Pepa Josif Pohl,
captain of “MFC Vysocina” club (Czech Republic),
captain of the National Team of Czech Republic

… Concerning his way to HMB sport

Three years ago my friend told me about this sport and about an opportunity to try it. I was very pleased and interested. I had been engaged in reenactment since 1999 and I liked tough fights. So, Historical Medieval Battle was a logical step in my life.

… Concerning his armor

I’m trying to get a replica of the 14th-century (the first half) armor from Central Europe. I reenact the period, so I want to have armor which would be appropriate for HMB and reenactment.

… Concerning sports in general

I used to practise physical training, a little bit of martial arts and I learn medieval fencing and wrestling techniques, so I think it makes me a valuable member of my team.

… Concerning qualities needed by any HMB fighter

A good fighter needs to be in a good physical form, have stamina and attentiveness.

… Concerning training and preparation for tournaments

As our fighters live far from each other and we are all busy with our work or studies, we cannot train together as much as we want. So we decided to deal with physical training on our own at gyms and we try to participate in as many tournaments as we can. Because we are able to train team tactics and distribute roles in the team only in real fights.

… Concerning his combat techniques and features

I try to be a good fighter who knows how to use a polearm, how to bring down opponents with one strike.

… Concerning his favorite category

My favorite category is still “5 vs 5”, but I hope that we will finally have a unit for “21 vs 21” and I am really looking forward to participating in the category. And, of course, “all vs all”. It´s a cool category, because you can fight against the best fighters from Russia and, as it’s a friendly buhurt, there is no big risk of getting injuries.

… Concerning the National Team

Official debut of the National Team of Czech Republic was at “Battle of the Nations”-2013 in France. We had only a small team, only two “5 vs 5” units (together with our Slovakian brothers) and two triathlon fighters. It was really a great experience and one year after that we managed to have three units and one triathlon fighter.

… Concerning the season of 2014

I had the honor to be captain of the National Team of Czech Republic at “Battle of the Nations”-2014. It was very interesting and I was really proud of my team. My local team (MFC Vysocina) participated in two tournaments (except elimination tournaments) in the Czech Republic, in one tournament in Slovakia, where Russian and Ukrainian teams were invited and we participated in the Austrian Cup as well. The team has not many fighters, so we’re still trying to form a core group and participate in as many tournaments as possible.

… Concerning his wishes to novices

I wish them to fight with the best men, I wish them never get injuries and always achieve good results. Train hard and don´t give up. My friend from Austria, Heinrich, said once: “When you think that you have trained enough, you are not right! Keep training!!!“

And participate in as many tournaments as you can!

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