How many Clubs are in your country?
– We have nine HMB clubs/teams in New Zealand.
How many certificated national and international Marshals do you have?
– We have two internationally certified Marshals, and a pool of about 10 other Marshals. I think that it`s a good number for New Zealand.
Are there any kind of rivalry between clubs?
– We have a lot of rivalry between clubs, with the Tauranga and Waikato Armoured Combat clubs setting a high benchmark for us all to achieve.
How many tournaments were held in 2017?
– We have about six tournaments per year.
Do you have particularly strong outstanding fighters? Could you tell about them?
– We do have some strong fighters, but probably the one most looked up to would be Charlie Tapsell, the captain of Tauranga Armoured Combat, and previous captain for New Zealand. He is a big, strong fighter, with lots of experience. He has been doing the sport since New Zealand started, and has been on the World Championship in HMB “Battle of the Nations”.
What was new in the HMB movement in New Zealand last year?
The last year saw our first soft combat fights for juniors, and the Buhurt League has been met with much excitement. Last year also saw the introduction of three new tournaments, creating more opportunities for our fighters. 2017 also saw the introduction of about 12 new fighters to the sport here.
Do fighters treat HMB as a hobby or as a serious kind of sport and try to gain skills as much as possible?
– There is a big drive in New Zealand to treat HMB as a real sport, not just a hobby, and fighters are trying really hard to constantly improve and up skills.
As we can see, the HMB sport in New Zealand grows from year to year. Our editorial office would like to thank David Briscoe for the interview and wish him and the whole HMB movement in the country more interesting tournaments, fast improvement and, traditionally, can`t wait to see the National Team of New Zealand in the lists of the World Championship in HMB “Battle of the Nations”-2018 in Rome.
HMBIA News
2021
