Modern-day knights clash with real steel in Pocatello
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POCATELLO — Under a hot sun, two men are sweating in full plate armor as they approach each other, swords at the ready.
The first knight is wearing a black and white tunic over his weathered silver armor. The other knight wears a green cloth over the breastplate of his dark black armor. Both wield longswords.
The knights tap blades, as a show of chivalry and respect for each other as competitors, and then their swords clash.
Despite the medieval equipment of these two knights, it’s 2023 C.E. These are two fighters for the Salt Lake City Crusaders, and they compete in Buhurt, or armored combat, a mixed martial arts sport where participants wear real armor and wield real weapons to defeat each other in duels or team battles.
Unlike the knights between 1200 – 1599 C.E. (from which the competitors’ armor must be historically accurate), these knights aren’t trying to kill. They fight with real steel but dulled blades. They fight because they love the competition.
A fighter from ‘Knight Fight’
Pocatello got to witness these fighters go toe to toe at the Mystic Realms Fantasy Fair on Saturday and Sunday. They compete across the country, and some are even competitive worldwide.
Ryan Weaver, a member of the Idaho Rat Pack, the Gem State’s Buhurt team, has been fighting for 22 years and was on the History Channel’s program “Knight Fight.” He said that he’s witnessed the sport grow and change a lot since he started.
The big change he’s seen is that there’s more money in the sport, and more people participating now.
“We’re not putting up our own money to buy water and feed people and get people places,” Weaver said. “There’s a little bit of support that way for the teams.”
Weaver said that he finds the experience of competing against his fellow knights “incredibly rewarding.”
“It feels like I’m doing what I’m supposed to do,” Weaver said. “There is something incredibly satisfying about pitting yourself against other warriors and just seeing where … you actually stack up.”
Weaver said that there are even international competitions that people can compete in if they can travel to Europe.
Weaver has traveled overseas with the U.S. team five times and is a one-time world silver medallist. He said that at those competitions, he got to fight for two days in a French castle and talk to people from over a dozen different countries.
The Idaho Rat Pack
The fighters who compete on June 17 and 18 at the Fantasy Fair all come from a wide range of backgrounds. William O’Keeffe, second in command for the Idaho Rat Pack, is a former Marine and has 20 years of experience in MMA fighting.
As someone who’s trained as a modern soldier and a knight, O’Keefe sees a connection between himself and the warriors of old while watching the duel.
He said that although they aren’t fighting to the death, what they do in the ring is still dangerous.
“We’re not trying to kill each other out here, but we’re ‘not-not’ playing with our lives,” O’Keeffe said. “We’re swinging heavy weapons at each other in armor.”
He said that to participate in the sport, the fighters buy and repair all of their equipment, so they take responsibility for it.
“We’re the ones in charge of repairing (our armor), so we want it to be damn near perfect,” O’Keeffe said.
O’Keefe also spoke about the training regimen they all follow on the team. They have three major practices in a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the fighters exercise and train their bodies to wear the heavy armor.
Monday practices are generally weapons and armor repair and maintenance, because O’Keeffe said that’s training in and of itself. On Wednesdays, the team will throw on soft armor and practice grapples and some team melee. Then on Fridays, they’ll armor up and do their actual strike and technique practicing.
Knights jump from the past into the present
The duel between the knights doesn’t go as some would expect. Early on, the blade of knight in the black and white tunic came clean off his hilt. Being a chivalrous competitor, the green knight brings him one of his own swords.
They resume the duel, striking hard at each other. The fight ends when the green knight’s helm is damaged. This would leave him vulnerable in a fight, so the match ends.
Many fights, hundreds of years earlier, likely went this way for knights on the battlefield. A sword breaks, a helm is damaged and a knight pays for it with his life or in ransom.
O’Keeffe, Weaver and the rest of the Idaho Rat Pack are excited to continuing training with steel and bring history to life.
Weaver said that they’re always looking for more people to get involved in the sport. He said those interested can contact them on their facebook page. Men and women who are at least 18 are eligible for official competition, but younger people can participate in practice and internal tournaments with parental consent.
And O’Keeffe said that they’re always looking for people to participate in a support position, whether that be in armor repair, refereeing, organizing and selling merchandise.
“We love having new people come out. It’s fun for us and fun for them,” Weaver said. “Whatever we can do to help them get in armor and get going, we’re happy to do.”
Watch the knights fight in the video player above.