do you think that men (and indeed women) were tougher in the past than today?

Question

i watch many programmes about warriers and soldiers from the past especially medieval soldiers knights and it would seem that theses men ere really vicious and fearless. even ordinary men ie farmers and rural people would fight to the death if neccesary. do you believe that people in the past were generally tougher than today, and how would you compare say a top soldier from today ie seals SAS etc with a knights templar from medieval times,on pure toughness not including todays modern weopanary

Answer 1

Nope. Every generation builds on the generation before it, adapts to the technology of the time and improves styles and tactics.



Does that mean they're 'tougher' now? I doubt it; they're as tough as they need to be.

Answer 2

Yes, most people were physically tougher in the past than they are today.



Simply because in the past, people did hard physical labor all day, everyday.



But that doesn't mean today's people cannot be just as physically tough, just that most have never had to be.



I read a quote from a british SAS officer that sums it up nicely.



He said; , after WW ll, the sas had no problem finding soldiers who were physically tough enough to be in the sas, we had problems finding people who were smart enough.



Now, we have no problem finding soldiers who are smart enough, but we have to teach the soldiers that they can do three times as much physically as they think they can and they can keep functioning with extreme levels of physical abuse.



2. There is no comparison between elite soldiers today like Delta, seals, sas and past soldiers like knights templar.



Today's elite soldiers are far stronger , have far more endurance and are far smarter.

Answer 3

ye maybe people in the past were tougher, but we cant forget that today we are talking about totally different weapon technology. if your village would be attacked by military these days, no matter how tough or brave of a farmer you are, fighting them would be hopeless. its not because they a very tough etc, but because they also have weapons and equipment that would help them kill another experienced army, so what to say about a group of civilians or a farmer with a spade.

but anyway i think you have to be more brave to get your guts pierced with a spear than your head exploded by a bullet.

Answer 4

I would say yes, because life in the past was less desirable than it is today. I don't think people in the medieval times really feared death because life was so poor and heaven looked so great. They were a little on the crazy side, in my opinion.

Answer 5

yes totally, people lived short brutal lives for most of history, it is only in the last century, science, medicine and even political thinking has moved forward to the point people in the 1st world today, expect to live long lives, free from suffering. with governments that will provide for them in emergencies. any aches and pains will be sorted with a trip to the chemist for a pack of tablets.

Back in the old days, there was nothing like this, an illness as simple as the flu could wipe out an entire village in 24 hours, people went hungry constantly, and unless you had money, you were always in danger from your fellow man. people had to work jobs in such dangerous conditions it was rare for people not to die on a weekly basis.

life was far cheaper then.

Answer 6

They were obviously a lot more fearless and aggressive back then and know people are *****'s and they are scared to fight I mean we are so much *****'s we have ratings on violence and you have to be of certain age to be legally allowed to see it! But in Spartan days children would be introduced into violence at a very early age to make them more aggressive and fearless but these days people don't want that

Answer 7

Usually, that is too long for me. I believe it depends on the guy and also his face though. Certain guys may pull off long hair and others can't.

Answer 8

In previous times, definitely. They were tougher because they had to be in order to survive.



The bulk of humanity's gone soft in this world today.

Answer 9

Well see men today don't need to be tough and all GRR.. because thats not what we need in our society back in those days you did need all that sparta stuff..



Special force's compare to knight's... ???? in terms of toughness.. i would say special force's they are trained in combat and they are more phisically fit by mile's.. have you seen what they have to do regulary ?? it makes me sick to the stomach knowing how much pain and how much their bodies are just rag dolls by the end of it.. knights are just chosen swordsmen on horse back..



Special force's are trained in boxing and karate.

Answer 10

I think the military is much better today than it was a few decades ago

Answer 11

short tresses and long hair are tied along with everyone else. their is no far better than other