Ah yes, the all glorious mosh pit. When you hear the word "mosh" you might think of a group of young thugs beating each other senseless to some heavy tunes. Essentially that is correct, but moshing goes much deeper than that. Its about young men (or the occasional she-warrior) sharing their love for a band with one another. The emotions run high, breaths run short, and sweat starts pouring. Bodies grind up against one another, pushing themselves to sweet and glorious climax and then you do it again twenty minutes later when you catch your breath. And the best part is that none of that is homo-erotic in any way possible.

The first thing about a mosh is that you need like-minded people about you. You can usually spot these people before the show starts. Avoid dudes in cargo shorts though, these are "tough-guys", and they only came here to stomp their feet and throw temper tantrums, you are much more mature than this. You came here to mosh, not throw 'bows, which is exactly why moshers bring their moshing friends. When you bring some friends with you starting a pit is never a problem.

Starting the initial pit is always a hit or miss step. When the band starts playing, especially if its a relatively small-time band, people may be hesitant about wanting to show appreciation for the music. If the band is truly good, or even just simply heavy without the good, the spirit for mosh will be in the air and all you have to do is just give your buddy a little push. This starts a chain reaction and soon the bodies start flying.

The pit makes for an overall better show. This shows the band that your diggin' their tunes and they will loosen up on stage resulting in a better performance. Of course, when the band is playing better so is the mosh pit, its the gift that keeps on giving.

Inside a mosh pit there is an unwritten code of etiquette followed by all moshers. One, you do not punch or kick. Dude, this is a show, not Fight Club. If you do get hit just brush it off and ignore it. If you feel the need to return a punch just know that the other bro is more than willing to do the same, which brings me to rule two: NO FIGHTING! I have seen bands stop playing, cops called, venues emptied, etc all because two jerk-offs want to break the first rule. Just don't fight, no one wants to get more hurt than they have to. Rule three, if you see someone fall you pick them up. You wouldn't want to be caught on your ass in the middle of chaos and neither do your mosh-comrades. Even if it is a hefty fellow picking him up will be easy because you will have ten other people pick him up at the same time. Four, have fun with it. Everyone came to the show for the same purpose, be entertained and have some fun.

Note that there is a branch of hooligans known as "mosh warriors" that will want to take over your pit with acrobatics and fancy stunts. This is a silly fad known as hardcore dancing, and is a sure fire way to get a foot to the nose. If you really feel like you must participate in all of the two-stepping madness then go ahead, that is your choice, but will only be depriving yourself from the pure joy and ecstasy that is a good old fashioned mosh pit.

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