Roman shield

[Matthew Amt]

...however my point was more that like boxers and athletes of today they still wanted to WIN! which means they would have modified their equipment i'm sure to some extent, extra armour, different materials to make their swords lighter

Um, don't want to sound like I'm laughing at you, here, but what sorts of materials could you be thinking of? By the first century, swords had been developing for about 2000 years and were as highly refined and perfect as they could be. We have trouble matching their performance today. What modifications could a gladiator have come up with that thousands of soldiers and incredibly skilled craftsmen before him hadn't thought of?

I guess sometimes my imagination does run away with me...

Yup, that's what it looks like! If you can come up with even a hint of historical evidence to support any of this, we'll all listen. Until then, beware of modern preconceptions!

Vale,

Matthew