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The tense knights on the battlefield pause briefly as they size each other up before the fray. Once the first knight charges, the air rings with the distinct clash of metal as halberds, broadswords and battle axes meet carefully crafted armor, small protection in a fight with very few rules.
The participants in this battle are engaged in medieval armored combat, a full-contact style of fighting that pits teams of 16 against each other in a match that follows historical tournament rules. Every year, the best knights from around the world head to the International Medieval Combat Federation’s (IMCF) World Championships to represent their countries and display their modern take on Middle Ages badassery.
In 2012, the U.S. team fought at the competition in Poland and suffered some brutal losses. The same thing happened in France the following year, but in 2014, CrossFit got involved.
CrossFit sponsored five participants in the sport and committed to helping them improve their fitness as they prepared for the new competition season. Anthony Lynch, Chris Wemmer, Steven Schroeder, Erik Saari and Dmitriy Ryaboy are the Knights of CrossFit.
Equal parts documentary and “Game of Thrones,” this melee-filled video follows the knights on their fitness and fighting journeys.
Watch as they take on a formidable foe named Fran, and see the difference a few months of CrossFit training made when the Sport of Fitness met the sport of fighting at the 2014 IMCF World Championships in Cuenca, Spain.
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