HMB clubs

Shining armor, clank of weapons, adrenaline and stands full of fans. It’s the way a spectator sees historical medieval battles, when the prize-winning places of the tournament are at stake, when people root for their teams. It creates a special atmosphere of unity among the parties, making them one single entity. However, a spectator sees only an outer side, a beautiful, entertaining fight of teams from different countries, but few people from the audience know what a National Team consists of, how it is formed…

HMBIA is ready to unveil a secret, the source that feeds any National Team is a club! And the more clubs has a country, the stronger is its National Team! “In Russia, for example, the National Team exists only during the HMB World Championship “Battle of the Nations.” For many it sounds strange, but it’s true. Every year the Team is formed again of the strongest fighters who participate in the qualifiers,” said Ivan Koryagin, a member of the HMBIA Development Committee.

Do you want details? Here they are! Today, we are ready to introduce you to one of the most famous clubs in the HMB movement, namely club “Knyaz” (Prince) from Ukraine (Kharkiv).

The club has been existing for more than ten years. It unites experienced and young fighters who are passionate about history, reenactment and full contact fighting in armor. Thanks to the club, about two hundred men got acquainted with the HMB movement. The permanent composition of the club is about twenty guys. They are not just a group of like-minded people, but a single organism, a team. And they are known worldwide!

As we were told, the history of “Knyaz” began in 2001, when Kharkiv City Council registered a youth organization called club “Knyaz”, but de facto its history dates back to 1998.The name is associated with the Middle Ages and Rus, since up to 2012 “Knyaz” was engaged in the reenactment of Rus. However, the word “Knyaz” can also relate to Europe, for example medieval culture of Germany and Italy. And the name is well applied to a new period in the life of the club, as it has become engaged in the reenactment of Europe from 2012.

The change is associated with a taste for everything new. Today, members of “Knyaz” specialize in everyday life, weapons and armor of Italy (Europe) of the XIV – XVth centuries. Club members learn history of the period, as well as train using authentic weapons and armor. It should be noted that, according to many fighters, European armor is much more convenient for modern historical medieval battle. In addition, as blacksmiths say, it’s easier to produce a good European armor than a good Rus armor. And often
it happens that fighter can easily move and fight in European armor.Within the 16 years of existence, “Knyaz” has developed its own traditions, a lot of common interests and plans for the future. One of the most important traditions is transfer of experience to young clubmates. After all, the experience got in a battle is priceless.

“Training, armor improvement and trips to different events are the main traditions of the club. However, the club also organizes corporate events like birthday parties, New Year celebration, etc. The guys like kayaking and going to the movie. Our main tradition is flexibility of traditions. The team becomes a cohesive unit “in action”, while training, and the training involves strengthening both physical and moral conditions of the athletes,” said one of the club members.

The guys do not stop on what they’ve achieved and constantly develop themselves and their equipment. They improve their knowledge of history, tactics and strategy. Club fighters reinforce their knowledge and skills with practice, taking part in major international tournaments in historical medieval battles. “Knyaz” is constantly involved in prestigious festivals of historical reenactment, where it demonstrates stable and high results.

“Knyaz” can be considered one of the best clubs in Ukraine. Together with “Ayna Bera”, the guys got four gold and two silver medals in “5 vs 5″, one of the major HMB categories, in 2014. Thus, Ukraine’s best clubs are “Knyaz” (Kharkiv) and “Ayna Bera” (Kyiv). To date, these clubs are at the top (according to the Ukrainian tournament results of 2014). However, a tournament called “Call of Heroes II” (Kyiv, Ukraine) is ahead, and upon its completion the results of the season will be clear. And then we will know whose fans will celebrate. By the way,
according to unofficial information, “Knyaz” will be supported at the “Call of Heroes II” by a big team of fans.Members of “Knyaz” are in the HMB National Team of Ukraine and achieve high results on the lists. Ukrainians are among the five best teams in the world.

It’s not surprisingly that “Knyaz” gets good results in tournaments, because the club has everything needed for work and training, namely equipment and coaches. It allows to properly prepare for fights even a novice and enables further development of experienced fighters.

Historical medieval battles in armor mean not only prestige, excellent physical shape and large circle of friends who share your interests, but also an opportunity to travel around the world, visiting the most beautiful cities and meeting new people.

Christina Korneva
HMBIA News