The Barbarians are also known for their “muggings” at the Ohio Ren Faire, which is combat with actual mugs.
“We already broke things,” said Barbarian Chris Milesky Thursday evening, cheerfully holding up two halves of a longsword he’d just snapped at the hilt.
The Cincinnati Barbarians are a team of full-contact medieval fighters for a sport called “Buhurt,” an archaic French word for a joust or tournament (though the word literally translates as “to wallop”).
“Basically, Buhurt is reenacting what the knights did in between wars. They would practice. That’s what we do,” said Mike Drake, Vice President of the group.
The Barbarians moved to Centerville after outgrowing their old gym in Bethel, Ohio, Drake said. The group has between 31 and 36 active members at different times of the year, six of whom are women.
At their grand opening last Saturday, the Barbarians hosted nearly 40 people who were interested in either joining the chapter or taking lessons. The group also plans to offer children’s lessons in the near future, bringing the number of practices to seven days a week.
“I’ll say what I say to everybody: come out. There’s no way to describe it, come out and see it,” Drake said.
Unlike other medieval combat or weapons sports, Buhurt is characterized by a more strict adherence to historical armor and weapons, as opposed to modern fencing equipment. Buhurt is also characterized by an almost-anything-goes style of fighting, including throws, punches and other wrestling moves - though thrusts of any kind are forbidden.
How authentic the armor and weapons have to be depends on which event you go to, said Barbarians armorer Travis Young.
“We just did Carolina Carnage a few weeks ago, and they have a full review board,” he said. “They check to make sure your equipment is all from the same region and the same time period. But there’s also...a more sport-optimized, modernized side of the sport.”
Carolina Carnage is the biggest Buhurt tournament in the United States. Cincinnati Siege, hosted by the Barbarians, is the second largest. Last year, the event was held at the Mount Orab Sports Complex near their former headquarters in Bethel, with 254 fighters in attendance.
This year, however, Cincinnati Siege will be held at the Ohio Renaissance Festival grounds in Warren County.
“It goes three days. This year will be duels on Friday, Saturdays will be the melee fights, which are five-vs.-five,” Drake said. “Sunday will wrap up the melee competition and then go into 12-vs. 12. It’s a lot of fun to come watch. It’s fast-paced.”
Whether or not they plan to change their name from the Cincinnati Barbarians to something else after their move is still to be determined.
“I don’t think anything’s been decided, but yes, this last week, there’s been discussion,” Drake said.
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