When Mixed Martial Arts burst into pop culture, it changed the way the world perceived martial arts. The fight sport challenged the validity of traditional martial arts like Kung Fu because the ancient disciplines failed to produce that many champions. Traditionalists scrambled to make excuses to justify their practice in the public eye. One of the simplest counterarguments is that most martial traditions include medieval weapons not allowed in the cage. However, beyond Japanese Kendo and Olympic Fencing, weapons combat as a sport has been limited to niche clusters of practitioners. If Jeff Waters gets his way, that's all about to change.

Waters is the founder and president of a new sport fighting organization dubbed Valhalla Modern Gladiatorial League. Valhalla MGL is the amalgamation of historical re-enactment combat and MMA. It aspires to combine Eastern and Western fight disciplines into one professional full-contact armed fighting sport, where contests are determined by knockout, tap out or time out (judges' decision). MGL's very first event, Valhalla I, was held in Monterey, California, on September 30, 2017.

 

Weighing In on Weapon Combat

“We need more anger and violence,” says Waters tongue-in-cheek as he watches his fighters gather in a pool hall. The weigh-in and press conference for Valhalla I was held the day prior to the fights, just like any such match. Fighters gathered at the Blue Fin Cafe and Billiards hall in the heart of Cannery Row, deep in the touristy waterfront district of scenic Monterey. But unlike so many steroidal testosterone-packed weigh-ins of MMA bouts, full of agro hate, this was a very friendly gathering. With six weight divisions, Valhalla MGL's weigh-in is an MMA trapping that the fledgling league poached, along with an MMA cage, a bell timer, and even ring card girls. But they didn’t carry over the smack talk. These fighters are passionate about what they do and have a deep love for their community. So when it came to the face-off, that time-honored fixture at any weigh-in, the fighters had a hard time keeping a straight face. The armored fight community is not that large, so all the fighters knew each other well, and like true comrades-in-arms they treated each other with honor and respect. They even staged a playful scuffle at the press conference, just for laughs.

The fighters came from two communities, The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (SCA) and Historical Medieval Battles (HMB). For readers unaware of these organizations, the SCA is an international living history group founded in 1966. Often associated with Renaissance festivals (the granddaddy of today's cosplay), the SCA claims over 30,000 members around the globe, and twice as many if non-member participants are included. They have been staging full-contact armored combat contests for decades, using traditional armor and modified sticks instead of blades. The HMB is a relatively new organization that has emerged in Europe and is rapidly spreading around the world. It is focused on medieval armor and weapons combat but with steel weapons, real steel, just without an edge. Kendo uses shinai made from bamboo and leather, while most weapon combatants practice with weapons that are padded, made of wood or, recently, polypropylene. Only fencing uses steel weapons for combat, and they've coined a phrase about it – “sentiment du fer” – which translates from the French into “feel of the steel.” Real steel swords move like nothing else. They are faster, lighter, more aerodynamic and much more lethal. Since 2009, HMB has staged an annual steel combat world championship, The Battle of the Nations. Some 25,000 attend the event each year and the championship boasts 33 national teams. At the 2017 Battle of the Nations, held in the century-old La Monumental in Barcelona, Spain, China fielded its first team, the Brotherhood of Huben. The next scheduled HMB steel combat in the United States is the International Tournament of Chivalry III in Springfield, Illinois, on October 13–14, 2017.

Valhalla MGL fighters are bound by a new set of rules, dubbed Armored Martial Arts. (AMA isn't the best acronym because that's already claimed by the American Medical Association, and short for "ask me anything" in Twitterese). Armored Martial Arts rules are based on an amalgamation of unified rules for historical re-enactment combat used by the SCA and HMB along with the unified rules of MMA. Beyond sword, spear and shield, punches, kicks, knees and elbows are permitted, as well as takedowns. If the fight goes to the ground, the fighters are allowed 15 seconds or 5 blows before they are separated and stood back up. The fights were 3X2 (3 2-minute rounds with a one-and-a-half minute rest period in between). Valhalla I used a standard eight-sided padded cage, 22 feet across.

On September 5, 2017, the California State Athletic Commission sent MGL a cease-and-desist notification. However, the laws governing full-contact fights specifically state that they are for unarmed combat, so on September 20 the commission sent another letter stating “the Commission does not have sufficient authority for imposing sanctioning requirements on such an event” and rescinded the original cease-and-desist letter. So the fights could go on.

