Deadliest Warrior: Rajput versus Roman Centurion
Well, this contest makes slightly more sense than the previous ones. And thus far they've shown some scary work with a katar (punch dagger/short sword) that went right through Roman-style chain and the pig carcass they had it on. You should've seen the blood! I've heard of blood described as being "heart's black" before, but until now I never saw it.
They're also giving the Rajput the khanda sword, the curved/circular aara sword, and the chakram, while the Romans are packing the gladius and pilum, the dolabra (pickaxe -- I thought Romans used this for digging, not splitting skulls!) and the scorpion/ballista (are we supposed to think that a Roman centurion would just happen to have one of these things around for a one on one fight?).
I'm predicting the one on one fight going to the Rajput, simply because they were more used to duels than the Romans with their mass warfare emphasis. That and they're Asian, so given the biases of the show, they're automatically superior to any clumsy white guy.
Mind, I'd have preferred a fight between a Late Roman Centurion and a Sassanid Persian savaran. Let Ardashir show 'em what real warriors could do. ;) (Seriously -- the Sassanid heavy cavalry routinely beat the tar out of both Romans and Indians.)
More Edits to Come!
EDIT 1: Now they're testing the chakram (which proved itself surprisingly deadly, though it seems to need a very cooperative enemy to work right) versus the scorpion. What, the Romans circa 120 AD couldn't use bows or slings? At least a legionnaire might actually CARRY something like that on a normal basis. Besides, for all the unwieldiness of the chakram, it's a lot easier to re-aim one of them than a ballista.
EDIT 2: It went the way I thought it would. The Rajput downed the Roman with a Katar to the gut and a khanda to the neck.
Oh yes, the Rajput weapons experts? They were all Sikhs (though one had his head bare; I thought that was forbidden under Sikh religious law?). And Spike TV's next big show? 'Little Brawlers', about the life and times of midget wrestlers. I guess they're trying to cross-market TNA Wrestling...
They're also giving the Rajput the khanda sword, the curved/circular aara sword, and the chakram, while the Romans are packing the gladius and pilum, the dolabra (pickaxe -- I thought Romans used this for digging, not splitting skulls!) and the scorpion/ballista (are we supposed to think that a Roman centurion would just happen to have one of these things around for a one on one fight?).
I'm predicting the one on one fight going to the Rajput, simply because they were more used to duels than the Romans with their mass warfare emphasis. That and they're Asian, so given the biases of the show, they're automatically superior to any clumsy white guy.
Mind, I'd have preferred a fight between a Late Roman Centurion and a Sassanid Persian savaran. Let Ardashir show 'em what real warriors could do. ;) (Seriously -- the Sassanid heavy cavalry routinely beat the tar out of both Romans and Indians.)
More Edits to Come!
EDIT 1: Now they're testing the chakram (which proved itself surprisingly deadly, though it seems to need a very cooperative enemy to work right) versus the scorpion. What, the Romans circa 120 AD couldn't use bows or slings? At least a legionnaire might actually CARRY something like that on a normal basis. Besides, for all the unwieldiness of the chakram, it's a lot easier to re-aim one of them than a ballista.
EDIT 2: It went the way I thought it would. The Rajput downed the Roman with a Katar to the gut and a khanda to the neck.
Oh yes, the Rajput weapons experts? They were all Sikhs (though one had his head bare; I thought that was forbidden under Sikh religious law?). And Spike TV's next big show? 'Little Brawlers', about the life and times of midget wrestlers. I guess they're trying to cross-market TNA Wrestling...