The Next Big Thing – Medieval Sports!

Now really.

Really now, really well, and welcome to really no really.

Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden remind you that you would be like a knight in shining armor.

If you simply subscribe to our show.

And speaking of knights in armor, there is a growing phenomenon in the world of extreme fighting that you might not be aware of. Sure, there's boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts if you're boring, But.

For people who pine for something a little.

More dangerous and brutal, a sport that features claboring people with a sword, a club, or even a battle axe, there is the competitive world of medieval fighting.

Really no really.

We were wondering why seemingly normal guys would spend thousands of dollars on chainmail and fourteenth century weaponry and travel the globe for an opportunity to fight in this brutal way. So we turned to Simon Rourick, a world champion and expert in medieval fighting. Most days, Simon is an Arizona I'm a based inventor and technology consultant, But when the sun doth rise on the tournament field, he transforms into

Hello, pour sooth and pretty welcome to really nay, really, that's how they would.

Talk if we were actually.

Or or it's one of those medieval lights things and they say you want the basket and chicken, or you want to lamb leg.

The only thing I remember from Renaissance fairs is if you put a dollar in the basket when they gave you the coin dog, they go.

Huzza for the tipper, huzzaf. Everybody would go huzza.

I thought, Oh, that's kind of curses under his breast and you're gonna walk back to the kitchen going out of wear a hat with a fellow less less.

No, let'st one not pick up on our theme for the day. So today we're going to talk about this is this is a thing. So we all know, there's boxing, there's m M a there's mixed martial arts, there's all this stuff.

There's wrestling and wrestling. There is a phenomena.

It's growing, it's.

Growing growing, it's it's out of control where people both male and female, don medieval armor or replicas of medieval armor, and with replicas of medieval weapons, swords, shields, living day of each other, beat the.

Living day each other, which is a fascinating until somebody goes, either I quit or maybe.

Ow we are, we are there. We got to find out the rules. So yeah, medieval combat is like the new listening. And now there was an organization that started in Europe and there's somewhere.

Else when it's done. Medieval started in Europe.

Yeah yeah, we didn't have Native Americans running around going what ho?

Yeah, okay, but.

Now it's spread. There's two organizations. And I wonder if if if you see this fighting, you won't believe it. And I got to ask our guest who's a fighter, about why and how he does it. And I also got to ask him. Supposedly, there was an incident with a Russian fighter where he was going down, but somebody reached into the ring and held.

His belt so that he's he's out, but he's not going down.

So like, what cheating? What this is? Like what his wife says?

What you Well, that was an old medieval trick. Actually they holding the belt. They would hold a dead knight up erect and to let everybody beat the hell out of him while they came around the back.

Instead of in boxing we have a cut man, you got a belt man.

That's right, hold up, but sound you need a good visor guy.

It found about the culture and why and how and who participation.

So what this says about all of us about you know, we have a lot of combat sport, but and I know people are fascinated.

You know, it's almost like role playing going back. You know, we talk about it.

We have medieval times where you go have a dinner and night's joust and they do and Renaissance fairs are a huge thing, and there's a fascinating it's almost like a West World thing of dressing up and living in a different time, in a different period.

But this idea of.

And my son, our announcer, Noah, actually did this one time down to play here in southern California and they they they put him in armor that didn't fit. He went in and got his head handed to him. It's been months. He still has a scar. He's got a scar on his leg. It's going to be a perma. So this, you know what it's like. Dungeon and Dragon. We did an episode that it's celebrating the fiftieth anniversary. Yeah, it's like one.

Some guy during the Dungeons and Dragons game went, why.

Is this imaginary?

I want to hit you and beat you with a club close to death. So we'll find out about that. But I'm just curious and we can delve into why, what this says about us, et cetera. What this is? But did you ever, if you do, you ever drawn to fight somebody? Do you ever have to really fight somebody?

I have had one school fight, and when I was at school, I was on the receiving end of I wouldn't call them fights. I would call them assaults. You know, I was in grade school. But yeah, I studied martial arts for a number of years, and so I sparred regular I never competed, but I sparred in the school, and.

