"Anyone watching Knight Fights on History Channel?" Topic

I caught an episode last week and found it mildly entertaining if you can tune out the judges' chatter. Blunted steel weapons, mail, both plate and chain, shields and some professional fighters of various ilks. Things I took away:

1. A shield can be quite the offensive weapon, especially a smaller one.
2. Grappling and pushing and or throwing your opponent to the ground tends to give one the (literally) upper hand.
3. 90 seconds of full tilt action leaves even the best conditioned athlete gasping for breath
4. A full baseball bat swing with a double handed mace to the ribs tends to take the fight out of an opponent.
5. MMA skills mean jack. In other words don't drop your weapons and shield and try to subdue an armed opponent with your fists. (MMA athlete was dumb)

Perhaps not great scholarly research but entertaining nonetheless. Great background while painting Celts.

5. MMA…

I thought it was hilarious that they gave him a small buckler and hand axe to fight with. Of course, he had never done this before so he was doomed to begin with.

I thought of him as the equivalent of a Red Shirt.

Watched it last week, won't bother watching anymore.

I hate the commentators who to me sound like "know it all- jerks" To keep their jobs they should have to fight a few rounds to show how good they are.

As to the show, using unsharpened blades is like having a gun fight without bullets. Sharp weapons kill by the edge. The so called armour the fighters wearng would not last 2 minutes in a real fight. For example a Saracen warrior wielding a Damascus steel scimitar would cut them to pieces.

It is just up classed SCA without experienced fighters.

Skip knight fights and just check out the "Battle of Nations" videos on youtube. This is where they pulled most of the fighters from. It has larger melees in larger arenas and is much more entertaining. Plus no cheesy announcers.

I used to fight SCA quite a bit and essentially while SCA is a quick man's game, disallowing most of the tactics that gave big men advantages in melees (Grabbing, throwing, shield bashing, etc) battle of nations/knight fights is the opposite a big man's game, where these things are allowed and the quick guy loses his advantages in a confined arena.

It would be nice to see a combination where you get the best of both world, open up the fighting tactics but not have the enclosed spaces. As a big guy if I was 15-20 years younger I would have been all over battle of nations. It looks like a ton of fun to me.

The MMA guy was more like a baby seal. Everytime he would get up a overhead blow would drop him…no defense.

I have quite enjoyed it.

Ok Reactors time to join the real world. These guys on this show are fit and skilled.

Comments on here are," not skilled fighters,"?

Are you messed up? Have you actually watched the show? Are you part of this combat league?

Guess what? Take part in this and you are done. These guys are trained.

Leidang and Wackamole your comments mean to me join the combat and get your fat ass handed to you. Because you are skilled? Go back to your parents basement that have thd participation ribbons there. Pathetic comments by the uninformed non combatants.

History Channel has lined with with the Armoured combat league, yet the TMP geeks think they know the difference or comparison? That's embarrassing for all of us.