BBC“Most people know what MMA is. It’s like that but in medieval armour using medieval weapons.”
Daniel Winter started armoured MMA 12 years ago when a friend told him about “the craziest sport ever” and he is now captain of Team GB, having fought in more than 100 tournaments.
The sport sees a group of fighters dress head-to-toe in armour, before punching, wrestling and hitting each other with sticks.
Daniel runs Armoured Martial Arts Nottingham, which offers sessions to people from beginner level and is home to White Company, a performance squad which has had international success.
“Pretty much every boy wanted a suit of armour,” Daniel said.
“To actually wear it and, not just that, get to use it and get to experience what it’s like to fight in armour is amazing.”
He started out in a borrowed suit of armour, running training sessions on a farm outside Nottingham.
Daniel said he met other fighters and they began competing at international tournaments.
“We were winning, we were doing really well and we decided ‘you know what, let’s see how far we can take this’,” he said.
White Company are now the world champions and some fighters have also won individual honours.
They have competed globally, most recently in France, the US and Italy.
There are one-on-one bouts but also team matches with up to 30 people on each side.
“It’s MMA meets rugby but in armour. We’re running around, we’re throwing people to the floor and we fight until one whole team is done,” Daniel said.
In the team matches, fighters are eliminated once they are thrown to the ground, whereas in the one-on-one battles, the fight continues on the ground.
Jenny Häbry is a three-time world champion who took up the sport after moving to the UK from Germany.
She is undefeated in the one-on-one category and has now started coaching internationally.
“My family is back home in Germany but my team is my family,” Jenny said.
“Having them all here and combining them with the cling-clang of violence is kind of like the right recipe for myself.”
As well as being the base for White Company, the gym in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, also hosts classes for different levels, including beginners.
Paris Labouch and Felix Gourlay saw people fighting in armour at an event at Sherwood Forest.
“I thought it looked like the sickest thing in the world,” Paris said.
“It’s the most fun way I’ve found to get into fitness.”
The couple have now been training in the sport for around three months.
Cai Robinson said he had moved to Nottingham from Chichester so that he can train at the gym more often.
He is no stranger to rough sports, having broken his nose and both wrists playing ice hockey.
“We are covered, it is real armour,” Cai said.
“Yes, we’re getting hit hard but it’s not as brutal as it looks.”
