by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
If you see a group of guys at Roosevelt Park next weekend attacking each other with steel swords, don't be alarmed.
There will be a tournament noon on Saturday at Roosevelt Park for Intense Medieval Combat, a group of people who battle with real weapons and armor constructed in medieval design.
"So far, I've just gotten a lot of questions: 'Is that real?' Yes. It hurts," said Derek Taylor, president of the organization. "It might hurt you. It won't kill you."
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The members of the group are like kids who fight with sticks as swords and trash can lids as shields, Taylor said.
"Basically, we refused to grow up," he said. "Instead of stopping with sticks, we picked up books and learned other things."
Taylor said he started the group about a year ago with Nial Tack.
All the members were part of similar groups around the city, but those groups weren't right for them, Tack said.
"We didn't like the politics of those worlds," he said.
The other groups aren't as extreme as Intense Medieval Combat, member Derek Robinson said.
"They're all a bunch of girls compared to what we do,"
he said.
Member Dominic Ortega said his favorite part of the group is beating up his friends.
"At first, I was hesitant," he said. "I was like, 'You guys are insane.' They talked me into fighting. I did it, and I was like, 'That's not bad. I want some more.'"
It's not just about the combat, though, Ortega said. Members delve into a medieval culture, he said.
Group members can study any tradition they want, Taylor said.
"Everybody has a basic idea of the medieval types," he said. "With this, there's a lot more history behind it most people don't tap into."
Ortega said he is interested in Samurai culture.
"Most of it's like the warfare aspect of the culture," he said.
Taylor said real-life combat is what separates the organization from traditional martial arts.
"There's no school to learn this at," he said. "Here, it's, 'Hit him. Feel what it's like to swing a sword at full speed.'"
However, there are rules to make sure people don't get seriously injured, Tack said.
Fighters cannot thrust their swords, he said. The armor and blades must be tailored so the blade cannot penetrate the protective gear, he said.
"It's completely hack and slash," he said.
Members of the group make their armor from sheet metal and leather, Taylor said.
He said his armor, modeled after Viking garb, weighs about 100 pounds.
"Armor will break. Weapons will break," he said. "If the armor fails, someone is on the ground in pain."
The armor costs about $500 to make, Taylor said. The swords are store-bought, because homemade swords tend to break easier, he said.
Most steel swords cost between $20 and $900, he said.
The cheaper ones, called breaker swords, should only be used for dramatic effect, he said.
Taylor said cuts and bruises are common. The worst injury he has had was a fractured arm, when his armor failed and a sword came crashing into his forearm, he said.
"It's not a pretty show," he said. "We're fighting."
