Reuters - Video

Edition: US | UK | IN | CN | JP

video Eurozone

Protests over anti-Islam film erupt in Belgium
Protests over anti-Islam film erupt in Belgium - 00:47
Market Pulse: Buy Spanish debt when yields near 7%
Market Pulse: Buy Spanish debt when yields near 7% - 05:05
U.S. Morning Call: Investors come down after Fed euphoria
U.S. Morning Call: Investors come down after Fed euphoria - 02:36
Euro crisis watch: Is the pain over?
Euro crisis watch: Is the pain over? - 05:46
Europe Day Ahead: Lingering Spanish doubts halt rally
Europe Day Ahead: Lingering Spanish doubts halt rally - 02:45
Merkel calls for closer coordination
Merkel calls for closer coordination - 01:01
Economy 2012: Tumi CEO says luxury still has growth potential in Asia
Economy 2012: Tumi CEO says luxury still has growth potential in Asia - 05:59
Russia's $5bln bank stake sale
Russia's $5bln bank stake sale - 01:41
Royals go to court over topless pics, Rihanna leads MTV Europe noms
Royals go to court over topless pics, Rihanna leads MTV Europe noms - 01:42
Wall Street rally takes Monday pause
Wall Street rally takes Monday pause - 02:11
U.S. Morning Call: Stock futures signal a continuing drop
U.S. Morning Call: Stock futures signal a continuing drop - 02:36
Greek optimism despite recession
Greek optimism despite recession - 01:08

At Polish castle, knights arm up for medieval fight

Monday, May 04, 2015 - 01:38

Knights from 25 countries gather in Poland to compete in the Full Contact Medieval Fighting World Championships. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~**NONE** ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) Wielding swords and shields, the knights in heavy armour attack each other in scenes that could easily be mistaken for a staged reconstruction. But at this castle, the battles are real as the fighters try hard to defeat their opponents. Hundreds of men and women from 25 countries gathered at Poland's Malbork castle over the weekend for the full contact Medieval Combat World Championships in fast-paced duels, reminiscent of the battles of medieval Europe. Less bloody this time, the tournaments are refereed matches, scored like boxing, in which the objective is to get the opposition to the ground. As well as one-on-one fights, there are bigger tournaments with groups of three, five or 16 participants on each side. Dressed in heavy armour, the fighters use swords, shields and pole arms as they try to floor their opponents, cheered on by spectators. Preparations can be long, with participants training several times a week. The cost can also be high - the equipment must follow strict authenticity rules and is checked for safety. For the women fighters, the main even is a three versus three tournament. The four-day event at Malbork, the biggest brick castle in the world, saw the Poles swoop the most prizes. The U.S. team had dominated last year's championships in Spain. "This year the Polish have come back really really strong," U.S. participant Bill said. "There were just solid. It was a hard fight."

Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code

Close

At Polish castle, knights arm up for medieval fight

Monday, May 04, 2015 - 01:38