So I have. I have struck and been struck in the name of sport.

I had to punch your guy once I was going down a country road or Benjamin was in the car seat and these guys, two guys in the car were riding my bumper intentionally laughing, and they started just touching my bumper.

Oh my god.

And I pulled the car over. And my brother had taught me, my nine year older brother, if you got a fight, yeah, don't wait. So I walked to the car and I'm a coward. I don't like fighting. Yeah, I've been fighting two fights in my life. And I walked up to the window. The guy's getting out of the passenger seat and he sailling, oh, yeah, you want to take them on? And the guy in the driver's seat roll down the window, and without hesitation, I cocked

Oh.

The other guy then got back in the car and they took off kurt like forever. And I felt horrible that I did it. Yeah, but these guys were putting my family in jeopardy.

And a couple of times that I've had a street encounter back that way, back in my twenties. No, I'm sick for weeks, if not months after that, because you're paranoid.

You think there's going to be a retribution for it.

You don't know, you know it's it is unsettling too when that's not your thing to suddenly be in that, it's very disturbing.

So we went a segue to if it is your thing and you're wearing fifty or one hundred pounds of armor and you're entering with a sword going after somebody, or four on four or five on five, what does that feel like? Our guest, Simon Rorick, is an Arizona based inventor technology consultant specializing in mobile technical solutions. And he's also Baron Joseph Donnerbach who's proficient in armored combat

By the way, here's your man makes a sooup fle light fluffy.

You can't believe, Simon, Thank do we talk to you?

Welcome?

Baron or Simon? Who are we talking to here?

You can just call me Simon?

Yeah, okay, right, well, thank you for coming on. So give us some background in this, because how did it take off?

Before you even asked.

But for those of you not watching on YouTube, Simon, you're wearing arm are you not male?

What do you?

Oh?

No, this is a This is just a three D printed shirt with some scale armor on it.

But behind you you have a battle acts and other sharp objects on the wall.

Well yeah, I mean, I thought I would dress up for the occasion. I don't get to talk to people like you very often. This is a big deal to me, so I thought i'd do some presentation.

And because of the weaponry behind you, I want to say from the heart, you look fabulous.

Bad well, thank you, you look fabulous.

To Oh, thank you, sorry too.

That so, give us some background on medieval fighting, how it's taken off the rules. Give a tutorial to people listening.

There's a two different worlds of medieval fighting. There's the Lark live action role playing fighting, and that's what most people are familiar with. And that's what I started in.

In nineteen ninety four, and that's where I have my name.

That's where my name comes from, is the Joseph Dounnerbauch and Joseph donnerbaukkas from my Lark background. And I did that for many years. I did that from nineteen ninety four to about twenty twelve. Then I saw a video online where a guy was in full armor and he

You have to have hard and steel armor to survive.

And went over to Poland and fought in the first World Championships against about twenty other countries back in twenty twelve. It was against the best and brightest, most violent nerds of other countries now. Keep in mind, in other countries it's not considered so much a nerdy hobby because that's their heritage, whereas the United States has a bunch of European transplants, so it's not the same, but still a high number of nerds. And I got to knock people out,

Like, good times, good time, we're are homes. Yeah, we found our tribe.

No, no, you were. You were kind of terrified as a.

Group, okay, good good.

Yeah.

Had been role players where there's a certain amount of camaraderie and niceness, you know, and well that exists in the medieval mm A thing.

It was a lot rougher than any of us had seen.

Luckily, I'd been a bouncer for a decade by that time, so I just went out there and just fought people in a group format, which is what I was used to. So my squad did pretty well, but pretty much everybody there got their app collectively kicked despite being some of the largest people and the largest fighters there.

There's so many questions, and I know Peter's going to jump in, but just because I I am not well versed, and perhaps others listening aren't. Can you explain the difference between LARP and what what we're talking about today?

