Justin ready for world medieval battle

Justin Stockbridge is New Zealand's only full-time armourer, a career path that he was set on after failing to find someone in New Zealand to make his armour when he got got involved in the sport of Medieval Combat.

"So like any good Kiwi, I figured it couldn't be that hard to do myself, and I spent $5 on a hammer and $15 on an angle grinder, and got to work."

Not only did Justin find a career out of his "trial attempt" but he also found himself involved in a fast growing sport, which now sees him heading off to Malbork, Poland in a few weeks to compete in an international tournament.

Justin, who is team captain of Taranaki's first team for full contact medieval combat, "the Steel Thorns" will travel to Poland with other members of the team, David Briscoe and Sophie Stockbridge.

Justin's wife, Sophie, will be competing in the one-on one-sword with shield category against other women from around the world, while Justin and David are both competing in the one on one longsword category, at the International Medieval Combat Federation (IMCF) tournament this month.

Justin says the three of them have already started trying to acclimatise themselves for the competition, "last time we went, we found it hard work, fighting jetlag and the extreme cold, so we are already trying to get used to the different time frame to give ourselves a head start when we get there."

To get to Poland, the Taranaki based trio first had to qualify, which they did while competing for the IMCF Pacific Cup at a tournament in Upper Hutt in February.

This two day event saw the Steel Thorns emerge victorious with an impressive list of wins to the team's name. Team members come from Taupo, Opunake, Cambridge and Stratford and meet in New Plymouth for regular training. While some of the team have competed before, for some members, like Martainn Cuff and Alex Kirkley it was their first event.

Justin says full contact medieval combat combines a mix of martial arts with armour and weapons and is a great hobby to take up.

To find out more about the sport and the Steel Thorns, contact Justin by email: justin@afultd.com or call him on 021-037-2081.