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Gladiator Training
Gladiator Training - The
Trainers
When a new recruit (novicius)
entered one of the gladiators schools to commence gladiator
training he was assessed by the lanista, a doctor and the
gladiator's trainers. He would be checked by a medici (a doctor, not to be confused with the doctores)
for any medical problems and whether
he was physically suitable to train
as a gladiator and equipped to
withstand the rigours of training
and combat.
The Gladiator's trainers
who worked in the school were often retired gladiators who
specialised in specific combat styles and weapons. The
trainers were called Doctores. A Doctor who trained the types of gladiator
called a
Retiarius would be
called Doctores Retiarii or one who trained
Secutores, Doctores secutorum.
Gladiator Training -
Learning How to Die
Gladiator Training was not
just about acquiring physical combat skills. Trained
Gladiators were expected to behave in a certain way. They
also had to be taught how to die. Their were specific death
rituals in the arenas of the Roman Colosseum. Roman
spectators expected gladiators to die bravely, showing no
fear, offering themselves to cold blooded murder by their
opponents. Gladiator training therefore included how to die
gracefully and with honor. Wooden training sword for
gladiators, not to be confused with the rudus given as a
symbol of freedom.
Gladiator Training -
Initial Training
Gladiator Training
commenced with getting the new gladiator to the peak of
fitness. Their training did not initially involve using real
weapons, as this would be dangerous for the trainers and
staff of the schools. Wooden training swords called the
the rudus were used (lusoria arma). A rudus was also given
in the arena to a successful gladiator. In this context the
rudis as given as a
symbol of freedom. When new recruits entered
the gladiator schools they were first referred to as novicius
and when they had completed their initial training, and were
ready to fight in the arena, they were called Tirones
gladiatores or Tiro.
Gladiator Training -
Fighting Styles, Armor and Weapons
Gladiator Training focussed
on different fighting styles and weapons used by specific
types of gladiators. Gladiators who fought in heavy armor
were slower and required different techniques and skills
than those of gladiators who were lightly armed who were
fast and light. The different types of fighters required
customised training according to their armor, weapons and
fighting techniques, all of which are are described in the
following links:
Types of
Heavily armed Gladiators
Types of
Lightly armed Gladiators
Gladiator Training -
Fighting Styles, Armor and Weapons
Gladiator Training
therefore reflected the armor and weapons used. Skill in
using ancient Roman weapons was dependent on weapon
practise. The weapons included swords, lances, tridents and
nets and bows and arrows. Gladiator training was designed
around fitness and acquiring skills with different types of
weapons.
Gladiator Training
Techniques
A wooden pole called a palus
was first used as a target to practise moves with a sword.
The wooden swords used during training on the palus were
often double the weight of the actual weapon ensuring that
the gladiators would built up their upper body and arm
strength. Palus training allowed a gladiator to practise
various vicious strokes and manoeuvres such as thrusting,
cutting, and slicing without imposing an injury on an
opponent. Then other training equipment was used such as
shield and dummy which were suspended from a swinging pole.
When the shield was hit the whole apparatus would rotate.
The gladiators's task was to avoid the rotating arms which
sometimes had a heavy sandbag attached to them. Hilt and
shield strikes were also practised.
Gladiator Training
The content of this Gladiator Training
category on life in Ancient Rome provides free educational
details, facts and information for reference and research
for schools, colleges and homework. Refer to the
Colosseum Sitemap for a comprehensive search on interesting
different categories containing the history, facts and
information about Ancient Rome. Just like the subject of
Gladiator Training there is hardly a page of Roman history and the Romans that is not, on
some way, connected to the Roman Colosseum which became a
symbol of Rome, its society, culture and life.
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