Okay, LARP is super fun, immersive, but it's live action role playing, and part of that role playing that they do is the combat. Obviously, they have to role playing a system where you know, if I hit you really hard with my phone or my stick and then you're sort of on your honor to acknowledge that hit and be like, oh, I'm getting the lord and you fall down, or do some role playing.

Right, got it? So it's not a board game situation.

You're up on your feet, you're you're acting this stuff out, but you're using implements that are gentler.

Is that basically the difference.

Yes, And the armor's lighter and there's it's also not a combat sport, which you know, a combat sport involves pain trauma, you know, much like boxing or MMA or anything else. Sure, the lark aspect is fun and it can be bruising and tough, and in fact, some of the best medieval mma guys were really accomplished slarpers who translated those skills. But medieval mma is a combat sport where you knock people out. There's no imaginary hits gotcha.

Medieval mme is to the pain for any of you.

Princess Princess.

Sim And I said this from a good place, and we'll get to this what's wrong with you? So so let's before we again as basic info, tell us the weapons used and the rules, and then we can get into the person, the personal issues and the different organizations stuff. What is this like, what does this look like like? What what weaponry do you have? And what are the.

Rules to take?

No stabbing, because that was the most effective way to anybody good. The rules that we use are from tournament rules back in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. They had rules just like we do, no stabbing, blunted weapons. They even had rules like If you get thrown to the ground, you lost. We have that same rules, so no stabbing. The weapons have to be blunted. We don't use maces

If you've got a two handed tree felling acts. They're around that.

Oh good.

And if you hit the ground, you're done fighting. You can't hit anybody while you're down. You can't be hit on the while you're on the ground either. And then it's multiple formats. One versus one, five verses five, ten versus ten, twenty one versus twenty one. They've even gotten to like one to fifty versus one fifty at the World Championships. The one versus one are a little different

Also, I would imagine in the one fifty versus one fifty there's some friendly fire. Oh yeah, gotta be hey, Jacob, come on, man, come on you, I didn't recognize you with your Yeah.

If the visor give.

Me A.

Really true friendly fire is the worst because you're not set up for it. You're not ready for the direction it's coming in, so it's way likely to knock you out. Yeah, I've broken friend's arms before by accident.

Come on, who hasn't, And then you're going for a beer after with the good arm.

They had a guy in a headlock, you know, and I hit him with an axe. I was going for the guy's head and I missed.

And I did that in the way into the studio. That's no big deal. Don't feel bad about that.

The worst I've ever done is knocked a Danish out of Jason's hand, and that's because it had a fly on. I was saving you. So Simon is funding. Some of the stories are it's funded by the Russian mafia, some oligarchist funny who puts up the prize money and.

Who puts up the money?

So early on the Russian teams were funded by like the son of a Russian oliguard who was involved in a way that I can't quite describe because I don't speak Russian. But let's just say that there's lots of betting going on, right, okay, and the sportsmanship from the Russian fighters was good, but the cheating from the organization was notorious, got it, which is, you guys touched on that a little bit.

So you've heard that story about the guy who was up the win and they were holding his belt through the ring or whatever they went.

Joel had the camera up in the stands and he had a high speed camera. I went through about twenty thousand pictures and found the first five sent those out because I'd heard that it happened, and.

The guy denied it, denied it, denied it.

So my friend Joel had the fancy camera and I went up there and went through the pictures. Found the guy reaching through the fence and holding the Russian fighter up. And the thing is, the Russian fighters were good enough to beat us, they didn't have to do that. But there's sort of this mentality of for not cheating or not trying hard enough or something like that, which is.

We have a pillow my living, we have another pillow my friend my father handed that down. Yeah.

So yeah, so then that actually started where that started a fissure, and after that those pictures came out and there's no denying it because the video of that fight mysteriously disappeared. It was a new organization, So all the Western countries minus Russia formed a new organization called the IMCF for more fair competitions. I fought in that World Championship and actually won the World Tampionship.

In the fisher mentioned you are, I didn't do that in the intro. You are a world champion multiple times and medals around the world. So who funds this organization? If that one was funded that way initially? Where does the prize money come from?

