Motion and physiology analysis of the Medieval Combat Sport

Abstract

The Medieval Combat Sport or Buhurt is a form of combat sport, in which the combatants fight each other in full armor. This is a study examining the performance and related factors of a practitioner in the field of Medieval Combat Sport done at the LUT university. The performance of a combatant acting as an attacker was studied during an experiment simulating the Medieval Combat Sport duel. Motion analysis, Blood Lactate level, Heart Rate measurements, and Rate of Perceived Exertion were chosen as the methods of study. Another experiment was done by utilizing the bike Ergometer test, to have a better understanding of the performance level of the participant in a more controlled condition. Results regarding the performance showed signs of reduction through the duel. Kinematic aspects related to the performance such as the velocity of the attacking body part decreased, and the vertical position of the pelvis increased. Blood Lactate level and Heart Rate showed an extreme exertion level. The study of acquired results indicated that the Medieval Combat Sport is extremely demanding both aerobically and anaerobically. Maintaining the same level of performance would be extremely difficult if not impossible for the combatant, and this loss of performance may have great consequences both in the sport and on the health of the practitioners.