"I never felt like such a man before. I am definitely going back to whack some more people."
One-on-one fights last one minute and 30 seconds during a regular round and two minutes during semi-final and final rounds. During that time, opponents strike and block each other, trying to earn the most points by the end of the period. Despite the constant whacking, there has not been a major injury at the battles. At random times during the evening, the audience can grab a weapon and have a group melee. Matt Overstreet, Augusta graduate student, went to the Barbarian Battle on a whim and jumped right into the melee. "I never felt like such a man before," Overstreet says. "I am definitely going back to whack some more people."
Gasser insists the fighters at the tournaments remember they are there for a good time and not to hurt each other. He says fighters are also on an honor system, where they must report all of the blows that judges don't see. Not being able to see all of the blows is a major challenge in the dimly lit Granada, Gasser says. Kevin Smith, a Madison, W.Va, senior, and Barbarian Battle participant, not only enjoys the physical aspect of the battle, but he also enjoys the "warrior spirit" element. The spirit embodies the honor code that the tournament has, adds discipline and the responsibility of wielding a weapon. Smith, who christened himself Gunner for tournament play, is no stranger to being a warrior after spending four years in the Marine Corps and five years in the U.S. Army. He likens barbarian battles to martial arts.
The barbarian tournaments in Lawrence came from the Kansas City Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs, where Gasser and Smith work. Gasser, the official "Barbarian" at the festival, was turned on to this style of fighting from other festival participants two years ago. He was immediately hooked and wanted more than just Renaissance buffs to enjoy the sport. By taking it to bars such as the Granada, Gasser says he is bringing the sport to a much wider audience. Right now he admits the pool of fighters isn't very diverse and is limited to medieval, Renaissance and swordplay enthusiasts.
the Granada was in December and brought in 12 fighters; the second, in February, so people duke it out and about 100 spectators. Gasser is predicting about 50 fighters will exchanging blows at the next Barbarian Battle on March 1, thanks to word of mouth and fliers around Lawrence and the Kansas City area.
Kevin Smith, Madison, W.Va., senior, sometimes wears chainmail armor during barbarian tournaments. Smith also works at The Leather Rose, an artisan booth, during the Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs.
2 in Lawrence and Ground the world. Organizations such as Dagorhir, Society for Creative Anachronism and Darkon all offer barbarian fighting similar to Gasser's classes and tournaments, but on a grander scale, involving hundreds of people, organized teams and camp-outs. Where tournament held at the Granada have more of a "come as you are" attitude, these organizations require proper medieval dress, have more stringent rules and an organized ranking system. Darkon goes beyond weapon fighting and allows participants to grapple and cast spells in order to knock points off each other during battles. Smith, an assistant manager of a leather armor and goods booth at the Renaissance Festival, says joining these clubs requires a cost of up to several hundred dollars in order to buy the proper clothing and make the proper weaponry.
Gasser wants to take his tournaments in a different direction than these costly organizations. He wants to organize fraternity vs. fraternity battles. He thinks that fraternity members would enjoy battling one another for prizes over a few beers. Gasser is working on creating audience participation tournaments at the next Renaissance Festival. He wants more participation because a lot of people just come to the festival and shop. "You go to the festival and you can shoot an arrow, watch a joust, play some games and that's about it," Gasser says. "The rest of the day you're just shopping. I want something that people can get into."
Gasser also has a loftier goal with these battles. "I kind of want to make a reality television show out of this."
— Neil Mulka can be reached at nmulka@kansan.com.
2.26.04 Jayplay
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