Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Medieval MMA with Armour

From the job site to the battlefield, one Local 63 member takes on medieval mixed martial arts (MMA) after hours

Like many Canadian workers, as soon as Local 63 member Christy Nicholson clocks out, she works out—except instead of athletic gear, she dons 80 pounds of armour.

The fourth-year carpentry apprentice employed by Nason Contracting Group Ltd. spends her free time practicing and competing in the sport of buhurt (from the Old French béhourd, which means wallop), where combatants wear fully functional armour and wield blunted swords, axes, pole arms, and other weapons.

From the outside, it looks like a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. From the inside, it’s a high-octane sport that promises combat, camaraderie, and cool swords.

We sat down with Christy to discuss her fascinating pastime.

How did you get into buhurt?
I was at Comic Expo in Calgary a couple years ago, and they were advertising this event called “Knight Fight.” I was curious, so I went and checked it out. It was a demonstration of one versus one, and the combatants were using long swords, short swords, pots and pans, and it was really entertaining.

Then I saw one of the fighters take off their helmet and saw it was a woman! I looked at her and went, “Oh, this is awesome! There are women doing this sport!”

I approached her later and it was Alexa, captain of the Calgary Gryphons, which is part of the Historical Armored Combat Sports Association. The Gryphons actually have 10 women on the team, which is awesome, and made it easier for me to join the league. We have women from all over Alberta who come and train with us, and we hold a women’s night at least once every two months.

There are a lot of rules to buhurt, but it’s basically like medieval MMA with armour. I was always involved with martial arts, so I had that background going for me. But I had to stop competing in martial arts because I kept getting too many concussions!

Coincidentally, I got a concussion competing at my first buhurt tournament because I was wearing an ill-fitting helmet. The helmet shifted back and I got knocked in the head pretty badly. Now, I always make sure my helmet fits my head properly!

I’m currently renting out my armour from the Gryphons, but I’m also slowly making my own armour in my spare time. I’m calling my armour Trash Can because I get a lot of my materials from the trash bin at work!

How physically demanding is the sport?
It’s definitely harder than it looks, and it’s an intense workout. You’re wearing 80 pounds of armour, and you’re not just lifting 80 pounds—you have to figure out how to do the moves and maneuver your body while wearing it. We have three practices a week—two rookie practices and one veterans practice—so it’s more intense than working out at the gym.

It takes a while to get used to wearing the armour because it restrains your movement. It’s like the equivalent of wearing all of your winter gear and then being wrapped up in a car door. And a lot of times, we do tournaments outside and at renaissance faires, so you’re outside and dying of heat under all that armour.

What are tournaments like?
We usually have tournaments on Saturdays and Sundays at venues across Alberta. I’m in the Calgary chapter, and there are also chapters in Red Deer, Edmonton, High River, and Lethbridge. But there are chapters all over Canada.

We do a lot of competing at renaissance faires, because it’s a way of bringing history back into the modern world. We’re really popular with little kids because it looks cool, and we let them hit us with our armour on.

It’s definitely an up-and-coming sport and gaining popularity in Canada. We’re just a bunch of athletic nerds hitting each other with swords!

What Is Medieval Combat?

Buhurt, or armoured combat, is a modern, full-contact fighting sport with steel blunt weapons characteristic of the Middle Ages. Armour and weapons have to follow regulations on historical authenticity and safety.

Fighters are covered in full modern-produced protective armour made from steel (or other metal alloy if permitted) to be aesthetically as close to their historical counterparts as possible. Hits and blows may be aimed at any parts of the body (with the limitations set in the regulations). Both wrestling and percussive techniques are permitted.

Unlike staged battles, which can be seen at festivals of historical reenactment of the Middle Ages, the competitions in buhurt are full-contact sporting events. They are refereed by the knight marshals who have special training and combat experience.

The sport follows formalized rules that govern how fights are won and how safety is enforced. According to the official Battle of the Nations Rules for Buhurt Categories, a fighter is out of the fight if they fall with a third point of contact, leave the combat area, lose essential protective gear, or continue without a weapon. All bouts are overseen by trained referees known as marshals, with a knight marshal making final decisions. Equipment must meet strict safety and authenticity standards and is inspected before every match.

Source: hacsacanada.com

Christy Nicholson

Medieval MMA with Armour

What Is Medieval Combat?

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