Well, now it comes from event organizers that want to sell tickets or merchandise or food or tricky legs. But there isn't really a ton of prize money. This is still I was.

Going to say, what's I was going to say, is it? Is it a belt, the trophy.

Late or suggest for the love of a concussion.

I have made so many tens of dollars I cannot tell you what dollars.

Yeah, I've made yeah. No.

So the largest person I had was on a History Channel. It was ten K.

And they had a History Channel series called Night Fight, and they did a season of it.

I was on episode seven.

Ten K. That doesn't even pay for a kevlar jocks.

Rep No, it would pay for maybe two suits of armor.

But that's about it.

Well, that's why. So I was going to ask that, Hey, it's an investment to do this, but.

Even where do you where do you go for a suit of armor? And the other question, I'll throw them all at your answer and anywhere you want.

My impression is, if I'm covered in steel, what's what's hurting me? How how come I'm still getting hurt inside?

That can? All right?

Well, to answer your question about injury, it's probably the same reason why people still get hurt in car accidents. Nothing is proof against sufficient force, sure you know. So the seat belts leave a massive bruise that will cover your whole torso get in a car accident, So it's the same thing. It's And then the joints in the armor. The joints in the armor have gaps because you have to be able to move. So if you want to

You know, this thing has more rules than Nazi rules football.

I'm swinging a club those football I.

Think there's no eye gouging. That's about it. Everything else is on the tip.

These guys show you get to change. I was joking, where do you get to change? Where do you buy the arm backsmith makes it for you?

Yeah, exactly.

There's there's a cottage industry that the internet's really helped with. And then our first foray overseas really brought a lot of the Ukrainian and Polish craftsmen to the United States. And it's called mild steel. This stuff has to be hardened in the same way that swords are quenched.

You see a sword that's been quenched in the water.

To harden it, you have to do the whole piece of armor, right, the whole thing, because if you're if you wouldn't you you'd risk you risk death.

Essentially if you don't have your armor.

I love the chuckle. I love the chuckle. So what's wrong with you?

The fact you said you've got to tell your.

Face so you had you said you had anger issues. Pardon me, I go to therapy for that rather than to the blacksmith. You there's something there again, reading your bio technology consultant, You're educated, you have a regular day job. Is it? You can't get that kind of endorphin rush doing anything else in your life? So this is really really that big a deal because you've been doing a

Well, I mean yeah, I've been in combat sports a real long time. And it really just comes down to a rough childhood with dad that probably shouldn't have been a dad. If we want to want to bring the tone of this whole thing down.

It's actually that is really informative.

It is informative, and it's really interesting because you probably heard the intro that Peter and I were doing. I mean, I I studied some martial arts, but I was really in it because I was the target of bullies and I just wanted to be able to, yeah, put up a little bit. But I would be surprised if someone who didn't have something that was frightful or fearsome or in some ways brutal in their childhood. I can't imagine the average Joe who didn't have that experience being drawn

They have a similar background to you, a similar journey.

A lot of them do, and in fact, we do a ton of veteran outreach because it's a very effective therapeutic activity for people that are trying to master those adrenaline dumps and deal with these panic attacks that they have but still follow rules. So our sport provides an exposure therapy for them, and the camaraderie under duress is something that they seek and that they don't have in the civilian life. So there's a huge PTSD contingent of people.

But I found mine.

It brings me peace, It brings a lot of vets peace, and it brings a lot of people that have anger issues peace, so that we can interact in the world and make it safe for everybody.

And Simon, is there a considerable participation by women or is it mostly a male dominated.

There's a considerable participation by women.

I think because in part because while we have this mm a rough and tumble a sport, there isn't that dude bro douchebag mma. I call them taps bros. There's a douchebag tap row mentality. So it's more welcoming I think. So we get some more, we get more participation than you'd expect.

You've sort of given an interesting profile for the guys that participate. Is there a similar profile for the women or is it just is it surprising what kind of women get into this.

You know, I gotta say.

