Will full-contact professional jousting be the next extreme sport? For some, it is a real-life passion and thrives outside of the movies and Renaissance fairs. Reigning Heavy Armor Jousting World Champion Charlie Andrews leads the “Knights of Mayhem,” a group of modern-day Lancelots and Galahads dedicated to transforming this medieval sport from a staged act to a professional sports phenomenon that will sweep the globe. For these “knights,” jousting is no dinner show. Donning 130 pounds of steel armor, they mount 2,000-pound horses and charge at each other with solid hemlock lances at speeds up to 30-mph, while peering through a quarter-inch eye slot in their helmets. When lance and knight collide, riders struggle to control their horses and absorb devastating impacts with potential for concussions, broken bones and far worse.
In Episode #2 entitled “The Harder They Fall”, Andrews puts two rookie knights through a crash course in training for the first major tournament of the year. The Sonora Celtic Faire hosted the event this last March and the crew from Nat-Geo filmed for five days in the Historic Gold Town of Sonora, California.
The series premieres on the National Geographic Channel on November 15th. Episode #2 is presumably the following week; we’ll let you know if that changes.
NatGeo is launching this new series with back-to-back hours tonight. Knights of Mayhem is about a group of jousting enthusiasts attempting to transform the medieval competition into a full-fledged professional sport. Meet the team in the première on the National Geographic Channel at 6pm PST, then watch their first competition in Sonora, California at 7pm PST. This episode filmed at the Sonora Celtic Faire @ the Mother Lode Fairgrounds last March.