Medieval Combat in Cranbrook

By Michelle Forbes

Deep inside every person is the child that once dreamed of being a knight, and sword fighting some villainous foe. In Cranbrook, three Medieval enthusiasts have turned this into a reality, inspired by combat witnessed at The Kimberley City bakery Medieval Festival, 2016.

Over the last year, Chelsea Martin, Cole Peardon and Laura McKeil learned the ins and outs of the world-wide sport of Medieval Combat, creating B.C.’s first club fighting under the International Medieval Combat Federation (IMBF) rules as well as Historical Medieval Battle (HMB) rules.

While the sport has been quite popular in Eastern Canada, boasting many groups in Quebec and Ontario, the last few years has seen a growth in popularity in Western Canada, with groups from the Yukon, Lethbridge, Edmonton, Calgary, Hinton, Saskatchewan, and Cranbrook, coming together to fight each other in tournaments, such as The Kimberley City Bakery Medieval Festival and The Brooks Medieval Faire.

After one fight at Kimberley’s 2016 Medieval Festival, a knight announced, “If anyone is crazy enough to want to do this, come talk to us after the fight.”

And after trying on some equipment, and swinging a sword, The Fighters of the Feral Fang was born. With the help of Brakkas Brozny, originally from Lethbridge, Martin, Peardon and McKeil slogged through the paperwork of forming a society, researching techniques, and starting training – first with hockey sticks and hockey gloves, then with wooden dowels, and eventually with swords and armour.

They now each have armour, and are working towards having a full kit (the word historical re-enactors use to refer to their costumes and weapons). A full kit is from a specific time period and style, and includes civilian garb – tunic, pants, shoes, belt, and hat for when they are not fighting – as well as their fighting gear – which includes a base layer (under armour, for the irony), groin protection, a padded layer on the torso and legs, armour, including helmet, neck protection, chest/back plate, shoulder and arm armour, gauntlets, leg armour, sabatons, and a tabard with team colours.

The Fighters of the Feral Fang love fighting, citing it as great stress relief, adrenaline rush, a lot of fun, and a great way to get active, while living out fantasy novels. Complete with a built in Hallowe’en costume.

Peardon adds that as a medieval weapons junkie, he now gets to use the medieval weapons he always admired. And the fighting is real, and a little brutal, to be honest. There are few things that draw a crowd the way the sound of swords on armour does, but they hastened to assure me that, in spite of bruises, and a broken tooth, it is a chivalrous sport.

“We all go to work on Mondays, so we are not trying to hurt or injure each other,” Peardon says. “Each bout starts with a respectful salute, fight, fight, fight, and a hug at the end. I’ve seen a video of a fight, where a fighter motioned to his opponent that his neck flap had come loose, and his opponent fixed the neck flap, before continuing the battle. There’s a real sense of camaraderie amongst the knights, more than any other sport I’ve seen.”

That doesn’t mean it is completely unlike other sports, in spite of the swords. McKeil says that boxing translates really well, as they work on footwork and grappling, and they also draw from other martial arts to ensure hits are clean and fighting techniques are fair.

After the Kimberley City Bakery Medieval Festival, they were invited to fight at the World Championship for Team Canada, but there is more to it than just deciding to go. In addition to funding the trip, the kit has to be complete, and documented accurate, within 100 years for everything worn.

McKeil’s kit is late 15th century German gothic, which is black, pointy, and intimidating, while Peardon’s is early 14th century French renaissance, and has no plate armour (plate armour being a 15th century invention), and Martin’s is late 15th century Italian Milanese, which is shiny, smooth, and prettier. So, for now, they are working to grow the sport here in Cranbrook, work on their kit, and fight with other Western Canadian groups, when the occasion arises.

If you are interested in seeing the sport, or trying it out, their practices are Sunday mornings at Kinsman Park (Victoria Avenue, past 5th Street South) at 10 a.m.

For those interested in joining, the first practice is observation only. The second practice is a free participation practice, where participants have a chance to swing swords, try the techniques, and see if it is something they enjoy. The third practice is joining the club, as a squire. It is only 10$ a month to start, with outdoor practices, and the opportunity to borrow equipment to start.

So, if you are interested in entering the medieval world of knight combat, McKeil’s message is this: “Please come to practice. We want to meet new people. And fight them.” The age of the knight has returned. The question is, will you join?

Lead image: Laura McKeil, Cole Peardon, and Chelsea Martin at The Kimberley City Bakery Medieval Festival 2017. Photo by Michelle Forbes

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