 

Fight Day in Monterey

It was a strangely sunny day for Monterey. The seaside town is often foggy in early fall, but not on this Saturday. Valhalla I was held in one of California's most historic amphitheaters. The main bowl of the Monterey County Fairgrounds, the Pattee Arena, was the site of the Monterey Pop Festival 50 years ago, a pivotal gathering during the Summer of Love that showcased sixties luminaries like Janis Joplin, The Who, and the Grateful Dead. The venue hasn't changed since then. Serrated bleacher roofs that zig-zag like shark's teeth point to a modest main stage where Jimi Hendrix burned his guitar (allegedly the char marks are still there). However, cage fights are staged in the round, so the cage was set in the center under the blazing midday sun.

There were nine scheduled matches and three steel demonstration fights. Attendance was low for such a large venue, but that's not surprising given the unique and unprecedented nature of this event. An acoustic duet warmed up the crowd, the lovely young singer Reija Massey and guitarist Bart Keagy, playing cover songs. Massey, donning unseasonable fur-lined black velvet, also sang a haunting traditional Norwegian song acapella, much in the spirit of knights in armor. In contrast, adding volume to the show, the fairgrounds are the flight path of the airport; the following day was the launch of Fleet Week in San Francisco, so fighter jets roared over as they prepared for the festivities. You know how people often say concerts are "louder than a jet engine"? That really makes no sense after you've actually been under a jet engine. Jet engines are deafeningly loud. The fighters and the audience all took it in stride. If you're going to enjoy some live sword fights, singers in black velvet and jet engines just add more entertainment to your ticket value.

Ed Carthell was the Marshal, the head referee and the man in the cage who had to separate the fighters. Carthell is a longtime veteran of the SCA with a background in Fencing, Kendo, and an assortment of other fighting arts. He donned a custom helmet and heavy steel gauntlets to protect himself from wild sword blows. Three other judges sat ringside to score points, should the fight go the distance. There was a knockout and several serious stoppages. Make no mistake. This is full contact fighting…in armor. Some of those suits of armor go up to 50 pounds. That can make and take a heavy hit. The small crowd was very enthusiastic, cheering rabidly at every well-landed blow. Sword play makes for bigger combat actions for spectators, so unlike grappling which is hard to see unless up close, a sword blow is very visual...and auditory. The sound is impressive. The clatter of steel armor is constant throughout the bout, and when a blow lands true, the impact can be heard like the crunch of linebackers off the line of scrimmage.

Most of the fighters opted for sword and shield, though some wielded two-handed swords or pole arms. Additionally, many had back-up daggers that were drawn if they lost their weapons or had their weapons trapped in a clinch. These were particularly useful when the fights went to the ground because it’s hard to choke someone out or secure a tap-out worthy arm bar in just 15 seconds when the opponent is wearing armor. The shields were also used for punching attacks. Many of the more successful fighters had agile narrower shields designed more for striking. Kicks and punches were used, and one fighter even launched a flying attack off the cage, but the armor is inhibiting. It's heavy and restricting. Even though the 3X2 rounds were similar to that of amateur MMA fights, MMA fighters only wear fight shorts, gloves, a cup, and a mouthpiece. There's no comparison to 30 to 50 pounds of armor. Even a pound of weapon gets heavy in combat. Endurance is a major factor and many fighters started gassing out by the second round.

Takedowns and grappling were both very effective because, just like in the early days of MMA, many fighters had little experience with this sort of attack. A few bouts were won through takedowns. When they fell, the crash was loud – not as loud as a jet engine, but louder than the drum-like rings that Professional Wrestling amplifies for heightened drama. Only the armor wasn't amplified. In all likelihood, the Armored Martial Arts cage fights will progress to more takedowns and ground work, given the potential for a knockout. And it will be interesting to see what happens if a heavy-handed boxer or a super kicker armors up and enters this cage. Given the rules as they stand now, and the nature of cage fighting, MMA might have the last laugh someday.

Carthell believes the community would welcome more martial artists onto the field and is eager to train any serious newcomers. But it must be noted that the armor is a significant investment. It’s not like you can just buy suits of armor from your friendly American martial arts supplier. These suits must be custom made by skilled craftsmen. And they are stunning. The metalwork in many of the suits is truly beautiful as well as functional, lending credence to the glory of knights in shining armor.

But for now, since it is just beginning, Armored Martial Arts fights are a little reminiscent of the early days of MMA before streamlining into an international sport. Back in the eighties, cage fights were billed as NHB – no holds barred – until the sport realized that many things should be barred in the interest of safety, so it was re-marketed as MMA. There's a primal and raw atmosphere to the armor fighting scene, visceral like a good old grassroots smoker fight. There are no big purses to be won, no coveted belts, no potential for advertising endorsements or movie deals for the fighters. They fight because they love to fight. For spectators, the audience doesn't need to understand much about the sanguineous history and culture of sword fighting to enjoy a good hit. It's an entertaining family-friendly show, worth the price of admission.

Valhalla II is scheduled for November 11, 2017, at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds in Ridgefield, Washington.