Knight Club

This is the Battle Of The Nations, the world's biggest,

full contact medieval fighting tournament.

Blimey!

Teams of men from around the world in medieval armour

go head-to-head, using swords,

shields and fists to beat their opponents in a brutal competition.

From humble beginnings in Eastern Europe, now fearsome hordes

from 22 nations are looking to be crowned world champions.

This year, Team UK compete for the very first time.

Can these amateurs withstand the physical punishment?

And why would they want to?

England! Take charge!

This year we're going to get our cherry popped.

Four young, British Knights. Bold!

This is a World Championships.

Sounds amazing, doesn't it?

Brave...

It's all just about living the most interesting life that you can.

And a little bit bonkers...

..seek glory on the battlefields of France.

It's freedom to go out there and have a good scrap.

They must be fit, strong

and have the courage to protect their team-mates with honour.

I want to prove that the little guy can actually be successful.

But with just four months to go until battle,

preparation time is tight.

They're not ready yet.

Definitely we need to have more training.

We've lots of things to improve.

Can these first timers avoid demolition at the hands

of the mighty Team USA?

The savage Team Israel?

Or the all-conquering champions, Team Russia?

Health and safety be damned.

It's ferocious. It's all-out war.

Welcome to Knight Club.

In Britain, traditional historical re-enactment has,

until now, looked something like this.

Groups of men and women waving their swords about in choreographed

re-creations of the greatest battles from British history.

But this theatrical hobby could be a thing of the past.

Because an all-new, full contact fighting discipline is on the rise.

This is historic, medieval battle,

known as HMB for short.

The more passionate call it a sport

and it's a bit like re-enactment's feisty cousin.

Teams of knights with weapons battle mercilessly for their country,

battering their opponents to the floor.

Whichever team is left standing wins.

Those who can get back up count themselves lucky

and then count their limbs.

So where does Great Britain figure in this new, full contact sport?

This is the tiny ten-member Team UK,

formed only a few months ago.

What's your name?

-Gwilym.

-Gwilym.

For many of the new recruits, today marked their very first go

at full contact fighting,

yet in less than four months they'll compete on the world stage.

I'm quite inexperienced with full contact fighting,

so I think at the minute the only tactic I have

is just charge and hope for the best.

It's the first Team UK training session for young knight Gwilym,

here in the grey chainmail.

This weighs a surprise amount.

Just moving your arms in this is tiring and when you've got

another 2-3 kg of sword there as well,

every strike starts to become agony.

For Gwilym's friend and brand new team recruit, Dan,

this is a perfect mash up of history and full contact sport.

My armour is mixed Gothic, Milanese style,

quite late mid-14th century.

It's very heavy, one millimetre mild steel,

about 45-50 kg.

At first glance it does look quite disorganised.

You see guys flailing their arms around

and it looks like a bunch of idiots, basically.

But once you get into it you see it really is like fighting for real.

Thankfully there are some experienced knights

in the ranks of Team UK.

These men aren't exactly British born and bred,

but they fight with pride for their newly adopted nation.

Put your helmets and weight as on the battlefield.

Nikolaj is from Lithuania.

He's well qualified to teach novice knights skills and tactics.

I started full contact, medieval fights ten years ago.

I have lots of experience.

I fought with the best fighters in the world.

We need to improve everything, fitness, experience,

techniques, skills in arms.

We'll work on everything,

we've lots of work to do.

As the main aim of the sport is to get your opponent to the ground,

it seems only the fittest knights will survive

fighting at international level.

Definitely we need to have more training,

we need to have at least two trainings a week.

There are lots of things to do to improve.

They're not ready yet.

Nikolaj may be Team UK's trainer,

but this man is Team UK's captain.

This is Mark. His mission?

To build an army of steely-eyed Sir Galahads.

At the moment the recruitment process has been

through myself going to shows and events,

spreading it by word of mouth.

-The full championship is in May.

-Where is it?

This one is in France.

We're recruiting if you want to come along to the training and see what you think.

Mark is hoping to hook in historical re-enactors with this new sport's unique selling point.

Weapon-wise, we can use swords,

axes, hammers, maces,

pole axes,

pole hammers,

there are very few restrictions.

They are rounded to a 3-4 millimetre edge,

which if you've ever hit your fingers with a hammer, you'll have a rough idea of how much it'll hurt.

My favourite weapon.

This is the buckler.

It weighs in at approximately 3.5 kilos.

And it punches brutally into the face.

With the great responsibility of being captain,

Mark is selling up his medieval sword and armour shop

in order to carry the hopes of the nation

on its virgin voyage into battle.

This year is where...

I can't think of the word I want to use for this type of thing,

we're going to get our cherry popped.

Britain's success at their first Battle of the Nations tournament

rests on inexperienced shoulders,

like those of knight-in-waiting Gwilym.

Are you hungry?

A bit of a nerd really, but I'm OK with that,

I like being a nerd.

I'm also a re-enactor.

I've always had a strong interest in history since I was a child,

and especially medieval history.

There's that romantic image of the knight in shining armour,

which I think most kids like.

These are the remains

of my first and much-loved swords.

I came in for a headshot, a block,

and the sword shattered.

I will argue against anyone who says

that being a nerd is a bad thing.

