Deputy moonlights as a medieval knight
The clash of swords, axes and armor fed cheers from a crowd of several hundred.
One recent weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival, a scrum of armored knights appeared to be fighting for their lives in a freefor-all battle.
They hammered each other over the head with medieval weaponry. They punched and grappled each other to the ground until only one remained standing. The victor faced the crowd and raised his one-handed ax in triumph.
It was a typical weekend for Anthony Bernabeo, a veteran deputy and defense tactics instructor at the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office. In his off time, Bernabeo, 48, fights with Full Armored Combat, a Houston-area group that blends mixed martial arts with historically accurate armor and medieval weaponry. The group is composed of two teams, the Houston Outlaws and San Jacinto Knights.
Known for mostly unencumbered violence, the sport of armored combat began in Europe but in the last decade migrated to the United States. The Houston group, which performed every weekend at this year’s renaissance festival, has grown to about 40 members amid a surge of interest.
Unlike professional wrestling, the bouts aren’t scripted. Fighters swing heavy blunted weapons at full force and punch and wrestle as if locked in a street brawl. The goal is to bring the opponent to the ground, even if that means walloping a close friend with a 7pound battle ax.
For Bernabeo, the sport helps relieve the added stress of responding to emergency calls during the pandemic.
“It keeps me emotionally sane,” he said. “Especially with the COVID, certain calls are down … but your domestic disturbances and family violence and all that is through the roof. And dealing with so many people going through rough times, it gets pretty stressful.”
The appeal
Bernabeo has been kickboxing and involved in other competitive fighting since he was 7. He was one of the original members of what became Full Armored Combat. He picked up the sport about four years ago with James Fortner, a longtime professional jouster who owns Battlegrounds at Neblett Creek, a medieval sports combat facility in Anderson.
Together, they formed the Houston Outlaws. A second team, the San Jacinto Knights, soon followed. The teams share many of the same members and practice at both Fortner’s facility and Bernabeo’s fighting gym in Houston.
Men and women of all skill levels and backgrounds can join, Bernabeo said. Size does not always determine the winner. Smaller players may have a speed or balance advantage over larger ones. Strategy also changes depending on the style of fight, such as oneon-one, five-on-five or free-for-all.
Most members have a full-time day job, from engineering to truck dispatching to procurement for chemical plants. Although the hobby lends itself to people with experience in contact sports, the historical nature of the armor and weapons gives it an intellectual appeal.
“It’s therapeutic, and it’s a very efficient hobby,” said Simon Rohrich, a nationally recognized armored combat fighter who appeared at the renaissance festival.
“You can dress up like a nerd. You can be really violent and athletic and hang out with generally smart people in goofy clothes and travel. What’s there not to like about that?”
Rohrich has represented the United States nearly every year in the Battle of the Nations, the international world championship. He has become a traveling ambassador for armored combat since he appeared in “Knight Fights” on History Channel. Now in its second season, the show has been credited for galvanizing the recent wave of interest in the sport in the United States.
Rohrich estimated that there are now roughly 40 teams nationwide, including the Dallas Warlords, a frequent competitor of Full Armored Combat.
How to fight
There are multiple leagues that host medieval fighting tournaments, all of which abide by specific rules laid out by the International Medieval Combat Federation. It dictates the specific weight and material requirements for the armor and weapons. It also outlines banned techniques, such as strikes to the groin, back of the knee and the neck.
Referees, or “field marshals,” look for violations and stop fights if armor wiggles loose. Severe rule infractions could lead to a team or individual disqualification.
EMTs are on site as injuries do happen. Rohrich missed the the Battle of the Nations one year because of a skull fracture. Joshua Kuhlman, who runs the business side of Full Armored Combat, underwent surgery in February for a torn ACL.
“You don’t walk away from a weekend without bruises,” said Kuhlman.
Decorum changes slightly at the renaissance festival, where the priority is entertainment over competition. The matches retain the feel of an all-out brawl, but the fighters typically avoid striking injury-prone parts of body.
For novices, entry into the sport requires dedication and guidance, said Tanner Cox, captain of the San Jacinto Knights. New fighters must choose at least three layers of armor in different styles of the Middle Ages. The full suits, usually made of steel or titanium, could cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 and weigh more than 100 pounds.
“If you don’t have anybody to guide you, it’s like learning a foreign language by yourself,” said Cox. “You have to dig in deep and find out what the proper materials are and how it’s supposed to fit.”
Bernabeo dons black and red metal armor that adds about 120 pounds to his 260-pound frame.
After his first match of the day at the renaissance festival, he meandered around the grounds while his suit squeaked at the joints. At one point, he hid his thick black beard under a leather Krampus mask that he made himself.
In his armor, he goes by “Sir Anthony,” a moniker he embraces with childlike satisfaction.
“I grew up wanting to be a knight,” he said. “I grew up watching shows like Excalibur and King Arthur tales … and to get up there to fight and have these little kids cheering you on is just awesome.”