Oh, we'd sword fight too! Garbage can lids became shields, and mothers were known to yell a lot when we used their clothes props as lances -- couched under the arm and either run against each other on foot or on a bicycle. We also made bows and arrows -- and if you don't think a wooden arrow with a point made by rubbing it on concrete, powered from a bow strung with cotton string, isn't dangerous you've not been around many.

We also made spears from various weeds and branches. AND clubs (which we sometimes threw at each other) from weed roots -- some of these weighted five pounds and could have really damaged you if they hit you.

In the winter we had snowball or iceball or slushball fights; in warm weather we had rock fights.

Of course, we played in old dumps (now known as landfills), so if you were injured tetanus or worse was almost certain.

We didn't know any of this, so we survived.