There was a time when there was no Estonian team. HMB beginners may find this hard to believe, but veterans remember that in 2013 the Baltic team arrived in the French city of Aigues Mortes – three fighters from Estonia and 5 from Latvia! These heroic men, having overcome a lot of difficulties at home, advanced to realise their dream by car. And so began the great adventure of Estonians with a length of 7 years called the HMB World Championship Battle of the Nations. Nikolaj Bykov, vice captain of the Estonian National Team, shared his memories with us.

“I still remember the way to Aigues-Mortes in France by car without overnight stays as a nightmare … Although why am I fooling myself? If there was a chance to repeat this trip, I would repeat it in spite of all the difficulties! ”- recalls Nikolaj.

But that was only the beginning! The most exciting was yet to come! The most important recollection of that Battle of the Nations is fighting. Beginners were not spared, but immediately demonstrated the beauty of the full-contact fighting in armor:

“It was the tough strikes that made us evolve. The meeting with Russian polearms left a lasting impression. And, of course, a historical camp on a potato field under the walls of a beautiful castle.”

That trip changed everything in Nikolaj’s mind, gave an incredible impulse and desire for development:

“In general, that Battle of the Nations was not only the first for me, but also significant – after the Russian polearms in the All vs All category, finally we made a decision that we should move towards sports. And this means improving equipment, conducting other training program. The approach has changed, and after that trip in the summer our club Nordburg appeared. It was the trip to the Battle of the Nations 2013 that opened the door to the magical world of the HMB sport.”

HMBIA News is glad that the Estonians do not plan to stop. They are becoming every year more dangerous for their rivals. It should be so. And we are looking forward to meet the Estonian national team at the Battle of the Nations -2021!

HMBIA News