Man of steel Curtis Knapp gets down to business at the Renaissance Faire at Sleepy Hollow.
Writer: Barbara Dietrich Boose
Photographer: Bob Blanchard
On multiple weekends over the year, a handful of friends each strap on 45 to 80 pounds of steel or titanium armor over quilted padding, take up swords and axes and engage in full-contact combat. The goal: to be the last warrior standing.
This is buhurt (pronounced BOHhurt), a modern medieval sport in which athletes clad in historically accurate armor fight each other with blunt steel weapons. It originated in the 13th century as a way for knights in feudal Europe to hone their combat skills while putting on a public spectacle, and its name comes from an old French term for “wallop.”
Here in 21st-century Iowa, Zachary Shadu and Curtis Knapp are co-captains of the New Order, a buhurt team with more than 60 members. That includes seven who have competed on the road at events such as the Cincinnati Siege, Carolina Carnage and Texas’ ever popular Whacksgiving. Most tournaments are sponsored by the American Medieval Combat Federation, the International Medieval Combat Federation and Buhurt International.
The New Order formed in 2022 with the merger of two former teams, the Des Moines Doombringers and the Order of Wrath. Its roster of men and women includes Shadu’s wife, Ashley, an accomplished competitor who, for the record, looks more like a petite ballerina than the badass pole-arm swinger she is. She got bored staying home when her husband traveled to weekend tournaments, so she decided to try it herself. Meeting other women who competed sealed the deal.
“I’m very competitive and big into fantasy, so it clicked,” she said. “In armor, I feel like a bigger person than 5-foot-2. It’s very empowering.”
In 2025, the New Order ranked 14th out of more than 70 American teams in Buhurt International, which has more than 310 registered teams and 3,200 individual competitors worldwide. Four New Order members competed at the 2025 IMCF World Championship in Texas, the first in the United States. This year, four New Order fighters — Knapp, Karissa Brand, Calvin Corell and Zachary Shadu — qualified for the U.S. team that competed against more than 500 competitors from 32 countries in the world championship at Spottrup Castle in Denmark. Team USA won the gold medal in the 5-on-5 men’s melee; the U.S. women won medals in duel competitions.
The team also demonstrates the sport in duels and multi-person melees during Sleepy Hollow’s twice-annual Renaissance Faires, held the first three weekends in May and September. In addition to promoting buhurt and attracting new participants, the demos give the team a fun break from competition, Zachary Shadu said. Team members don’t fight in full beast mode — to save themselves for competitions — but the fights, armor, weapons and risks are real.
“The biggest misconception is that it doesn’t hurt, or that it’s fake,” said Shadu, who’s broken a collarbone and two fingers and fractured a shin in the sport. “I describe it as wearing a tin trash can over your winter coat during the summer and getting hit hard by a 5-pound baseball.”
A friend introduced him to buhurt in 2020. Shadu had participated in mixed martial arts and decided to give the new sport a try for the first time on Mother’s Day of that year. “I put the armor on and fell on my face, but I was determined to stick with it,” he recalled.
Knapp and Brand were drawn to the sport after watching armored fighters at Sleepy Hollow, he in 2014 and she in 2025. Corell decided to give it a try almost three years ago, inspired in part by his childhood love of knights.
“Being able to wear armor and fight seemed like the coolest thing when I was 12 years old, and I never grew out of that,” he said. He added that qualifying to compete in Denmark was surreal, “like I’ve been playing college-level football, and now I’m going to the NFL.”
Brand admitted to crying when she qualified for the national team. “I’m going to be representing Team USA on an international level, at a castle in Denmark. That’s really special,” she said.
Cody Woodsmall is part of the New Order that organizes buhurt melees at Sleepy Hollow.
Woodsmall (No. 8) duels Ethan Evans (No. 2).
BUHURT BASICS AND BENEFITS
In buhurt, fights take place in an enclosed rectangular wooden structure called a “list” through one-on-one duels or in melees of five versus five, 10 versus 10 and even up to 200 versus 200 in some tournaments. Duels are won based on the number of strikes on an opponent. In melees, the main objective is to eliminate opponents by forcing them to the ground while also working to open opportunities for teammates to score. A combatant is considered “dead” when, in addition to his or her two feet, a third point of contact — such as a knee, hand or backside — touches the ground. The aim is to have fighters left standing when the opposing team does not.
Despite the hard knocks and falls, buhurt is not a free-for-all. The governing bodies’ rules for fighters prohibit groin shots as well as stabbing, chopping the backs of necks, hitting feet and striking behind the knees. “It isn’t a sport for the ‘see red’ people who think they’re going to go nuts and be so good at it,” Shadu said. “Given the training, expense and travel, you have to be committed.”
To say the least: A full set of high-quality custom-made armor — a wise investment in a sport that involves steel weapons — can exceed $5,000. Wearing it requires a high level of physical strength and stamina. Tournament travel entails expenses for gas or airfare, accommodations and meals.
Those who are willing to make those commitments say the opportunity to whale on others isn’t the primary reward; it’s the camaraderie forged in steel that fuels resilience, self-growth, confidence and, yes, fun. During competitions, Shadu has helped repair armor for opponents and even loaned them weapons to ensure they can participate. Corell has coached less-experienced opponents on fighting strategies. New Order members loan each other armor or hand it down to other members. When not competing or practicing, they often hang out together. Brand stated it succinctly: “Buhurt is love.”
“After you fight someone, you hug, talk about what worked and what went well,” she added. “The sport is really about teamwork and lifting everybody up.”
New Order members value good sportsmanship for both moral and practical reasons, Knapp noted. “We hold our members to high standards. If a fighter gets used to acting out, they can get the whole team disqualified in competition,” he said. “That’s why we focus really hard on team culture. Our whole goal is to be a homegrown team that’s able to compete on an international level.”
Zachary Shadu dukes it out with Calvin Correll.
Jarod Shaffer suits up in armor one teammate likened to a trash can over a winter coat.
Writer Barbara Dietrich Boose lives in Urbandale and has covered everything from mental health and homelessness to book clubs and breakdancers. Photographer Bob Blanchard lives in Des Moines and has photographed food trucks, cultural and religious traditions, and much more; he particularly enjoys environmental portraiture.
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