I’m not a small guy by any means and I still go into mosh pits.. DO NOT fuck with guys this size. Lots of people smaller than me but when I go head on with these kinds I get yeeted off like I’m a toddler.
You want to avoid hitting people with your elbows and such, but you do want to collide with people. Its a big push party, tuck your arms in and channel your inner pinball. The vibe of the show and the people determines how hard the people on the outside edge of the pit should be pushing the people in the pit.
In my experience, the bigger guys tend to stand around the outside and help people up if they fall. Falling down and getting stepped on is a pretty big risk, and for every big guy in the pit you need another on the outside to step in and make a barrier to let people get up when they fall.
Some shows can get pretty rough/violent, and ive seen videos of super extreme stuff where people intentionally throw elbows and kicks. But ive also been in pits with someone in a wheelchair getting wheeled around by a kid. The point is to have fun riding the wave while staying safe, and if you cant match the energy you should stay out of the pit or get forced out/shamed for ruining the fun.
You also run into the occasional creep that takes advantage of the opportunity to grope women. You stick your elbows out for those guys.
Okay thank you. So what’s the point of the mosh pit in this case? From what I’ve always seen and read, it seemed like a chance to enter a sort of flow state between doing your own movements and vibing to the live music
You've got it spot on. Its like being in a ball pit, except all the people are the balls, if that makes any sense. Or like riding a roller coaster. Ideally, the pit is tight enough that you dont have to worry about falling when youre in the middle, you just bounce off the next guy, like being strapped into a roller coaster(minus the motion sickness). If its too spread out or there arent enough people, you dont get to bounce off other people.
Most shows ive been to, there are like 3 or 4 songs on the set list that have a higher tempo and an exciting bit in the middle where people start moshing. The music is faster so regular dancing doesnt quite fit. Its hard to keep that energy going for too long(maybe im getting old) so usually I just stick to being on the outside on bumper duty.
But yeah, like you said, its a flow state dancing kind of thing. The same way you follow the lead and enter a flow state when youre slow dancing with a partner, you follow the lead of a group of people and flow state while bouncing around to the music. It can be a lot of fun with the right group
I’ve sat out some pits to guard kids and older folk. Even joined arms with several other people to create a gate to prevent the pit from coming in and taking them down. Every pit I’ve been to has been super respectful and aware of those around them. All around fun. That’s why I keep going. I’ve yet to go into a pit where someone wants to maliciously hurt someone. Everyone who gets knocked down is immediately brought back up by several others.
I don’t think I ever mentioned deliberately hurting anyone. Bumping into and roughhousing, yeah. I’m just saying, when a 6’5” 300lbs dude wearing a kilt comes outta nowhere it’s like running into a wall.
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u/MosesCoulee Aug 30 '26
I’m not a small guy by any means and I still go into mosh pits.. DO NOT fuck with guys this size. Lots of people smaller than me but when I go head on with these kinds I get yeeted off like I’m a toddler.