Medieval madness in Okotoks Saturday

A tournament in Okotoks this weekend was a blast from the past, courtesy of the Historical Armored Combat Sports Association, or HACSA.

The medieval armoured combat tournament had participants crossing live steel.

The mixed martial arts-style combat tests the mastery of weapons ranging from longswords to polearms, axes and shields.

Those aren't fake weapons... competitors must wear full steel or titanium armour weighing up to 100 pounds or 45 kilograms.

Duels, melees and pro fights feature full contact fighting, but competitors are also judged on chivalrous behavior.

Participants say they try to make everything as authentic as possible, with a few modifications.

“We've got some modifications that take away from historical accuracy to allow for greater safety because of what we did,” says Ian Tivendale, president of HACSA. “So things like our helmets a lot of the helmets are a lot thicker and more bulbous than historical counterparts.

"Because in history, if you were fighting on the battlefield, you needed that to save you once. One good hit, if you survived, you’re good, you got out of there, right? For here, we expect to get hit in the head all day long. So we need a little extra padding, a little extra armor, right?”

You can find out more, and maybe even give armored combat sports a try, by checking out HACSA on Facebook.