Let battle commence: The modern-day knights in shining armour

Medieval armoured combat is a sport growing in popularity around the world. So what makes people want to don a tin can and get walloped with an axe? Kristen Hartke finds out

Players ready their plan during an event in New York’s Central Park (Brian Branch-Price/Washington Post)

Even in New York, a city where pretty much anything goes, the sight and sound of knights in shining armour swinging swords at each other still draws a crowd.

“Are you ready for a medieval rumble?” shouts an announcer in a black kilt and leather boots. Spectators scream back and play begins, steel striking steel hard, combatants hitting the ground with loud thuds.

The scene is no scripted historical reenactment, though it takes place just outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the centuries of metal suits on display there. These knights are real rivals, clad head to toe for contests that have adapted ancient rules of engagement for modern-day action.