The women I know personally have some similar experiences, but it's kind of a subject that you kind of have to be like.

So, were you abused as a kid? Is that why you're here? It's a rough opener.

You know, it's not a conversation starter.

Do you ever? So I'm curious you suit up. It's fifty two hundred pounds, you got the armor on. You get into that ring once it starts. Does this guy could hurt you, kill you, break something? Does it get that amped up where you are just flat out survival? You've put yourself in a survival situation.

That's what happens at first, and that's just the result of inexperience. And what you do is you wind up dumping out all your adrenaline, spiking your heartbeat and breath and your toast in thirty seconds. That's and that's just an experience because a lot of people haven't been hitting the face of an axe, let alone hit the face of an axe with a couple of guys holding you against the rail while another person's punching you.

In the ribs all at the same time. So it's an experience. But then a.

Second, I just got to digest what you just said for a second. Okay, that gives that gives new meaning.

It's my favorite thing, and my favorite quote from any fighter I ever heard still belongs to Mike Tyson when he was being interviewed before the fight and the interviewer said, well, you know, so and so has a plan. He studied your tapes and he has a plan for how to defeat you in the ring. And Tyson goes, yeah, everybody has a plan till they get hit in the face.

Right.

Yeah, it's true, but what you just described is so frightening. But you so with wisdom. You get some wisdom and some some strategy once you've done it.

Yes, once you realize that the armor really works.

You know.

It's one of the problems is that we've been we've been taught by movies that armor can just be stabbed through with guys and played. If you've ever seen a movie where a person was writing plate armor and he was stabbed and it went through him, that's never happened.

Ever, I guess I would. I would bet a dollar it had never happened back then. Either, So Hard, So Hard.

This was a Monty Python movie. It would be cut to a deceased warrior from the fourteen hundreds, going.

Difference.

So you're saying that a hardened steel breastplate always be it's a hardened steel sword on the edge, on the edge.

The slash.

Do you ever see a medieval combat or in some of the movies they're actually trying to do a better job where they take the sword and use it like a staff. Yeah, there's a point here. Yeah, they hit him with the pommel there. That point was the most

Yeah.

You never ever would slash an.

Edge of a sword against armor if you could help it, because it wouldn't do and it wouldn't do anything.

That's what axes and pole hammers are for.

Of course, of course that's where's my pollhound. He's telling me stuff. I know, Dade, how.

Many fights can you do in a day at a tournament?

You can do sometimes ten twenty thirty. It really depends. It's the bracketing system, so it depends on how many people enter. But at the World Championships, for example, it's four days.

Dude, and they have doctors. I guess right there. Yes, yeah.

In fact, my friend as the team doctor in twenty twelve attack, he reattached somebody's pinky finger tip.

You know, got got nipped off.

Use an arm brace to brace my leg because I got hit in the calf with an illegal Russian mace turned out to be twice as heavy as what was allowed and uh smashed my calf, So he.

Be fair.

I think, uh, you know, for authenticity, the doctor should only be able to apply me devil medicine, Leachers, leeches, yeah, little leeches, and you know, I don't know what else.

Potions we're going to do it. By the way, if you had the bet on one of us, yeah, who do you think looking at like looking at us, if we were all suited up, who would be the guy.

To I'll tell you you can't tell.

Sitting here, Peter's got about a foot of height over me.

I'll give you that.

Well, you know you said that, you Jason, you said that you had martial arts background, so you know the center of gravity.

And I was a.

College fencer, Peter, So careful, be careful who you throw your gauntlet down too.

I've run away from so many people who threatened me. I'm very fair.

Here's the thing is that is that when he was talking about no hesitation, remember when he's talking about his story about the traffic thing.

Yeah, so in martial arts you're taught some respect and restraint, right, Yes, you run up against the guy that has no hesitation. Personal yes, first wins first.

There you go.

There's a there's an unwritten martial arts that says crazy beats good.

Thank you, Simon, thank you.

So I would say, if you guys fight, you better, you better hit Jason really quick or you're done.

Yeah.

