Medieval sword fighting made modern by Winnipeg group

WINNIPEG — It’s an ancient art made modern. A renaissance of sorts. Turning swords into sport.

Winnipeg’s Historical Combat League is helping to resurrect European martial arts – sword fighting using medieval era weapons.

“There’s lots of regular events for mixed martial arts and for boxing,” said the group’s co-founder, Cody Skillen. “But there’s not a lot of regular events for weapons based combat.”

The battles are quick and fierce. You either win or die.

Alright…not quite.

“Essentially if you take a sharp sword and compress it, it makes these edges wider and safer so you don’t cut each other,” said Skillen.

The duels aren’t dangerous. At most, you leave with a few bumps and bruises. Rookies also aren’t allowed in metal only matches.

“You don’t have to come in and worry about having a broken finger because you’re fighting with foam,” said Les Pattison, co-founder of the Historical Combat League.

The group has been around for just a few months but has already staged a tournament for its half-dozen members.

“It’s fun,” said Bernhard Jungreithmeier. “The entire concept of grabbing a sword because it’s just a very old fashion and uncommon practice nowadays.”

But is becoming prevalent thanks to shows such as Game of Thrones.

“Popular shows are definitely fueling this,” said Pattison. “There’s also an overall surge in the popularity in it and the people who want to get involved.”

And fight to get this historical hobby noticed.