Many may be surprised, but Mexicans, though being far from all known historical features of the European Middle Ages, are very fond of historical medieval battles in armor. The HMB movement is developing very actively there, and, judging by the pace, will catch up or even leave behind old Europe soon!
Today we can say with confidence that at the World Championship in HMB “Battle of the Nations”-2014 (Trogir, Croatia) Team Mexico made a lasting impression on many of its opponents. And, by the way, not only on opponents, but spectators as well. Organizers of “Battle of the Nations” admitted that the descendants of the Aztecs even claimed to get the proud title of the “Best Débutants of the Championship.”
Captain of the National Team, Alberto Baal Jimenez, told us about the way the HMB movement started to develop in Mexico, and about the first historical medieval battle clubs.
– Alberto Baal Jimenez:
“In Mexico, a lot of people had known about “Battle of the Nations” and followed the Championship, but none of them had taken any actions, we were the first!
At first, my friends and I were a small group of guys keen on culture of the Middle Ages. We became the founders of historical medieval battles in Mexico as a new sport. None of such groups was officially registered here.
We clearly understood the need to establish a formal structure, as it could bring together all international standards, combat rules and help HMB sport to develop. We founded HMB Federation of Mexico and called it Asociacion Mexicana de Combate Historico Medieval A.C. The purpose of this organization is promotion of the HMB movement in Mexico.”
Also, Jimenez and his comrades founded an official HMB club. They train there and teach novice fighters, share their knowledge and experience brought from the World Championship in HMB “Battle of the Nations”-2014.
Though the guys chose historical medieval battles, the name of their club corresponds to the Mexican color, history and folk traditions, the club is called «Team Mictlan». Translated from Nahuatl (Aztec language), the name means “Underworld Team.”
– Alberto Baal Jimenez:
“Four fighters of our club, as a result of the selection, participated in the World Championship in HMB “Battle of the Nations”-2014 in Trogir (Croatia). I was captain of the National Team of Mexico. Now the three guys and me are considered the most experienced fighters, and we are responsible for the further development of the HMB movement in our country.
We attend various festivals and medieval fairs where we organize demonstration battles in armor to attract people. We are constantly working to get people interested in our movement and want to become part of it. We are proud of our participation in “Battle of the Nations”-2014! It was a big step forward for us!”
According to Alberto, Mexico is developing excellent conditions for the HMB movement and clubs across the country.
– Alberto Baal Jimenez:
“Now we have 4 training centers where new fighters train. Similar groups exist in other regions of our country, they want to become official members of the Federation. We train and participate in tournaments together with those groups. Also, we are negotiating with several large sports centers to create new clubs on their basis. It’s the way the HMB movement develops in Mexico.”
The Federation supports novices, organizes their preparation for tournaments. As Alberto told us, there’s no lack of sportsmen and support groups in Mexico, however, everything is not so simple there…
– Alberto Baal Jimenez:
“Every training group consists of at least five fighters and members of the administrative team. It’s a progress! So we can say that HMB sports is developing very fast in our country. The only problem that slows the whole process down is the lack of equipment for training and events, but we’re doing everything we can to solve the problem.
And I would like to appeal to my countrymen! We invite everyone who is interested in historical medieval battles to join us and become part of this great sport. Let’s create history together! Mexico can do it!”