Yeah, so Simon, before we go, can you just show us a couple of your weapons and maybe club your dog to death or do something that we can so we can see see.

I'm a cat guy. I have two cats.

Club the cats to death. I'm kidding, Peter, Peter, please go ahead, all.

Right here, this one, here, oh boy, this one, oh my god, has a pretty unique story.

Yeah you see my can you see my?

My face on there. Can you see that?

Is it on the blade itself?

We see?

Oh yeah, now we can.

Weapon.

Oh yeah, so this part was inside my skull. I got my skull fractured, my helmet got pulled off my head, and I got hit with this exact weapon in the head and it took a piece of bone and put it through my brain about half a centimeter.

That explains so much, right, So, uh.

I recovered and UH won the pole Arm Championship of the United States six months later.

But then my friends found the guy who did it.

Uh, he's a Canadian and bought this from him and remade the weapon. And this is the original blade and that is why there's a laser at you. Maybe it says skull crusher. Can you see it says skull This is the piece right there.

It was in your head. Yeah, so that's a special special.

Yeah sentimental, man, you don't know what happened here.

And by the way, in my yard is a car that hit me when I was ten.

Wow, now I use it to beat the crap out of other people.

Okay, well boy swept.

Oh my god.

These are yeah, these are all, these are all, these are all weapons that we can use you see they're blunt.

Yeah, oh sure, yes, harmless, But I.

Mean you can still get something.

I've gotten something called pressure cut where it'll hit your armor so hard that will explode the skin underneath and actually make a cut through the armor and not actually penetrate the.

Weapon he's holding up. Now, if you don't have video, the grim Reaper would go too big.

Over here.

You could use that to do a field of grain, to get the whole field done. My gosh, oh my god, how big are you? By the way, how tall? And how would you about? Six? Two?

About two thirty I mean to eighty to three hundred pounds depending on eight.

Oh yeah, whoa.

I grew up on a farm, you know.

So people asking us, so, how do you hit so hard that you can drop anybody with an axe no matter where you hit him, And uh, I just say, well, you got to be shoveling doing man's work by the time you're eight.

That's the name of my book, Shoveling doing man's work. That's my that's my bio. Well, thank you, thank you so much for being on. Simon Baron, Joseph Donner Black is the way is that the website you look under Joseph Donner back or do you look on Simon.

Simon rock You know in the sport we don't do any of the role playing stuff. We just like to beat each other up and then have beers and hugs afterwards.

Simon, thank you, Simon.

We wish you well out there for the for the you know, watch thy back.

Yeah, if I had a lut I'd play it. Thank you a pleasure. That So what the actual health is just what's amazing to me. And this always happens with our show. We try and find something that truly makes it go really no really that exists.

On the planet I know exactly. Hopefully, hopefully it's fascinating. Hopefully we can have some humor to it. Yeah, but you get into the reason behind. And when he was talking about the anger issue and the vest again, we always said with this show we were try and do everything positive and not being negative because there's enough division in the world. But I guess there's a percentage of the population that has to control their anger, their victreol and have an outlet for it. When he said the

You know, I hear what he was saying about using it as a kind of a therapy for things like PTSD, but I don't know how to say this, so it doesn't sound like I'm being a smart ass. But he had a blade in his head. The guy who wielded that blade. Does that not give him more PTSD? I mean in a sport.

But because it's it's it's you're both agreed to the format. You both agreed to the thing. What I wonder about, and I didn't get to ask him, it is, so you're a human being. You're fighting me in MMA. I'm watching you, I'm seeing you. I'm hurting you. But we're doing our thing.

Right.

As soon as I put on a face mass an advisor, I'm.

Just the thing.

It's now it's you're dehumanizing a person. I wonder what that feels like, because now you're fighting a concept, you're not fighting a person. There's no humanity there.

Well that now you're describing modern warfare where the combatants never.

So that I wonder the element there if that dehumanizes again in PTSD, If I kill you accidentally if I did something horrible to you. But then again, I guess both if you did it with an agreement, yeah, I guess you know. It's I don't know, it's hard to wrap your head harder, but it is increasing and more and more people are there's.

