Already widely popular in Europe, ‘knight fighting’ has begun to gain traction in many countries across the globe. The sport is known for providing medieval enthusiasts the opportunity to suit up in full body armor and duke it out medieval-style with authentic period swords, shields and axes.

This is no ordinary sword fight though— punches, kicks, takedowns and head butts are permitted between weapon strikes. The only moves considered off limits are: strikes to an unarmored opponent, clipping them in the back of the knees, and hits to their spine, neck or back. As vicious as it sounds, there is no need for the squeamish to scurry— all weapons are blunted replicas to avoid a real life Game of Thrones bloodbath.

Participating ‘knights’ can choose to take part in a one-on-one bout or in a full-blown army free-for-all. One-on-one matches are point based, so the ultimate goal is to come out swinging to land as many blows as possible. Points are only scored when an opponent connects with a hit. The winner of the match is determined by which competitor connects with the most hits— or by knockdown, where the first to touch the ground with more than a third of their body loses the bout. Alternatively, army teams are scored by whichever team knocks down the most opponents—leaving the winners as the last ones left standing.

Russian promotion M-1 Global hosts M-1 Medieval, where two armored combatants go head to head in a ring. The knight fighting league, on the other hand, features larger battlegrounds and is one of several to participate in Battle of the Nations, an international medieval battles world championship that takes place in Europe every April. National teams, including America, compete in several full contact events. There are no staged reenactment battles.

Undoubtedly, these armor-clad battles are charged with adrenaline from both spectators and combatants alike— with participants traveling back to the Dark Ages to relive the glory of these historical warriors.