About Us

Memphis Armored Fight Club is devoted to the study of medieval armored combat.  We primarily practice REAL STEEL armored fighting in the style of the Medieval tournament, and compete in the Armored Combat League (ACL) and Historic Medieval Battles (HMB) .  We also study Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) to broaden our technique and improve our ability in armored fighting.
Memphis Armored Fight Club is made up of several related clubs, and serves as a central location for information about all the club’s events and practices for Memphis Kings- Armored Combat League (ACL),  Memphis Jackals- American Medieval Combat Federation (HMB), and HEMA Mid-South- Historic European Martial Arts.

Full Contact Steel Fighting is a rather young modern sport. Specifically the armour and weapons must be of the style from the dates 1200 to 1699. The fighting is full contact fighting with steel blunt weapons. Fighters are dressed in full armor, which, like the weapons, is made according to historical standards. One person's full set of armour must originate from the same region and within a fifty-year time span. Blows may be aimed at any parts of the body (with the limitations set in the regulations); both wrestling and percussive techniques are permitted.  Therefore, to participate in battles one needs equipment that once existed.

Unlike staged battles, that can be seen at festivals of historical reenactment of the Middle Ages, these battles are held in full contact, and are refereed by the marshals who have special training and combat experience. Historical medieval battle is a sporting component of historical reenactment of the Middle Ages. The main competition for the fighters practitising them, has recently become "Battle of the Nations", an international championship on historical medieval battle.

Historical medieval battle dates back to the first large-scale battles with the use of steel arms, which were held in Russia in the late 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century. Tournaments on historical medieval battle gradually began to take place in neighboring states, namely Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, but eventually reached Western Europe, and the rest of the world.  The first United States team travelled to Europe in 2012.  The HMB world championships, “The Battle of Nations” draws teams from all over the world.