This whole romance of medieval things. If this didn't have a medieval flavor to it, you got these are just people beating the cross wooden spoon from the kitchen and they hit it. But there's this romance to medieval things, which I gotta tell you, I don't understand.

No, because there was an odor then, they didn't have bathroom.

Nobody who lived in the medieval times was going, these are the best possible time.

Fin the way you wiped yourself with that act. They didn't have toilet paper yet.

But I mean, we go to these Renaissance fairs, we go to the I was in Ireland recently and there's there's one castle that is it's almost like not's very farm it. It looks they have actors playing exactly what life would have.

Been, and you go, this is Puaint on a good day. But how many good days were there?

I think medieval fighting came up. There's no bathroom, there was no antibiotics. It's everything smelled you to take. I think they wanted to die. That's why the.

Fighter absolutely right.

And honestly, bathing bathing in medieval times it was maybe a three time a year by.

The moon, by the lunar moon.

Yeah you wash up, you know, because it's spring. But it's it was not pleasant.

And even when I go, I took the kids, you know, when they were young, to medieval times here in La where you have dinner and there's there's a show and it's shousting. It's nights, you know, playing and everybody, everybody knowing it is sworn to one night and you're you're rooting for your knight. And the menu is a piece of brisket, a chicken leg, a bowl of soup and some ale. No, no napkins, no for aware. No, you're eating with your hands and guys are down there whacking.

Green is gonna win a different experience. It's and I'm going.

And the boys were like, this is great, this is great, and I went, this is.

Nuts it is, but takes it another the medieval fighting. I'm so glad we had him a champion him, but it is fascinating and I still don't. This is one of those where it ended the interview in it and I still don't. He explained it.

You can't because, like I said, my son, Noah, he went down and tried this in southern California one time. He knows nothing about it other than he saw it online. He goes down a bunch of guys, hell fellow, well met, that's fantastic.

They give him some armor, some loner armor.

It's like bowling shoes in the back.

I mean talk about a gap in the armpit. The gap in the armpit was his head. And he's and they give him a weapon and he's out there with no training, no nothing, no lead up. Who knows if the guy he's playing with has done this one thousand times and he gets he has a scar on his shin that is never going over.

Let's go, let's go to mister google him.

Yes, David, welcome David.

What are you so fascinating? Right?

It's hard to understand squire google him?

What say?

And dragons?

Yeah?

Ever had just lost control and smacked the guy across from you.

Well sometimes you know, the dice are flying, man, you know, you should wear goggles.

Listen.

I it's very interesting, right because he was before he came on camera, he and I were talking and you know, he was a way back D and D guy, and he then obviously got into the LARPing, which is basically live action D and D and then looking for the more extreme thing. Now he has axes and and and they hit each other so and.

Injury.

Yeah, yeah, it was quite poignant from my perspective when he was talking about the folks coming back.

From battle that are not able to.

Find that, and they're in this they are able to so you know, I wish them. Well, it's really brutal.

I really do.

For people who are interested in understanding how brutal this is.

These guys with these full on axes that.

Are blunted as we are, no sharp edges, but there's still axes that are wailing away and it's amazing.

Yeah.

Only seven pounds though, only seven pounds, yeah.

For the legal ones, for the legal ones, the guys who are taking in the fifteen pounders, you know, yeah, the check guys, you have to so what's your takeaway before we wrap your well, A.

Couple of things. Number One, i'd be a long bowman. I think, you know, far away, yeah, right through the armor. Number Two, you guys were pushing some myths, some medieval myths.

Really.

Oh okay, let's hear.

Bathing, while not as common as we have today, was actually very common in the Middle Ages and medieval times, the Dark Ages, some people refer to it. Washing of hands and face were a daily routine, a part of eating and socializing. There would be a weekly house type of situation for the full body or going to the river or something like that.

While there was eating with the hands.

You would wash your hands beforehand, you'd wash your face beforehand. There were utensils, there were knives, there were spoons, there were.