Seriously, nerds run the world, you know. We're the ones...

That camera right there, that exists because of a nerd.

And what's the perfect nine to five job for a nerd who loves knights?

Making computer fantasy games for other nerds.

I work quite a lot with Kinect,

Microsoft's motion sensor device.

It can track my position,

so the player's movements can be mimicked in the game

and used for, in this case, things like riding a horse,

controlling reins, casting magic, things like that.

And it seems swapping computerised heroics for a full contact,

real-world version is exciting his workmates.

It's not that bad, I thought it would be terrible.

You say that now, but stand up for a second.

I can't look at you or Pete.

-You can only look at one person.

-Yeah.

So, you start off fighting

and then the guy is grappling. Where are my feet?

Struggling.

Exactly, so all of a sudden, you can trip someone,

and that's when you have a problem.

It's fine fighting Bob in the office,

but fighting complete strangers at a tournament in France

represents a different kind of challenge.

I'm 5'10", which isn't tiny,

but it's not exactly big compared to some of these fighters

and it just kind of sucks that you've got to be some hairy, hominid,

toothless, behemoth to even have a chance of competing.

I want to prove that the little guy can actually be successful.

Llanbradach in South Wales is home to another of Team UK's

eager Sir Lancelots.

Dan has lived and breathed historical re-enactment

all his life.

His mum took him to his first re-enactment event at just

eight months old, not that he had much say in the matter.

This is kind of like

our little armoury area here.

My mum's archer's helmet here.

To keep her head safe.

I've got a couple of my round shields here.

And my Kriegsmesser, stands for war knife.

Two-handed, but it's got a nice short reach,

so hopefully I can use it with one hand as well as two hands.

It just seems normal to have things like this in the house.

Dan wants to feel like a real knight on the battlefield,

face a real enemy and dish out real blows.

As far as I see it, re-enactment is a hobby.

It should be a sport, something you can hopefully

get into professionally and I hope in a few years we'll be able to do that.

My family, they worry for my safety first of all,

because looking at it from outside, it does look very dangerous.

Come on, then.

Saw a few videos on YouTube.

Crikey!

SHE LAUGHS

It's a shocker.

But he's barely 21, he's got to do what he wants to do.

I try not to be too fussy about things and worry too much.

I just hope that he has a really good time and he doesn't get hurt.

Hopefully, when I come back from France, I'll be in one piece.

I'll be still standing, still smiling, and hopefully,

I will be able to come back knowing that I did my best.

At his medieval shop,

Team UK's captain is doublet deep in background research

into the rival nations attending this year's tournament.

It's going to be a painful weekend in France.

I'm concerned about the new Welsh guys.

This will be a bit of a baptism of fire

for some of them, unfortunately.

But I'm sure they're not going to back down without a good fight.

I've got faith in that.

Whilst Mark considers the inexperience of his men,

another young knight considers his motivation.

It's not about fantasy or anything like that for me.

I mean, you do get people that do it for that, but I think with me,

it's just the fact that I can run around hitting people,

and I'm happy enough with that.

For Rob, it seems being a gallant knight in shining armour

didn't figure in his childhood dreams.

I was more interested in fighting and having a scrap

when I was younger, and then I got older

and stopped scrapping because I think I grew out of that.

Because he was always a big boy and he'd got red hair,

he tended to get picked on, and he would retaliate.

I was the first person in that primary school

to knock someone out cold.

Yes, he knocked somebody out!

Rob's a leather worker at his mum's traditional saddlery business.

Working with my mum's OK.

We get on quite well, me and my mum.

We don't argue very much at all.

There are times when he gets told off

if he's been out the night before and comes in late.

Rob's mum and dad are going through a divorce.

It's a stressful time for all of them.

It is quite tough for her, I think, at the moment,

especially with my dad going through the divorce and that.

She's worrying about what's going on with him,

what's going on with the business,

will she have a house and a shop at the end of it?

Feeling the heat from everyday life,

Rob uses full contact medieval fighting as a pressure valve.

That's another reason why I enjoy the Battle of the Nations,

the fact that health and safety hasn't got all over it

like they've done with everything else.

At least in this, you can just run around and do what you want.

Just the freedom to go out there and have a good scrap.

And luckily for Rob,

he won't have to wait until the tournament in France.

It's now late March,

and he and Team UK set up at historic Ludlow Castle

on the English-Welsh border, for a very special training event...

Their first ever public display.

You know how heavy that canvas is.

In centuries gone by, the castle was used

to keep Welsh invaders out of England,

but that now seems a long time ago.

Going to go for a stroll. It's a nice day. The market's out, you know.

Try and get some attention.

Can't be that hard, can it?

In less than 24 hours, Team UK will be fighting each other

in front of the British public.

So Dan and the team do their best to drum up a crowd.

We're doing some full contact medieval fighting.

Proper people smashing each other, knocking each other down.

Flipping heck!

You don't see it in every town centre, do you?

Mission accomplished, Captain Mark now shows Rob and Dan

some of the more advanced tournament weaponry.

This is a Russian one. It's one of the prototypes we've made up

to see what our opponents will be hitting us with

in a few weeks' time in May.

Ooh!

Harder! I love it!

No. I don't want to be on the receiving end of one of those.

