[Humakty]

[QUOTE\] I don't agree with your logic for two reasons. First, most types of modern combat sports have weight classes, so that smaller guys won't lose to as good but bigger guys. Second, combat is the last thing I'd wish for anyone when knowledge of medicine was as poor as it was, and color-coded shields certainly wouldn't appear in the kinds of raids ancient Finns would have partaken.[/quote]

Weight class do mostly exist for bare-handed combat sports, there are no such things in swordsmanship. The classical figure of the six feet tall barbarian dominating the battlefield is romantic and unrealistic. Do you know swords also hurt big people ? No need to have big muscles to kill someone. And I didn't wished you to get hurt in melee, was just raising a few facts. (IE : you could have been pressed into service, like many youngsters at that time...)