Not forks for most of the time.

But it was not the king was not grabbing the come on, come on, Henry the eighth, he's grabbing the turkey leg. No turkeys, No turkeys, large chicken, large large chicken. Yeah, yeah, no turkeys, no turkeys. Also another one that I thought was interesting and a lot of what we're talking about, like Renaissance fairis you know, the Renaissance is not medieval times.

Right, the Roman Empire.

Falls, there's a state of confusion, which is the Middle Ages the time we're speaking of, and then the Renaissance comes where they sort of get.

It back together.

It's a little history history, and again this is another sort of a lot of our understanding of what the Middle Ages were like as based on things that came much much later, like the whole idea of dungeons and torture devices, you know, in these dungeons and all of that.

Most of that did not exist. In fact, it was an.

Invention created in eighteen nineteen by Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe Like It Is Not, which is obviously way, way, way way after the Middle Ages, which were from four to seventy six a d. Through about at about fourteen hundred, so that's sort of the time period work.

So in that period you'd say, I am going to torture you, but I have to wait several hundred years years to where the.

Irony made and these sorts of things.

They didn't exist, They did not exist at the time, and really a lot of it was was fiction. It never really existed in the way that it's presented in some of these castles that you might visit.

So it was years before they said, we got four ropes and four horses, what do you want to do? And I go, I don't know, I have no idea, and then draw quarters.

I find it hard to believe that they didn't have a methodology for brutality during the medieval times.

They just probably kill you. I mean they were just.

Killing play with you. You need writers, like a writer's room. Guys, what are we thinking here? What were your ideas?

Let me tell you.

I think there was a I think there was some shenanigans. I don't I don't think so. Walter Scott, out of nowhere said I got I'm tying it.

I'm tying you to a chair and we'll take hours to figure out what to do with you to make you talk. I don't know what to do to make them talk.

What are they going to say? What do you want me to say?

I mean, you know that's David Yours come through, man, Thank you God. I still don't believe the washing thing. Thank you, David.

May the gods sing the to of Valhalla and beyond so.

You know what's wear After he was like, you know, like you know, I work with the improvised Shakespeare company.

I know how to do this crap. You good, good for you, Good for your.

Little little slug because I'm gonna producing them up Broadway later in the he is boring me, he's going long.

Okay, now I know why I'm gonna buy amazon a scaff I'll buy the thing from him that it was implanted in the head.

Yeah, and then laser your face on. That's the kind of lovely momento.

And I we got a gift for you. O.

Yeah, my laser's face on. A piece of his face was on it. Why do you have to augment?

If you're a real man, you would have left it in your skull and around, looked around and hung your laundry.

And let me tell you, see you walk, You walk into a renaissance in your head. In your head, you're the one that's right, the one that is psychological war.

For listening, everybody, thank you for watching. And I hope we've cleared up committing with times for everyone else. The yeah, and if you want to fight, good bye.

Really as another episode, if really no really comes to a close.

I know you're wondering.

What are some more of the world's most dangerous sports well, we'll leap into that answer in a moment, but first let's thank our guests, Simon Roorick. You can follow Simon on his website Simon Roorick dot com. On Instagram he is at Simon Rourick. On ax he is at Simon

At reallynoreally dot com.

If you have a really some amazing factor story that boggles your mind, share it with us and if we use it, we will send you a little gift. Nothing life changing, obviously, but it's the thought that counts. Check out our full episodes on YouTube, hit that subscribe button and take that bell. So here updated when we release new videos and episodes, which we do eat Tuesday, so listen and follow us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

And now, what are some of the other most dangerous sports in the world.

Well, American football, in European or Australian rugby make the cut. Concussions and spinal injuries occur frequently, and there are occasional deaths. Bull Riding is more than a tad dangerous. Falling from a bucking bulldozer and being stopped by eighteen hundred pounds of angry bull is no picnic. Out of every thousand rides, thirty two and in death or injury. Big waves surfing has washed its share of broken bodies and fatalities to

Feeling.

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