Neither do I, but that is what the Russians are using,

so you need to be aware of this.

For gadget geek Gwilym, this medieval weekend

is about going back to basics, even in sub-zero temperatures.

I love my technology, I really do, but it's nice occasionally

just to turn everything off and get out in the countryside.

You've got a tent, you've got stew cooking,

and those are your only worries.

But it seems there are some comforts

a bloodthirsty warrior just can't live without.

So I will be crashing on this tonight,

proper double size as well, so I can spread out nice and comfy.

Get a bottle of mead in me as well, and I won't care how cold I am.

For Dan, the medieval way is best - unless, of course, it's dinner time.

It's too windy here for me.

That's the thing with modern technology,

it's not used to being outdoors.

If you look at our fire over there, if it's too windy it doesn't matter,

the fire will keep going, but this thing is going to blow out.

Yep, back to the fire.

See, you can't beat a good old fire.

Around the fire, new members of Team UK

bond with their more learned comrades,

but can these relative strangers make it work

as a highly tuned medieval military unit?

It's a beautiful morning

in the pretty market town of Ludlow in Shropshire.

Come on, lads, wakey, wakey!

Let's see the horrible sights.

-I had a fucking air bed, and it popped.

-Language!

I'm not pleased. I slept on the floor.

I did warn you that the air beds don't work!

Today, the well-rested Team UK

will fight for the first time in front of the British public.

We're going to be doing some archery,

and we'll be looking for some victims

to stand down the far end and have some arrows loosed at you.

Then the idea is to go and do some team fights, mix it up,

try different combinations.

Interact with the public. Just have a nice, hot, busy day.

As well as a fun day out for families,

this event is a chance for Team UK

to test out intimidating fighting moves.

And given that they're battling their mates,

they will perhaps show some mercy.

What I really want to do is get the axe

and hack away at the opponent's legs, or his side, his kidneys.

The big guys tend to be the targets first, funnily enough.

-What are your plans?

-Just kill them.

Is this what the newest recruits were expecting?

Little bit nervous,

especially after seeing what Lucas and Nikolaj can do.

We've fought them once before. Not really relishing that again.

Two minutes doesn't seem long,

but it's the longest two minutes of your life,

so you've just got to pace yourself

-and not burn yourself out.

-As soon as my colours arrive, we can start.

Just as Team UK splits into two groups

for the first skirmish of the day, a new knight steps forward

-to stake his claim as part of the British team.

-I'm Sam.

I'm from Chester, sort of the Northwich area.

I do a lot of historical martial arts.

I'm very competitive, that goes without saying.

Whether mountain biking, snowboarding

or suiting up in armour, for Sam, it's all about the adrenaline rush.

I do these things, yeah.

I suppose it adds a bit more flavour to life

when there is a bit of danger involved.

Your heart starts going and you get that adrenaline.

Better than being sat at home.

In HMB, I see myself as an athlete.

I just see it as a sport, and it's sports equipment.

It's all just about

living the most interesting life that you can, while you can.

Back in Ludlow, Sam grasps the opportunity

to earn a place on the team.

It looks like pandemonium, but in practice sessions like these,

the team tries to keep a formation.

They learn awareness, and it teaches them to help each other

when they get into trouble.

It's the first decent action Ludlow Castle has seen in about 500 years.

The crowd seems happy enough, but how did the young knights get on?

I couldn't see what was going on, so blinkered in the helmet.

Very happy with how my armour performed.

My helmet's the heaviest of the group, but it wasn't so bad.

It did pretty well.

The helmet was new today.

It's come out with a few dents, but my head's OK.

Well, as OK as it can be.

And for first-timer Sam?

Yeah, that was great, for a first go.

I think I made a good impression.

So I've met the lads.

Ludlow appears to have been a great success for Team UK.

His courageous effort means Sam has made the team.

With no squire to help,

the novice knight enlists his dad, Peter,

to bang out the dents in his kit.

That, because of the rip there, I'm having a bit of trouble.

That's all right. That'll do.

I've always had a really good relationship with my family.

Like with my dad, for example, he's always helping me out with my kit.

We bounce ideas off each other, how we can make the armour better,

how we can make it fit better.

It's a really good thing to have that sort of support.

He's doing, really, the ultimate game. I really am proud of him.

When he was in the army, it was the same pride.

Representing the country. He was out there, doing it.

I did two tours of Afghanistan.

When you do hear that someone has been injured or killed,

especially if they were doing a similar job,

you do get shocked by it.

Yeah, I think I did grow up quite a lot when I was out there.

Each day he was out there,

you'd dread a strange car coming in the yard.

Because that's how they go round and notify people

when there's been any bad news.

So every time a car came in the yard,

every time the phone rings, your heart's in your mouth.

-But you survived it.

-Yeah. Now I'm doing this instead.

Soon, Sam, Gwilym, Dan and Rob

will be wearing kilo upon kilo of metal armour

and wielding mighty weapons in the scorching heat of France.

If they want to avoid defeat,

the boys from Britain need to put in some serious training.

Now I'm doing this HMB stuff,

I'm targeting it towards explosive strength,

because that's what you need in this.

The fights don't last that long, 30 seconds, maybe.

We need to be able to fight as if we didn't have the armour.

The armour's got to be unnoticeable.

