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The Warlords will host other fighters in full-contact armored combat during the 2019 Shadow Renaissance Festival Friday-Sunday, July 26-28. Courtesy/Dallas Warlords
Team, single armored combat to be held
Renaissance Festival
Broadswords, axes and shields will clash as fighters from all around the United States duel during the 2019 Shadow Renaissance Festival July 26-28 in the Hopkins County Civic Center arena.
“This is not an ACL [Armored Combat League] event,” organizer and Sulphur Springs native Charlie Brumfield said. “We are going to have fighters that participate in the ACL as well as other national leagues, but they are coming on their own.”
There will be roughly four dozen combatants, according to Brumfield, and some will be from as far away as Florida. The Dallas Warlords will host the fighters.
On Friday, July 26 at 1:15 p.m., fighters will hold demonstrations for audience members and will serve as a time to “pick your champs,” Brumfield said.
The starting rounds of the 10-man and five-man team tournament along with single combat will be held Saturday, July 27 beginning at 10:30 a.m. Brumfield said the 10-man and five-man team events typically have different styles of fighting.
“The 10-man teams are usually slower to start, and they’ll have long polearms [a weapon on a pole] to hold off their opponents,” he said. “The five-man is more maneuvering, more run-and-gun in its fighting.”
The single combat rounds will be held in between team event rounds and will feature broadsword, axe and sword with shield fighting.
For both team events, the first to win two rounds is the victor, and the single combat winners will be determined by the number of rounds they win.
Medaling rounds for single combat and five-man teams will be held Sunday, July 28 starting at 11:15 a.m.
“This is a full-contact, competitive tournament,” Brumfield said. “It’s also a bunch of guys in armor just trying to murder each other.”
According to Armored Combat sports, a battle can place heavy demands on someone’s body, especially in full armor weighing 60-80 pounds. It recommends fighters do 11 workouts in a week with one rest day for at least a year before competing in events.
Tickets can be bought online at shadowrenfest.com or at the gate, and the cost is $15 for ages 11 and older and $5 for ages 10 and younger. All proceeds from the event goes to Shadow Ranch Therapeutic Riding Center in Sulphur Springs.