Mosh: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Moshing also known as slam dancing is a type of dance which involves jumping around or pushing others to loud heavy metal or punk music. It is very popular amongst young rock and metal fans, especially heavy and nu metal fans.

Most participants consider it fun, but it can be dangerous to people in and around the "mosh pit", and has resulted in serious injuries and hospitalisation. Slamdancing is closely related.

The term "Mosh" has often been attributed to Vinnie Stigma of the hardcore group Agnostic Front as an acronym for "March Of Skin Heads", but most authorities cite Darryl Jennifer, bass guitarist for Bad Brains as the term's originator: a Jamaican-accented pronunciation of the word "mash" in "Mash down Babylon."

Moshing means different things within different genres of music. Moshing at hardcore punk performances is frequently very different from moshing at grunge or metal performances. Normally, moshing at a hardcore show will be much faster and much more brutal then a punk show or a metal show. However, the mosh pit at a metal show is normally much larger, as metal acts tend to gain a lot more attention then hardcore acts.

Originally, there were different types of "slam dancing." One type was the slam dance itself, which is now referred to as moshing. However, there was also the "pogo", where dancers jumped up and down, as if on a pogo stick, and sometimes bumped into each other. In Germany, Brazil and Italy, pogo is the common name for all moshing.

If you want to start moshing, please read the moshing checklist.

See also: headbanging, stage diving, crowd surfing, air guitar, list of dances