Full Contact Medieval Tournament Combat comes to Bloodstock Open Air

Feudal fighters will be bringing Full Contact Medieval Tournament Combat to Bloodstock Open Air at Catton Hall, in South Derbyshire in August as medieval combatants hold a series of historical re-enactment battles and displays across the weekend in a special arena.

	Bloodstock festivalgoer

The team of fighters taking to the battle at Bloodstock are trained by Sussex-based Nikolaj Malnach, one of the top rated fighters in the world. Full Contact Medieval Tournament Combat is a full contact sport that revives the tradition of medieval tournament combat. It is fought to a strict set of rules and is rigorously marshalled. Four different event types have evolved – single combat (1 vs. 1), 5 vs. 5, 21 vs. 21, and 'all against all' - the mother of showdowns where the last man standing is quite literally the best in the world!

Single combat is fought as three categories consisting of long sword, sword and buckler, and sword and shield. It is scored in a similar way to fencing, with the number of hits counting. The object of 5 vs. 5 and 21 vs. 21 is to get the members of the opposing team down on the ground! Once knocked down a team member is out of the battle and remains in place until one team has downed all the members of the opposing team.

Battle of the Nations which is Europe's foremost, full contact medieval tournament currently has no entry from the United Kingdom to show the rest of the world just how hard British steel is. The competition to be held in France over 4 days, will have over 24 nations competing, at a festival of all things medieval, with troupes of players, authentic tents, crafts, and concerts.

There could be up to 1,000 participants, with last year's event attracting 17,000 spectators and over 300,000 viewers to the online broadcast. The team are striving for a world championship warm up at one of the smaller European contests in Bernau, Germany in February 2013.

Team UK will be fundraising to aid their efforts and are organising a display team to tour castles, stately homes, and outdoor events such as music festivals, agricultural events, and county shows to raise money for the team, and will be holding a series of historical re-enactment battles and displays across the weekend of Thursday 8th until Sunday 11th August 2013.

Headliners Slayer, King Diamond, and Lamb Of God are joined by Anthrax, Accept, Avantasia, DevilDriver, Dark Funeral, Ex Deo, Kataklysm, Municipal Waste, Whitechapel, plus Amorphis, Fozzy, and Firewind (as UK exclusives). With many more bands are still to be revealed. The festival will have exclusive performances, established, international, and breaking acts.

For the line-up details, day and stage splits, as available please click here.

As well as the international heavy metal bands across three stages, Bloodstock offers a large selection of merchandise stalls, metal karaoke, a campsite and a wide selection of food and bars.

A three instalment payment scheme is available on weekend tickets from Midday Thursday to Sunday, with a first payment of £39.25, then a second payment of £46 debited on 31st March, with a final payment of £39.75 debited on 1st May.

Tickets are priced at £125 for adults with camping, and car parking is priced at £15, child (aged 4 - 11 years) tickets are priced at £25, and campervan passes priced at £45. Day tickets are expected to be on sale at a later date. VIP options available at a later date.

To buy tickets, click here.

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