21st Century Knights keeps the thousand-year-old medieval sport alive

Jousting, which was popular in the Middle Ages, is still practiced by groups in the United States, Canada, and Europe

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Imagine that you are wearing 30 kg armor, riding a horse, carrying a 3 meter long spear and heading towards your opponent with the aim of striking him. This is how medieval knights settled their scores, a very common scene in period films. Now, imagine doing that in the 21st century, but for sport. It may seem strange, but more than a thousand years after its appearance, there are many people who practice fencing (or “fencing” in English), as this activity is called. Some just act, but others take the sport seriously, organizing tournaments among sports fans.

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In countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland, cultural events illustrating how fencing has been practiced for centuries are frequent. The same thing happens in North America. British Dominic Sewell, owner of a company that organizes historical events throughout the United Kingdom, explains that there are several types of duels, and some of them are simply entertainment shows. But, like Sewell, many of the sport's practitioners dreamed of competing in “real fencing.” One of them is American coach Jeffrey Hedgecock, who in 2003 began participating in British fencing and decided to take up competitive fencing in the United States and Canada.

“I saw a real fencing in Leeds, they did a kind of fencing that I liked,” Hedgecock said. “It was in 2003, and I asked to participate in the tournament they organize twice a year.” American refers to a competitive duel in which the knight with the most points wins. Currently, there is no body that regulates the sport, so rules change depending on the group and location of practice. Generally, the two competitors face each other, about 60 meters away from each other, on what looks like a track separated by a barrier. “This is called a slope, and it's usually a fence,” Hedgecock explains. In most tournaments, the one whose spear breaks through his opponent's shield wins. In some competitions, knocking your opponent down counts for points – sometimes more than breaking a spear.

But Hedgecock wanted more: his dream was to take fencing to North America. In 2007, he created the World Joust Tournaments, which organizes tournaments in San Diego, California, and Quebec, Canada. “We are trying to promote the sport in North America and Europe, and bring it back to its original roots by creating an arena where competitors can compete at the highest level, and the public can get an idea of ​​what fencing can be like,” he said. The Quebec competition is scheduled for September this year and the San Diego competition in October. “We hope to hold about six tournaments around the world within three years,” he said.

Hedgecock's enthusiasm for the sport was so great that he opened a school specializing in teaching fencing. The Cavalry School, in Ramona, California, is dedicated to teaching this technique to people who know how to ride a horse and want to learn how to fight with a spear and shield. There, he combines his role with his main job, as a forger of historical armor. “In addition to fencing, I teach how to use weapons on horseback. It's basically hitting targets with a spear or lance, or cutting targets with a sword,” he explained. Anyone can enroll in the school, as long as they know how to ride a horse well – as Hedgecock is not a riding instructor. You also need to have your own armor. “If you want to do a real duel, the armor has to be tailored to each person for it to work,” he said.

But learning fencing requires extensive training. “I start slowly: I observe the ride and put a small object in the student’s hand, like a small spear. He gets used to holding it with one hand while using the rein with the other,” the instructor explains. “So I increase his size until he gets used to the length of 3.3 meters and weight of 2.7 kilograms. Then we add a shield but take out the spear again,” he said. A student will only be able to compete against an opponent when he or she can safely reach a stationary target with a spear and using a shield. “It's a very progressive thing. You do a little bit at a time, in baby steps,” the coach said.

Medieval sports, modern men

Those who practice fencing today have a shared fascination with the Middle Ages, a subject that fascinates people around the world. But not to the point of believing that he was born at the wrong time. For Dominic Sewell and Jeffrey Hedgecock, the 'journey' of medieval fencing is limited to armor and exercise – they both enjoy living in the 21st century. “The heyday of dueling was a difficult time, and life was very boring,” Sewell said. “You would probably live your life in the same village, and if you saw anything amazing, it was a duel or battles.” Hedgecock treats fencing as a historical sport, “rather than a medieval sport.” “We believe that it is impossible to separate history from activism, because its origins go back to history. But at the same time, it applies to contemporary people, living in a modern world,” he said.

Since the sport does not produce professional athletes, most people who compete in fencing have another profession and side practice, as a hobby. But Sewell managed to combine his passion with his own business – horse breeding. His interest arose when he was a boy: he was born in Barnard Castle, a small British town that grew up around the castle. “When I grew up, I started participating in battle reenactments,” he said. Sewell loved it so much that he began training to ride in armor. Today, he runs Historic Equitation Limited, which services the government and other clients by staging historical events involving horses – many of which involve competitive jousting. “It took me almost 20 years of training to become a horse trainer, owner and designer,” he said.

Extreme sports?

The image most people have of this medieval sport is one of brutality and extremes. Historical accounts confirm this reputation: it was not rare for someone to die from a spear. But contemporary competitors in the sport claim that it is no more violent than many other sports currently practiced. For a hedgehog, boxing, martial arts, hockey and polo can be more dangerous than fair. Sewell has a similar opinion. He says it takes “a serious series of mistakes” for something serious to happen. “You might have some bruises, but nothing serious,” he said. “The risks can be avoided if the rider has the proper equipment and special horse training,” Sewell said. Hedgecock says no deaths have been reported in recent tournaments.

“What we're trying to do is show fencing as it was in the 15th century. It's still a sport, as it was then, but we're trying to recreate the armour, equipment and types of horses that were used in the 15th century.” Explains businessman Dominic Sewell. “We never write any text,” said the Briton, “we just count how many points each one gets with the number of spears we break on each other’s shield.”

Source: Terra