I'm trying to put on as much weight as I can

to help me against the bigger lads.

You've got more chance of staying up.

The least sporty of the new recruits

relies on training partner Nymmy,

named after that wolf from Game Of Thrones.

I'm trying to make sure I do regular push-ups and stuff

at home throughout the day.

I'm trying to get into a habit of doing it. I've made myself a rule.

Every time I go upstairs or go to the bathroom,

I'd have to do 20 push-ups, 20 ab crunches and 20 squats.

That worked well for about a week.

Then I just started going to the toilet less.

Some might say that Rob's training regime lacks the same conviction.

Cheers.

My training has been varied.

A lot of it, unfortunately, has just been the right arm.

Pint glass, right arm, lift, drink, there we go, training done.

Cheers!

I know how to fight anyway, I don't need practising that.

A young knight's first line of defence is armour,

and any kinks could prove fatal during battle in France.

I'm more comfortable wearing my armour than my work clothes.

When I put on this armour, you know, I'm a hero, so to speak.

It's the end of April,

and the last full squad training session for Team UK.

This is the final test before we go.

After this, everything will be packed in the van, ready for France,

so this is it.

Everyone is together today.

So it's lastminute.com, isn't it, sorting out all the teams.

Everyone's here and all tooled up.

Everyone, that is, except captain Mark and Rob,

who are driving down from the Midlands.

With the main aim of this kind of combat being

to knock your opponent to the ground,

first on the agenda

is how to use an opponent's body weight against them.

That's hard work, that.

Just breathing.

Just can't get the air in.

With training time running short,

there's no denying that the mood in the camp is tense.

Don't have it just on the back, have the hand right around there.

-Grab him here.

-I hate doing grabs, man.

Finally, a full four hours after he planned to arrive,

captain Mark shows up with a sheepish Rob in tow.

I got out of bed a bit late.

I was supposed to be picking him up for about nine o'clock,

but I didn't get in until about 12.30,

hangover and oversleeping being the main problem there.

The next time the British knights put on their armour,

it will be for the real thing,

the 2013 Battle of the Nations competition in France.

Today, four young knights from Britain

begin a modern-day crusade

to the most brutal full contact medieval fighting tournament

in the world.

I'm proud be English and I'm proud to be out there

with the St George's Cross on,

because I love to wear the St George's Cross for pride.

Charging out there, battling for Queen and country.

Won't be too happy about the 12-hour journey,

but that's all to come yet, so we'll worry about that later.

Can't wait.

Just want to go and fight some people now.

There are some things I'm still a bit worried about.

I don't really want to let anyone else down.

I don't want to be the person

who makes things difficult for my team to win.

It would be nice if the team as a whole

actually saw me as an asset by the end of it.

It's nice to be able to say I was part of the first team

that the UK entered into the Battle of the Nations.

This is a World Championships in a full contact ornament.

Sounds amazing, doesn't it? So yeah, I think it will change me.

It'll make me a more confident person in myself.

If I can achieve that, I can achieve anything.

This stunning fortress is Aigues-Mortes,

on the French Mediterranean coast.

800 years ago, it was a point of departure

for the Christian crusades.

But today, it's a gathering point

for a new breed of knight from all four corners of the globe

as the town welcomes the world's biggest

full contact medieval fighting event, the Battle of the Nations.

Anton is commander-in-chief of the event. He's from the Ukraine.

TRANSLATING: We know for sure

that our battles are more spectacular than some other kinds of sport.

People are interested to watch not only action...

but equipment as well.

It is not only sport, but a sport cultural movement.

For HMB, or historic medieval battle,

to give the sport its full name,

this is the biggest tournament ever held.

As gallant knights and fair maidens from 21 other nations

build impressive period campsites,

captain Mark, with the ever-present Rob at his side,

are the first to arrive from Team UK.

It's time to stake out a corner of a foreign field

that will be for ever England... and for Wales, too.

Well, everybody else has a lovely, lovely...

tables, chairs, campfire and everything.

You can see exactly what we've got so far.

There you go, a bench and a little basket for fire.

Now, hopefully in about six hours' time, we should have everything else.

-A flag would be nice.

-We could always use your Northern Rock flag.

I'm happy to hoist that somewhere, you know.

Leading the motorised crusade, Sam and Dan conserve energy

as fellow fighter Robert and his wife Agnes drive.

I don't know where we are.

With many nationalities going to the event,

these noble young knights are acting as cultural ambassadors for Britain.

"Le singe...dans la branche".

The monkey is on the branch.

Back at Aigues-Mortes,

Mancunian Rob is taking time to embrace

this unfamiliar and foreign land.

People don't speak any English.

They look at you funny because you're English.

The traffic's absolutely awful.

The way that they drive's awful.

But I can't really complain too much. I'm here, it's sunny.

I'd probably prefer it to be raining, to be honest.

Be more like England then.

After a day's journey by car, Sam and Dan arrive.

But Gwilym and the transit van full of kit is nowhere to be seen.

You're a bit late. The event's over, chaps.

Mate!

After months of waiting,

the young knights get their first glimpse

of the intimidating arena where tomorrow,

they will be fighting for glory, for Queen, for country.

Looks fantastic. It looks like a proper Colosseum.

