Nudity in combat
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Nudity in combat is rare because, apart from the social aspects of nudity, the combattant lacks even the basic protection of clothes, e.g. when diving for cover, or crawling. Also the combattant misses the practicality of carrying objects in pockets and attached to clothes.
The artistic convention of heroic nudity, however, was established in the art of ancient Greece by the Archaic period.
[edit] History
In Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Celts were reported to charge into battle completely in the nude, only carrying shields and swords. Sometimes the soldiers wore no clothing but were covered in war paint, a custom that allegedly gave the Picts their name.
This practice was maintained up until at least the 18th century in Highland Scotland. Highland soldiers routinely came to battle fully dressed, however coming onto the field, they would discard their heavy woolen plaids, and wore only their Leines (shirts). This made them much more agile, and also protected their plaids from damage.
In warmer climates, sparse clothing and even (virtual) nudity was not so uncommon, even among such refined cultures as the Etruscans. While the social elite (and some crack units) would often wear characteristic armour (expensive, so rather exclusive; in some societies the soldier often paid for his own, not the state, so hoplites for example were from the wealthier classes) the common men in "light" units were often deprived of (full) protective clothing; apparently in other cases tradition saw to equality taking care of the military (dis)advantage.
Even in some present martial arts which continue techniques fit for military fighting, full or partial still occurs, e.g. the traditional styles of stick fighting practised by the young warriors, now bearing firearms, in the Omo Valley of the Suri tribe (donga, often entirely naked; serious injury not uncommon, occasionally fatal) and the neighbouring Nyangatom (bare-chested, aiming to mark the adversary with visible stripes on the back).
In modern Liberia, soldiers loyal to Charles G. Taylor formed the Buck Naked Brigade, which fought naked in order to terrorize their opponents [1]
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