USA, Poland win gold in…Medieval Combat World Championships?
May 6, 2014, 2:26 AM | Updated: 2:27 am
Long before “Game of Thrones” and Medieval Times restaurants, there were the real Medieval times — and they’re back.
Sort of.
Poland and the USA recently took the gold medal in the longsword event at the 2014 Medieval Combat World Championships.
Poland won for the men’s team, while USA won for the women, who were allowed to compete in the championships for the first time.
The bouts are based on real tournaments held during the 14th and 15th centuries, and the rules were actually codified by a royal named King René of Anjou in the early 1400s, NTD.TV reported.
While Medieval tournaments and combat have a reputation for being violent, Australian fighter Martin Cazey said the injury rates are comparable to that of an average rugby tournament.
“Fair play is a big part of this sport, said Cazey. “As soon as the fight is over, we help each other up off the ground, we go and give each other a hug and go and buy a beer for each other.”
Sounds good to me!
