The strongest knight? Eddie Hall tries out Knight fighting

Ahead of the launch of Knight Fight, a new show from the USA that showcases full contact medieval combat, we teamed up with World’s Strongest Man 2017 Eddie Hall to take on the world of Medieval MMA.

Eddie trained for the day with some of the UK’s leading Knight Fighters, immersing himself in the brilliant but brutal world where real people fight in real armour with real weapons.

Eddie tried his hand at all available weapons and particularly enjoyed smashing a helmet with a watermelon inside. Not only did he crack the helmet and destroy the melon, but Eddie’s sheer strength meant he also broke the mace!

As a complete novice to the sport, Eddie progressed from basic striking practice with soft weapons to full-on sparring with around 30kgs of 14th to 15th-century armour whilst wielding axes, swords and shields.

It wasn’t all fun and games, however, the weight of the gear and strenuous activity soon took its toll.

'I’ve got layers upon layers of cloth, metal and boots. I wouldn’t say there’s any positives apart from you’re protected. It’s been very hard, very tiring. I’ve been sweating a lot. I can’t wait to get out of these and have a lie down.'

As a big fan of the 1995 film Braveheart directed by and starring Mel Gibson, Eddie was looking forward to getting a feeling for what it would have been like in those epic battle scenes.

So, how would the strongman prepare to be a knight fighter?

'If I were training for Knight Fight, I would do a lot of restrictive breathing training. I would walk around with weights on my arms and legs. I’d also learn some breathing techniques as you do when attacking with the weapons.'

But even after all the hard work with his fellow armoured combatants, Eddie an eye-opening and enjoyable experience.

Do we have a future Knight Fight contestant on our hands? Perhaps not. At least the other competitors are safe from what could be the world’s strongest knight.