Battle Glad and Strife Eager
by Southnarc (aka Craig Douglas)
In the June 2002 issue of Soldier of Fortune magazine an article by Bill Bagwell titled "The Blade in War", was published. The piece is a historical overview of bladed combat over the ages. Bagwell begins with a look at how many casualties were inflicted in various battles over history in his treatise on the lethality of edged weapons, and moves from there into some thoughts and suppositions on the kind of men who waged primitive warfare.
It was this portion of the article that peaked my interest as Bagwell has some very insightful things to say about the generations of yore and what it took to be a warrior. What I've done is to cut out that portion of the article and let it stand alone. What follows are Bagwell's words and I think that he really hits several points home that the student of modern combatives would be wise to heed.
