Have you ever attended a concert that involved mosh pits? If you are a metalhead or a punker, you probably have. The main thing about it that I want to point out is the different perspectives of how people look at it. The first group of people looks at it as a sort of fun. They are moshing to have a good time and, while doing it, to be nonviolently in harmony in the pit with other moshers. The second group of people is much more violent and savage. They want to make the pit as violent as possible. They make mosh pits look like a battlefield. Bellum omnium contra omnes.

By standard definition, moshing is sort of a dance in which the participants slam or push into each other. Typically, it is performed on concerts where “aggressive” and loud music is played (e.g. metal and punk).
When you look at all the components of moshing, slamming, pushing, “aggressive” and loud music, full of energy and body contacts, I wonder if moshing is more of a war than just a form of dance. Mosh pits look more like battlefields than dance courts.
This is what I ought to reassess! Is moshing more similar to war than to dance? To accomplish this task, I have taken the earliest extant strategic book in human history, namely The Art of War by Sun-Tzu. I have taken the parts of the book which could be paralleled and compared with moshing. I have taken the English version by J.H.Huang from 2008.

About Sun-Tzu

Sun-Tzu lived in Qi, China, and was a contemporary of Confucius. He was one of the chief military strategists for the state of Wu, and he enjoyed much success in his lifetime. His words have lasted and flourished beyond the empires and battles for which they were originally written.

The art of moshing

THE LANDS THAT ARE LETHAL OR SAFE AND THE WAYS THAT CAUSE EXISTENCE OR DESTRUCTION MUST BE NEVER TAKEN LIGHTLY:
I believe we can apply this thought to the balance between safety and hazards in mosh pits. One should first inspect and make a fine judgment about the “physical features of the land”.
In what kind of venue will I be moshing? Is it big enough so you can mosh? Or is it so small that the whole venue will be a battleground itself? Moshing is one of the key components of metal and punk concerts for the crowd (more or less), so it would be inadequate to have a venue where you cannot mosh.
Although, there are some exceptions like low budget concerts where you cannot afford a venue big enough for moshing. As I said, moshing is definitely one of the traditional key components of such concerts, but it does not have to be present at every concert and all the time! That depends on the atmosphere and the character of the people present at the concert. Back to the “physical features”…
One should also watch out for potential hazards like beer stains, pillars or if the floor itself of bad quality. If you are going to dominate in the pit, make sure you do not kill or severely wound yourself in the process…
Wounds are often in pits and naturally a part of moshing, but one should always take caution.

THE RULES OR FUNCTIONS OF MOSHING:
This is where things get tricky. Not everyone sees the pit the same way as the others. As I said in the beginning of the text, we have two groups of people that have different views about how the concept of mosh pits should function. One group sees it as a form of harmlessly having fun. Just friendly moshing around with no one getting hurt at all. The second group sees it more as a war where every individual is for himself. The survival of the fittest. I have not heard or experienced where groups of people mosh against each other. By that, I mean, e.g., Group X moshing against Group Y at the concert. Not likely to happen, but it is not impossible to happen, so one should not exclude that option. I will now speak from experience. Mosh pits naturally tend to be more violent and warlike. If you are just here to expect every pit to be harmless and fun, I am sorry… You should try and strengthen up your mentality and just enter the pit. With wounds and experience your progress further. Fear limits you to conquer yourself. When you overcome fear, then comes wisdom.This is why I started this text, to see if moshing is more similar to war than to dance.
On the other hand, I do agree that moves like karate kicks, intentional punches, and wrestling moves should be banned and culprits should be outcasted. In that case that would simply be a fighting pit, but that is certainly not the function of a mosh pit.

DOMINATION IN THE PIT (INDIVIDUALLY AND IN GROUPS)
Domination tactics in pits could be applied both to individuals and groups at concerts. For a person or a group to be dominant in the pit, one must establish superiority. Especially through weakening the enemy (other moshers or a mosher-group). The tactics one could use for his or her advantage are deception, enticement, defense, evasion, delusion, discouragement, fatigue and, especially for groups, disunity. As Sun Tzu said: “Victory relies on outstanding intelligence work and a full grasp of one´s situation before actions are launched.”
Even if a mosher has outstanding and dominant perks like strength, roughness, speed, and flexibility to withstand the pit, one should always check out what kind of moshers are in it and if pits are safe enough for moshing. Your assessment is one of the first rules for establishing your superiority in the pit. Others are:
Calculating the number of moshers in the pit (if possible). That could be of great use for group tactics.
The third is to estimate what are your chances to establish superiority in the pit by weighing your perks against the perks of other moshers (or group of moshers).
The last one is establishing dominance, being superior, being victorious.

How can one acquire the skill to establish dominance in the pit? By going to concerts, watching what other moshers do and then imitate them. While you are imitating them, you are also training to become better. Your intelligence will be of great asset to yourself to figure out your physical perks and how to use them.

OTHER THINGS TO HAVE IN MIND
If a pit is very turbulent and chaotic, try not to get confused in it because you will be in a state of inaction where your body and mind will not be prepared for physical contact. Try to be aware of your surroundings as soon as possible or try to exit the pit in that particular situation.

If a pit is circular and you move within gyrations, you have much less chance to be wounded or “defeated”.

If you find yourself in a pit with moshers that severely punch and kick others and even maybe yourself, you have two solutions:
1.) AVOID THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
2.) GIVE THEM A GOOD BEATING

There are not many people that punch and kick people accidentally. Most of them are doing it on purpose and will not stop if you do not give them “a lesson” about it. I do not advocate beating them literally to death, but I see that many people only understand physical pain as a sign of warning. Dominating the enemy is an instant establishment of superiority.
If you want to strike them in the pit (the “fighting” moshers) you can try, as Sun Tzu says: “…as unpredictable as rain clouds, striking like thunder and lightning.”

TIPS FOR AVOIDING YOUR OWN DEMISE
Do not behave idiotically by being a “fighting” mosher, doing karate kicks in the pit or doing similar things because it could potentially lead to getting yourself beaten up by other moshers attending the concert. Try also not having short tempers, in other words, do not “explode” if problems occur.

This is it for my “fusion” text about war and moshing. As you can see, there are similarities that could be applied to moshing. I believe that you cannot really apply war tactics in the same way for both dance and moshing. Sure, there are some, like, to be in harmony with your squadron (in war) or your dance partner, but if you could apply war tactics and similarities to waltz or moshing, I believe you will find it more reasonable to apply it to moshing.
I hope you will like this text and if you disagree with some points I have made, you are more than welcome to contact me or talk to me about it! I believe I will, in the near future, make a text about moshing and dance to see if they are harmonic enough to draw similarities.

ONWARDS HORDES! – The Mage