A bit of modern, bit of medieval mixed into it.

I like it. Looks awesome.

Seeing some of these frightening weapons

that are on display around here, they are very, very terrifying!

I'm hoping we have virtually zero injuries.

We will see. We will have to see.

With such competent knights, Mark has nothing to worry about.

Although he does seem nervous

about where on earth the rest of his army are, all 15 of them,

including young knight Gwilym.

I'm praying to God that we are now going to get our vehicle

full of camp equipment, eating utensils and everything else.

But much, much later, the British kit van has yet to arrive.

It's started to rain now, and I want my kit and a dry roof.

I would have liked to put the tent up in the daytime,

but it's pitch black now.

Finally, after 16 hours on the road

and delays in the badlands outside Paris, Team UK's cavalry arrives.

Dan is reunited with his pal Gwilym.

-How's it going?

-What time do you call this?

Too fucking late.

Whilst the knights reacquaint themselves

with their best buddies,

Mark brings ominous news from tournament headquarters,

and it's about historical authenticity.

This campsite needs to be 100% perfect.

If it wasn't around in the 1500s, we don't have it.

Tomorrow, the tournament gets serious.

But for now, Team UK have a long night ahead of them,

making a camp worthy of the brave.

It's morning on the opening day

of the world's biggest full contact medieval fighting event,

the Battle of the Nations tournament.

At Team UK's camp, it already seems

like they have their first casualty of war.

-Erm, mead, beer, whiskey, schnapps...

-Vodka.

..vodka.

I think there was some wine in there too.

We have five minutes now before authenticity police could

come around and there's a 50 euro fine for anything inauthentic.

So, rugby sock hanging out the tent will cost me 50 euros.

They came around and a group got flagged up because they had

a potato and no-one in Europe had a potato in the Middle Ages.

So, yeah, you've got to fear the potato Nazis, unfortunately.

Like the Olympic Games, Battle of the Nations begins with

an opening ceremony.

As venerable knights from around the globe proudly

gather in the arena, the air is thick with anticipation.

-So, are we all ready then? Gwil, ready?

-Yeah.

Just waiting on one more to come out the tent

and I think we just get over there.

Only four months ago this humble shopkeeper, Mark,

from Burton upon Trent, accepted a noble quest,

to build Britain's newest army.

The first and only medieval full-contact national team.

Now, as proud captain,

he marches his 15-strong band of brothers into battle.

And one team the first timers could do without meeting is

the all-conquering and terrifying Russia.

Already three times tournament champions.

The prestigious opening ceremony is marked by rousing

words from each team captain.

As I look at this crowd assembled in front of us, my heart swells.

We are very, very honoured to be in the company of you great warriors.

Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

ANNOUNCER: Here are the United Kingdom.

Hello, France.

This is the United Kingdom's first battle here

and we hope to make many, many, many more battles within

the Battle of the Nations tournament every year.

Erm...OK.

Merci beaucoup.

With the tournament now officially open,

the boys can immerse themselves in a most unique festival.

No other place has the authentic feel and flavour of the Middle Ages.

-Watermelons are authentic, are they?

-No, it's pizza.

Well, fair point.

But the medieval markets are not the main attraction.

This is...

Unrelenting, full-contact carnage and lots and lots of injuries.

Men from 22 nations in brutal competition to decide

who will be crowned kings of the world.

The tournament consists of three fighting categories.

There are the mass battles of 21 versus 21.

Then there's the quicker explosive speed of the five versus five.

And then, for the more refined fighter,

the technical accuracy of the one versus one duels.

Although the weapons are blunt, a strong blow can do untold damage.

Entering the duels from Team UK are Lukas and Nikolaj,

two of the team's most experienced combatants.

Big respect for them for doing that.

It's not easy, so we'll be supporting them as much as we can, really.

-Wish them the best of luck.

-Like a boxing match,

the one versus one category is all about connecting blows and

scoring points, plus knocking your opponent onto his medieval backside.

THEY CHEER

But trainer Nikolaj is caught off-guard

fighting a French chevalier.

Tripped him.

-It happens.

-Dirty French tactics.

Not only is Nikolaj knocked out of the one versus one,

but Team UK receive their first injury.

ANNOUNCER: Victory for France.

Team UK's Lukas is a formidable fighter.

-Go Lukas!

-Go Lukas!

But comes up against a huge Polish guy

and a terrifying rain of blows.

Lukas is hurt. I think he might have hit his hand, or something.

He's obviously tired and that Polish guy looked fresh.

He was just coming in so hard and so fast. Yeah...a bit concerned.

The plucky Brits have been knocked out of the one vs. one competition

and the brutality of the fighting is a short, sharp shock to the team.

Based on what we've seen so far today, two members enter,

two members get injured.

With Nikolaj's eye injury on his mind, novice knight Gwilym

ensures his helmet is well padded to protect his face.

Go and have a talk with the Spanish team captain,

cos he's got a Roman nose as well.

Or perhaps...

-What are you trying to say here?

-It's Roman all over your face.

LAUGHTER

After several hours, Lukas returns from hospital.

-Is it much pain?

-It's lots of pain, yeah.

-What did the X-ray say?

-It's broken in half.

-It's broken in half, clean break.

-Is it a clean break?

-Yeah.

-At least that's something.

