For any of you who participate in SCA combat or reenactments, or if you are thinking of getting into the sport, then it’s probably a good thing to know how to fight someone in a full suit of armor.  To do that, we need to examine what medieval warriors did in the olden days to get through thick layers of armor.  There are several weak spots or openings in the armor that the soldiers targeted.  We don’t recommend you use these techniques for SCA combat or other reenactments, but it will give you a general idea as to how fighters took each other down in medieval times.

The first area that was considered a prime area to attack was the armpit.  As soldiers needed freedom of movement, there was often no armor here.If any armor could be found, most likely it was weaker chainmail that could be broken through with a thrust of a weapon.  The goal was to get the point of the sword down into the underarm area.  If sucessful, this would wound the soldier significantly or at least enough to take them out of commision for the rest of the battle or enough so the other side could make a finishing blow.

Another area that was probably the easiest to get at was the back of the upper legs.  Especially if knights were to ride on horses or go on long marches, this area usually did not have any significant armor.  This is why in many movies you see sword fighters slashing at each other’s legs.By attacking the enemy with enough force to turn him around or get around him, you could take out both of his legs with one fast swing of the weapon.  This would render them incapable of further movement and make the susceptible to futher punishing.

The last area to attack a person in a suit of armor was in the neck below the helmet.Usually there was a wide enough slit or space in between the armor helmet and the chest plate below, so you could thrust a weapon or sword through the neck.To successfully attack someone here was often fatal and was considered the best place to target.