The United States has a rapidly expanding sport known as Medieval Combat or Armored Combat. A few years ago, there were less than fifty people that competed in the sport. Now, there are dozens of teams across the USA that compete in several different leagues. The leagues all carry different rule sets and different requirements for armor. But, if you want to compete internationally, there is only ONE league for that.
What Medieval knight Leagues are in the USA?
There are three primary groups in the USA. BUHURT LEAGUE {BL} (formerly HMBIA), ACS (Armored Combat Sports) and ACW (Armored Combat Worldwide). The first, BUHURT LEAGUE is an organizational effort from across the globe to standardize armored combat. It is where most serious fighters put their attention and time in order to compete on the world stage. Buhurt League has events happening all over the world all the time. ACS is actually moving to adopt many of the Buhurt League standards and work in cooperation with them. The leadership of ACS see’s cooperation with BL as an opportunity for growth and expansion that will only benefit the fighters involved.
Lastly, while Armored Combat Worldwide infers that they operate all over the globe, they primarily have all their events take place within the USA. There are some small groups that operate in other countries, but the ACW has no real connection with the international armored combat community as a whole. The organization itself is headed up by one man. The group used to have an international travel team called the “Striking Eagles”, but it has since been disbanded since the league owner was banned from participating in some international tournaments.
WHAT ARE THE BEST TEAMS IN THE USA?
This question is hotly debated and often a subject of ire depending on which League a person participates in. To answer the question, you must first breakdown which league is the best in the USA and why. The simple answer is that ACS and BUHURT LEAGUE have the most participation both nationally and internationally. They also are working towards a common goal of standardized rule sets and increased participation. Further, fighters from the ACS/BL have entered into regional championships of the ACW and beat all teams present with every match lasting less than 25 seconds. It is therefore easy to say the best teams of the USA exist within the ACS and BL.
Best teams by rank (purely the opinion of this website)
- Knights of Dominus – Combination of the best fighters from several teams in the USA and Australia
- Warlords – ACS Champions several years running
- Cerberus – First USA team to participate in Buhurt Prime
*Only Male teams are discussed in this article. For information about female teams, use your favorite search engine to learn more.
HOW DO I JOIN A MEDIEVAL KNIGHT TEAM?
In order to join, you should look on social media and search up BUHURT or ARMORED COMBAT for your area. If you are in the Northwest, CERBERUS EMISSUS has a training facility outside of Portland Oregon. If you are in Texas, the WARLORD ACADEMY is happy to take you in. If you are on the EAST COAST, check out the KNIGHT’S HALL for training and information. But… Be careful. There are groups out there that aren’t interested in teaching you how to fight in armor. They’re interested in getting you to purchase overpriced armor and pay annual dues to their group so someone can make a profit off of you. Just be smart and ask lots of people from lots of different leagues about what you should (and shouldn’t) be a part of.