It's been a disastrous first day for Team UK.

Yesterday, interesting day.

Our two best fighters got injured in the duels.

I was expecting to see a few injuries,

I wasn't expecting them in our team, that was a bit shocking.

I don't think, until that point,

it seemed that different from re-enactment.

I mean, the campsite and everything.

I'm used to this, we do this several times a year.

But when we actually watch them just taking each other apart,

that's when it really hit home just how different this is, you know?

But the combat arena is an unforgiving place.

As crowds pour in, the fast and furious

five versus five competition has begun.

To win, you need to knock all of the other team to the

floor as quickly as possible.

It sounds like a dream come true for novice knight Dan,

who is keen to pick up tips.

Rushing to get to the start of the fiery fives.

I think we'll do well in the first few bouts,

but after that it's up against the big guys then.

Russia, Ukraine, Poland, that's when it'll get nasty.

A battle is the best of three bouts.

Each team is made up of five knights.

It's an eye-opener for Dan,

who dreams of turning professional at this sport.

That guy's huge...that guy is huge but you can be the biggest guy in the

world but you've still got a head with a helmet on,

like everybody else.

Despite his eye injury, Nikolaj will lead the more experienced Team A.

Sam, Rob, Dan and Gwilym will fight in Team B.

They'll have an opportunity to watch and learn as Nikolaj

and his men face opponents Czech Republic.

In the group stages, each team faces three other nations.

This is the first time either team has fought at this

international tournament.

It's an explosive start,

but quickly in the first bout, the Brits come out on top.

One-nil to Team UK.

But it's the best of three bouts,

and the Czechs come out strong in the second round.

The Brit crusaders soak up the pressure

and some skilful work sees the last Czech fighter put to the ground.

Team UK's first team wins the battle two bouts to nil.

ANNOUNCER: Victory to United Kingdom.

I saw how important it was to stay together as a group.

You know, if you do run off into a...on your own,

then you'll just get picked off.

I'm ready for my fight now.

I'm ready but I've got to wait a little.

While Team A make their group stage fights look easy,

beating their next opponents, Italy, in straight bouts...

ANNOUCER: Victory UK.

..the more inexperienced Team B receive

help from their squires to prepare for war

and possibly a beating.

We have a lot to live up to!

Just a matter of months ago, these four young knights began

their training and soon they step up to fight in front of the world.

Dan's ditched historical re-enactment to pursue this

new full-contact sport.

But are he and his brand-new kit up to the challenge?

Yeah, this will be main test of the armour.

If I come back in one piece, everything's good.

I know the armour is good quality,

it's whether or not it's fitted right.

Erm, it's all about the padding underneath.

For adrenaline-fuelled Sam, fighting is the ultimate buzz,

but right now the former soldier's thoughts are about home.

My dad would just tell me to just look after myself.

He'd be more worried about my safety than actually winning.

I think he'd be really happy to see me now, my dad.

Yeah, he'd love to be out here to watch.

Rob hasn't enjoyed his stay in France,

but right now this lad has only one thing on his mind...

A good scrap!

I was watching it last night and the amount of injuries they were getting,

like broken collar bones and broken arms

and blood spurting out of the sides of helmets...

And you start thinking, yeah,

maybe I should have been training and not drinking as much.

And then there's computer programmer Gwilym.

This self-proclaimed nerd is fighting

the cause of the little guy

and doesn't want to let his team-mates down. Will it be

a case of the "Dark Knight Rises"?

Yeah, this is kind of, you know, worlds away

from sitting behind my desk, coding away or playing on the Xbox.

So, yeah, a bit out of my element.

But should be fun.

With temperatures in the midday sun hitting 30 degrees,

captain Mark marches Team B to the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Team A have thrashed old adversary Argentina

and finished top of their qualifying group.

But they'll have to see who they're drawn against in the next round.

For Team B, the pressure is on and nerves have set in.

Their first opponents are the host nation, France.

For the first round, we should present the biggest guys.

Mark, er...Rob, er..Steve, Dan and Lukas.

Rob and Dan are on for the first bout.

Sam and Gwilym are on the subs bench.

I think I'm in there just because I've been moaning about France all this time.

So, they've stick me in as well and give them a good crack.

It's very hot in here.

I'm just trying to get used to the heat before I go out fighting.

Erm, I'm ready.

I'm ready.

Plan of attack, beat whoever's in front of me to the ground.

Find someone else, beat him to the ground and repeat.

Agincourt, Crecy, the Eurovision Song Contest, over the last thousand

years Britain and France have met countless times on the battlefield.

Today, Team UK face them in this unique sport on their home turf

and in front of their home crowd.

It's not going to be easy, and the team get in the zone.

This is it, the first of three bouts.

That's Mancunian Rob straight in there.

And before he knows it, two French knights close in on him.

Welsh Dan charges in to help Rob out and gets a beating for his trouble.

But it looks like Team UK are getting the upper hand.

With just two French knights left standing,

Rob ploughs in and Team UK win the first bout.

CHEERING

Perfect, guys, brilliant! But just attack more aggressively, you know.

Move around and move faster to help each other. Move faster.

So far it's one-nil to Team UK.

If they win the next bout, they win the battle.

And the boys go in hard.

Unfortunately, so do the French.

