to march long distances. Also Bushmen probably have experience with rifles as well and maybe have some hunting skills. How much hand-to-hand combat is there anymore? Most of war is just pushing a button and launching a few dozen missiles and a blip on a screen goes off. With all these automatic weapons and vehicles war can?t be that hard. Look at this Iraq situation all the insurgents do is plant bombs and blow them up when soldiers come by how does any game really help? Unless you are in an armoured vehicle you probably will be dead.

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Thomas3 RE:Best games as practice for combat 5/8/2006 3:01:11 PM

mspurrell: You almost preempted me: The choise is of course BINGO. That game trains you in grapping hold of a chance, while being kept in the dark while a selvimportant persons rant of partly irrelevant information. I prepares you for the after combat blame game in so far as your number are checked. You get used to sit uncomfortably with equally uninteresting persons are doing their best to rattle you. You win utterly unedible food, drink stale coffee while the cigarssmoke from old ladies hurt your eyes! If that game doesn't build stamina needed for combat operation.

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Godofgamblers RE:Best games mspurrell 5/8/2006 8:23:54 PM

good points! in fact, PLAYSTATION may be the game of warriors in the future. the future troopers will not be burly types, but geeky teenagers who can beat anyone at DOOM or whatever, given the preponderance of drones and other remote driven weapons systems!

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