DUAL Wielding SHIELDS?

So one of the questions that I've been asked is would dual-wielding shields be effective? Okay, you get the point and I know what some of you are thinking right now. But Scar, you're not using the shields rightly. All right, I'll be a little more serious now. And by the way, I don't mean to mock anyone who asked that question, but since it is a rather unusual question, I figured why not have some light-hearted fun with it. I can't really think of many examples of dual-wielding shields even in games and movies. The only one that comes to mind is Dungeons of Dredmor, which is a game that doesn't take itself seriously whatsoever. It's all about the comedy. In fact, it's got unarmed skills and you can equip whatever you want in each hand. So the character can run around with two shields or two orbs kicking the crap out of enemies. But would that make any sense? I mean, it's a pretty obvious answer. Not really. There is no example in history of that being done, at least as far as I'm aware. The only case I know of using two hands for a shield without a weapon is the dueling shield. So that's a very specific context in the judicial duel. And it's hard to imagine any situation in which it would make actual sense to deliberately dual-wield shields. I mean, on a battlefield, if you lose your weapon and you still have your shield, you could pick up a shield that's lying around, if that's the only thing you can get a hold of. But chances are, there will also be a weapon somewhere. There were sidearms as well. So you probably have something else to begin with. So it's a very unlikely scenario that the only thing you can possibly pick up is a shield. And not to mention, for civilian self-defense, they didn't even carry shields, or at least full-size shields such as this. Can you imagine walking around with this, you know, on the way to the market? It's just, it's not practically feasible. What they did carry was bucklers like this, because this you can just have on your belt and you would carry a sword along with it. Why on earth would you carry two of these instead of a sword and a buckler? With a sword and buckler, you can keep the buckler out in front of you for protection. But since you have such a long blade, you can very easily strike well past it. And of course, you can protect your sword hand as you strike. If you had another buckler, this is not doing anything. You cannot strike past your main buckler. It's the same reach. So it doesn't actually do anything for you. Now, you could hold another weapon with it. So technically, you could use two bucklers with two weapons like this, but it depends on the type of shield. With a center grip shield or buckler like this, the problem is this is not a very good grip. Awkward to use, a much weaker grip, and it would limit how I can use the sword and would also limit how I can use the buckler. Generally, you should be able to switch grips. So you can hold it either flat in front of you or at an angle like so. So you would hold it flat in front of you for protection. And as you cut, you would move this out of the way. Now, if you hold something else in your hand along with the handle of the buckler, that's not really an option. Now, to be fair, with a strap shield, that's easier. And the Scots have apparently done that combination of strap shield with a dagger. But here's another problem if you happen to use two shields, especially if it's two full-sized shields. So let's just look at this combination right here. So sure, it's a lot of coverage. Like, I can turtle up completely. Well, not completely, and this is part of the problem. I mean, this looks really silly, but that's not the main problem. So my head is still sticking out. So if somebody decides to throw a cut against my head, I'll have to raise up. And now I see absolutely nothing. I can't even see the camera. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying shields are bad. They have been used for a good reason for a very long time. They are an excellent weapon and defensive tool. But, you know, nothing is perfect. And this is one of the issues with a shield. You can obstruct your own view. The larger it is, the more of a problem that is. So if you have to, then, yeah, you can really get in your own way, so to speak. Depending on the shield, whether it's center grip or strapped, and also the size and the weight and all that, it can be used in different ways. You know, in some cases, you would hold it out fairly far in front of you. In other cases, you would have closer to the body. If you have a very large shield that you just kind of, you know, peek out from behind, then that's a little more viable. But if the other side is covered up too, then I can't see. I just can't. Of course, people are always eager to try to find arguments in defense of whatever they happen to like, regardless of how practical it is or impractical. There's probably somebody out there who will want to convince you of the superiority of the reverse grip dual wheel chainsaw style. I mean, sure, you could technically make a lot of things work. If you were to practice the dual shield style for 20 years, you could probably become fairly good at it. If you are very good at closing distance, you know, rushing in, you know, binding up their weapon, then clobbering them with the other shield. Yeah, you can, of course, strike with it. You can do some damage with it. If that person who trains this weird thing for 10 years then faced somebody who trained regular conventional sword and buckler for 10 years, guess who would win? And this is a common answer for a lot of these questions. And would such and such odd unconventional fantasy thing or fighting style work in real life? Could you pull it off with enough practice? Yes. Would you be at a disadvantage compared to somebody who spends the same time practicing something more conventional, more practical? It's a pretty obvious answer. Now, this is not to say that history is the be-all end-all and there could never be any new fighting style or any martial innovation. Of course not. But I think it's intuitive enough that taking a defensive tool that is usually designed to be used with an offensive tool, using two of those instead of the offensive tool, that's not ideal. It goes without saying, right? So why talk so much about something that is obviously not a good idea, you may ask? Just for fun, with some information sprinkled in. That is all. you