From the wiki on how to:

Are you going to a concert this weekend? Have you seen the pits and have always been curious, but are concerned that you may come out with a broken face? With a little know-how and a lot of courage, you can make your way through a mosh pit and who knows? You might jump right back in.

1. Know what you’re getting into. Be objective and recognize that you may get hurt, and you’re definitely going to get covered in sweat (and maybe even the saliva or blood) of complete strangers. While the objective of a mosh pit is to make physical contact without getting hurt, there is a good degree of unpredictability and risk. If you’re considering making your debut in a mosh pit, be aware of the potential consequences and make sure that they’re worth the thrill.
2. Wear the right gear. Wear clothes that you don’t mind getting stained or even ruined. Your outfit should also be comfortable and light, since it will get hot in the pit. Make sure your shoes fit tightly and lace them well, because if it falls off, you’ll have an impossible time getting it back and your unprotected foot will suffer in the meantime. Also be sure to remove any spiked wristbands or other dangerous accessories, as they could injure a fellow mosher (or even yourself).
3. Brace yourself. Whether in the mosh pit or out, you need to keep your hands and more specifically your arms prepared. Don’t look like you’re ready to strike someone (you’ll freak people out and probably get yourself beat up), but certainly don’t put yourself in a position where your hands are going to be stuck to your sides and you accidentally get your face knocked by someone’s skull flying at you, but you weren’t ready for it.
4. Watch and observe from the side. How brutal are the individuals bouncing around this freak show? Are people just having fun, or are they going for blood? Know the difference between those who are slam dancing and the idiot high school football player who’s running around smashing people in the face with his knuckles. There are many different types of moshing, and adapting to these is an important step if you want to enjoy it.
5. Participate on the side line by pushing people back in the pit and embracing mosh pit kids from falling to their deaths as they circulate the rim. There are going to be people flying back and forth, side to side, up and down and all over the place. When you’re ready to deal with this, it’s time to enter.
6. Circle the circle pit. You’re going to continue pushing, bouncing, and slamming off of other people in the pit. Eventually you’re going to be able to control your direction and choose your hits, maybe even on your first night. Go at the speed of the crowd and be ready for the dropper: the dropper (or breakdown) is the violent outburst that many metal, hardcore, alternative bands, punk rock, and similar types of music have that goes from normal lyrical music to a crashing point which will set off the adrenaline of every kid around you and is virtually the “go” sound or green light that it is time to smash and slam again. If you’re unfamiliar with the music, this is going to be hard to spot, but if you see it coming, you’re going to have one up on half of the kids at the show.
7. Switch things up.

• Bodyslam. Jump into the air, aiming to have your upper body make contact with another mosher. A collision is the goal here.
• Stage dive. Push your way past the crowd and the bouncers if you can so that you can get on stage. Without disrupting the band or any of their equipment, dive into the crowd (make sure they see you coming) and tense up when you land so that you’re easier to catch.
• Crowd surf. You can start off either by stage diving or by hoisting yourself up on two (taller) people’s shoulders. Don’t have somebody lift you up by the foot with their hands because odds are, the people around you won’t have enough time to see you coming and somebody (including but not limited to you) will get hurt.

Tips

• Find safety in the “eye of the storm”. If you are in a pit that is too intense and you are feeling fatigued, there is safety in the center. Just like a spinning bicycle wheel or a record, the tangential velocity is smaller closer to the center.
• If you are are struggling with being pushed too much and you want to get out of the pit, DO NOT bend down or you risk falling over and getting injured by people around you accidentally stepping on you. Bring your hands up towards your face and use your arms as stabilisers while working your way out of the mosh pit. Don’t panic: it’s more important to stay upright and take longer to get out than to hurry out and risk falling over.
• If someone falls down, you immediately help them up. This is the unwritten protocol of all mosh pitters. If you keep going and someone is down, you risk seriously hurting or even killing them (and if that doesn’t happen, some large mammal of a man is going to hurt you for not following this protocol).
• If you find someone’s sneaker, wallet, or other personal belonging, it is also mosh etiquette to hold it up in the air to be claimed by its owner.
• If you crowd surf, keep your feet raised. Hitting people in the head with your shoes with guarantee removal of one or both of your shoes which will then be flung towards the stage with maximum velocity, rendering you shoeless for the rest of the gig/day/festival weekend.
• Be sure that your valuables (e.g. wallet, phone) are tightly secured, or else they might fall off or get snatched in the pit. Better yet, leave as much as you can at home.
• Hold on to your glasses–if you must wear them, try to secure them around your neck. Otherwise, they might fall off and break in the pit. But don’t leave them at home, because you’ll need to see what you’re doing (and what others are doing) while moshing.
• Stay hydrated. It’s hot and sticky in the mosh pit, and you’ll be getting quite the workout.
• You’ll know when you’ve had enough. Moshing is seriously athletic you will get very tired. It may take you all night to get there, or it may be after your first run. When that happens take a break and enjoy the music from outside the pit.
• Go with some friends and stick with them. That way, you’ll have a few landmarks and lifesavers.
• When crowdsurfing, try to stay relaxed and go with it. Don’t flail around and hit/kick people as it is very likely you will get hit back
• Pay attention to what type of mosh pit it is. Some mosh pits are more about contact and running into each other while others are more centered on “mosh pit dancing”. Don’t go slam into the person doing a dance solo in the middle of the pit and likewise don’t start swinging your arms around dancing in the middle of a high contact pit. Remember, everybody is there to have fun!
• If you have hair long enough to be tied back please do so. It makes things more pleasant for all!

Warnings

• You’re going to get hit. As long as you’re not a target of another and you’re keeping your hands in a position not to get tagged in the face and you’re leaning backwards, you’ll be safe. But it is possible to become severely injured in a mosh pit, so understand the risks.
• Watch for kids who wear spike bands in a pit. They will leave scars.
• If you have done something to become the target of a much larger/more aggressive mosher, it is generally best to leave the pit for a little while. These overly aggressive moshers may single you out and make every effort to hit you as hard as possible which can cause undesired injury and quickly put a damper on your concert mood.
• Women, beware. There are guys in the pit who are going to go for the gold and try to cop an anonymous feel. If you get harassed, get a good look at the perpetrator and don’t hesitate to announce what he did. Most will disapprove and act accordingly.
• While participating on the side line is perfectly acceptable, understand that you are shoving moshers from their “blind spot” in most cases. A violent push from the side can send an off-balance mosher directly into an oncoming elbow or head that would’ve otherwise been averted. Furthermore, you can and will be specifically targeted for retaliation if you do this throughout the show.
• While climbing onto the stage and doing a stage dive may be glorious, note that if you get caught by security after getting on the stage, you may become a victim of retaliation from them. This is dependent on the group doing the security, but you may be ejected from the concert.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 at 9:12 am and is filed under Misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.