And soon captain Mark is the last man standing.

Despite Mark's gallant efforts, it's now one-all.

It's time for super subs Gwilym and Sam to come on.

They've been waiting a long time for this epic moment,

but can they make the difference?

This is the final bout. Win this, they win the battle.

And Gwilym is giving it some against some of their biggest fighters.

Sam rushes over to help

and does enough for the marshal to step in and stop the fight.

CHEERING

The boys beat the French two-one.

ANNOUNCER: Victory United Kingdom.

HE SHOUTS: England! England!

Perfect, perfect! Go, go, go...

Brilliant, brilliant, guys! You were perfect.

And no-one is happier than Rob that the French met their Waterloo.

This big French guy was just not letting me go.

So, in the end I just wrapped my arms around him and pulled the bastard down with me.

One of the Frenchman said that I hit hard.

And I gave him a little hug afterwards.

But we're all friends... at least I am, anyway.

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

Oh, wait, I am a fighter and a lover.

Sam and Gwilym went on in the third bout.

The guys were getting really tired, I could see it.

So, yeah, in a way it did knock my confidence a little bit

but, you know, they just substituted us back on and we're nice

and fresh so we turned that around.

I think I managed to get a few croppers on the French guy's

head, mainly with the shield rather than the sword.

He's just right up in my face, so I couldn't really get

the swings in there but I could get quite a bit of power with the shield.

Feeling a lot more confident now than I was this morning.

That serves them right for the toilets.

After just a few months of training together,

the brave young knights have triumphed in their tournament debut.

But this is only the start.

Next they go visor to visor with Israel.

Many of the Israeli fighters are ex-military

and they have a fearsome reputation.

England, go!

Courageous or suicidal,

captain Mark takes on the gargantuan Israeli at the back.

That's Rob running in to assist his buddies on the fence

but he gets swatted away with ease.

And now Dan gets floored by the same fighter that nailed Rob.

ANNOUNCER: And the round goes to Israel, five-zero.

The Israelis steam-roll Team UK, easily winning the bout,

and captain Mark's regretting taking on the biggest man on the field.

Big guy, lots of punches, he's got a good punch.

After the first bout, Team UK are losing one-nil.

With Mark out, Rob and Dan are joined at the back by Sam,

with the black and white shield and Gwilym in the black helmet.

Gwilym bravely heads straight for the big Israeli that took out Mark.

Sam rushes in, throwing himself on the back of one of the Israelis

who's pinning Rob and Dan against the fence.

Thrashing at them with his mace, it's just Sam left on his own.

Despite being outnumbered, he's not going to back down...

..until a huge Israeli knight pummels him to the floor.

MARSHAL: Stop!

ANNOUNCER: And the round goes to Israel, five-zero. Victory Israel.

Israel win the battle two bouts to nil.

Go, go to the tent.

They fight hard, they do.

-It's a wake-up call for the boys.

-It's just a learning curve, you know.

We need more training, more stamina.

If I want to do this seriously, I think you've got to train...it's

actually like a professional sport, the amount of fitness required.

They didn't bother striking, they were just wrestling us.

And we're weakest with wrestling.

I think I need to really use my speed to my advantage and try

and get around more.

Pick my battles and not just go for the guy who's coming for me.

I think that's really my main mistake.

Sleepy time!

With exhaustion setting in, the boys will have to

call on all of their energy and training for the next fight.

So, yeah, we've lost the match against Israel.

We did win the match against France, though.

Next we're up against Luxembourg.

They're a pretty good side from what I've seen, but we have to win

that if we want to get through to the next...the next group now.

This is the decider and the boys have everything to fight for.

Standing between them and the next round,

the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and its fearsome men.

This is it now, we've got to go for it no matter what.

-We can get through.

-We've lost one, they've lost one.

We need to win this to get through, so do they.

So, kill them, destroy them.

It's a savage fight.

The boys pile in.

Dan gets thrown down early but takes his opponent with him.

Somehow, Sam ends up with the Luxembourg captain,

the biggest fighter, holding the biggest weapon on the field.

But before he can deal the fatal blow,

Rob rushes in with a kamikaze bid.

Left on his own, it's Sam versus Goliath.

Gwilym in the black helmet is battling to stay on his feet.

Now, it's just Gwilym and Sam,

then a final crushing blow to his leg from the captain puts Sam down.

The last man standing at the other end is Gwilym, but not for long.

Team UK loses the first bout,

but worse than that, they're all walking wounded.

-My helm's fucked.

-Come on, Mark, get ready.

-Sorry, you should stay. We have no fighters.

-I can't breathe, man.

Because he has problem with the armour.

Dan's armour has failed, which means that injured captain Mark is

sent back in and a breathless Gwilym must fight again too.

The boys have to win this next bout to stay in the competition.

Sam and Gwilym were into some serious problems.

One has an axe and the other a mace.

Gwilym, in the black helmet, bravely runs in to help out team-mate Sam.

But even a key hit on the opponent's head isn't enough

to drop him and Gwilym gets floored, quickly followed by Sam.

Just one Team UK fighter left.

The last man standing is Rob and he's taking a thrashing.

Finally, marshals step in to stop the bout.

The valiant knights of the second team have been knocked

out of the five versus five competition.

Fucking weather, it's too hot.

Should have trained harder, really,

but it's too hot and I've not got enough water in.

That was hard. Everyone put everything into it and so did they.

Somehow, I ended up with the biggest guy every time.

Me and Sam, we did get crashed by one big dude but he was a big dude.

My left knee broke off and I wasn't allowed to fight on the last round.

I didn't like watching them, I felt powerless.

I wanted to go in and help them.

Cos, you know, they're my boys, they're my team.

We have lots of things to improve and we keep training,

we keep improving ourselves.

But for today, you are heroes today!

England!

TOGETHER: We charge!

Can I get a vanilla?

Fighting over for the day, best buddies Gwilym

and Dan grab a medieval ice cream and think about the future.

I really can't wait for next year, though, cos we're going to be so much better.

I don't know, I reckon it's easy to get up to semi-competent from completely crap.

But to get from competent to good...that's a bigger jump.

-I'm going to be shredded with thrill.

-You're going to be what?

-Shredded.

-Shredded.

At camp, the noble knights share war stories over a nice,

cold glass of mead.

I saw that other bloke...I had about three inch gap, if that,

between my hip plate and my leg plate

and he hit me twice in that same spot,

full power strike. And I was just like, aargh...

At the end I was just gripping onto the post like that and it was

like I'd stolen one of their pound coins or something cos

they were in every pocket. They were just all over me.

I was like, "I've got no money!"

HE LAUGHS

HE COUGHS

Oh, we drank way too much beer last night when we got back to camp.

Oh, I'm dying.

As Team B recover from the night's excesses, Team A conquer

Israel in the next round of the five vs. five competition.

THEY CHEER

Guys, we're in the quarterfinal!

Woo!

But now competition first timers Team UK face their greatest test.

Next opponents Russia have won every tournament since it began.

They're more tactical than other teams

and with Russia at first, it's a stand-off.

Then the fight explodes with ferocity!

Where Team UK struggle to find 15 men,

in Russia there are over 1,000 fighters to choose from.

The British boys fight as though their lives depend on it.

But it's not enough. Russia win two bouts to nil.

Team UK's first team is also knocked out of the tournament.

It was very hard.

We knew we have no chances against Russia,

so we just tried to get as much experience as we could.

They did really well and the Russians are tough,

-they're really tough so...

-We are too young for them at the moment.

Yeah, exactly...maybe next year, eh?

The closing ceremony of the Battle of the Nations tournament

begins with a startling and frankly insane spectacle.

This is the all versus all.

The competition's over and this gruesome carnage is purely for fun.

Up to 150 fighters in the arena at once,

and it's all about survival.

If you're a young knight and you're still hungry for battle,

this is your last chance to prove you're worthy.

Gwilym and Sam seize the moment and armour up one last time.

When 5' 10" Gwilym arrived,

he doubted his ability against the muscle men and hard-hitters.

I think I'm more confident in my abilities as a fighter now.

I honestly thought I'd go out there and I'd be the guy who gets taken

out in the first ten seconds, but I didn't, and I do have some potential.

I do have a chance to be good at this and maintain my place in the team.

-I took a really hard hit from a pole axe to the head.

-Let's do it.

Seeking to quench his thirst for danger,

Sam only started full-contact fighting a month ago.

For the adrenaline junkie in me,

when that visor goes down and all you can see

is five blokes stood in front of you

who just want nothing more than to hurt you, it's...

yeah, it does get you going.

APPLAUSE

So proud that they're doing it and they stood their ground.

As first-timers at the tournament,

it's been an incredible journey for the whole of Team UK.

Injuries in the one-versus-one battles,

but a quarterfinal place in the five-versus-fives.

Russia sweeps the awards, but a surprise for Team UK,

who win the best newcomer cup.

-United Kingdom!

-CHEERING

It's our first time out and we got to the quarterfinals.

That's insane. We're the only new team to get that far.

That's incredible.

-THEY CHEER

-Young knights Rob, Dan, Sam

and Gwilym joined this valiant crusade as novices.

They've bravely fought for queen and country

and are now knights of a much bigger realm.

Very proud now. Really proud of the team.

Everybody has performed wonderfully.

Next year, we're going to bring a bigger team.

Next year, hopefully, I'll be trained and fit.

I get this kind of five minutes of focus and determination,

and next minute, me mate rings me up and goes, "Fancy a pint?"

And I go, "Oh, that's a good idea!"

Yeah, cheers!

You do something like this against the world's best fighters,

it really pushes you to get to that sort of level.

I want to fight the Russians,

I want to fight Belarus, you know, Poland.

All the really good teams. I want to be up there doing that.

This has been a sort of wake-up call, really.

Now I know that this is really what I want to do.

This is the priority. Everything else is just secondary.

Work's there to put food on the table, to pay rent,

and to buy armour. Fitness is there so I can fight stronger.

Certainly next year, I'm going to be twice as good.

Iechyd da!

It's crazy to think that I've only been doing this

for a matter of months, but the people I've met,

I already really trust and get on with so well.

I definitely feel like I'm leaving here

having achieved something, you know.

I didn't let my team-mates down.

It's just like we've got this great group of lads that are just

all going out and giving everything they can.

It's been good meeting these guys and a privilege to fight with them.