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Armored Instinct: Bringing combat of the past to the future

The ring of steel on steel, swords against armor, maces against shields, these are often considered sounds only from the far past. Today, however, that is no longer the case. With interest in the sword arts growing, in no small part due to organizations such as ARMA (Association for Renaissance Martial Arts) and HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) and Russia’s M-1 Medieval Sports League, more and more fans and athletes are taking up arms and armor to experience the thrills of historical combat for themselves.

Two such individuals are Kyle Roberts and Andrew Dunn, founders of Armored Instinct in Winchester, Kentucky, who answer questions below.

Question: What exactly (and who) is Armored Instinct?

Kyle: Armored Instinct is an armored, full contact, combative organization. The main focus is to give audiences an exciting and unique experience. There are rules in place for fighter safety such as no striking at or below the knee, and all blades must be blunted and tips ground down. I’m extremely anxious for the first fight with Andrew because we are both aggressive fighters, and I feel that will give the viewing audience an exciting show.

Andrew: Armored Instinct is an … organization that myself and best friend Kyle have spent years creating. For now its just the two of us, but one day we hope to have a whole slew of fighters chomping at the bit to be a part of what we have created.

Q: What are some of the inspirations for Armored Instinct?

Kyle: I have always been an enthusiast for the medieval era, and it has always been a dream of mine to fight in plate armor. Andrew and I both came up with the concept of Armored Instinct during a car ride. We were both curious on which one of us would win if we plated up and fought each other. The idea to film the bouts and put them on YouTube gave us the inspiration to try and form this into a new sport entity located in the United States. The name Armored Instinct was created by using armored (since it is armored combat), and instinct (because we wanted a person’s instinct to survive and win the fight to take over). There are no bouts on YouTube yet, but we are making great strides in regards to finally doing the first fight.

Andrew: I am a gamer through and through. I put hundreds of hours a year into immersing myself into beautiful, fantasy-filled worlds that take me away from normal mundane life. I often fantasize about what it would be like if wars today were still fought with sword and steel. More often than not I have wished to be whisked away to a far off-place where I could be something more than what I am today. My family believes I should have been born in medieval times so I could live in the world that has been long forgotten. Myself and Kyle breathed these thoughts daily and talked about the “what ifs” vigorously. That’s when it dawned on us. Warriors, swords, armor, medieval combat … those things don’t have to be forgotten. We can recreate them for this age and time. LARP and Renaissance fairs just never did it for us. We craved something more. Now, we have created it.

Q: What training/experience do Kyle and Andrew bring to Armored Instinct?

Kyle: I have been doing research and practicing techniques revolving around two-handed swords. Countless sparring sessions have shown me that I’m better than I thought. I have found that my strength comes from my overall speed with a blade. Now for professional experience and what I feel that I bring the organization, I am about to graduate from Morehead State University with a degree in Sport Management. I have always loved sports and would be extremely excited to bring Armored Instinct into the sport circuit.

Andrew: I myself do not have any formal training whatsoever aside from what I picked up in the Marines. However, we train several days a week together and work on various swordplay and techniques. To us, once you don the armor and have a blade in hand, do you have the instinct to survive? Training can mean a lot, but it can also mean nothing when fully suited and facing down a 48-and-a-half inch sword. Choose your weapon, strap on your armor, and meet me in the ring … only then will we know if you have the Armored Instinct.

Q: What can be expected in the future from Armored Instinct?

Kyle: The future is always unknown, but I feel that my determination and drive will move Armored Instinct towards success. The reality for Armored Instinct is that viewers will experience an intense bout between two armored individuals.

Andrew: We are currently in pre-production on several videos, including gearing up for a 100-percent real steel-on-steel fight between myself and Roberts. All of these videos will go live on YouTube simultaneously sometime in November. With viewer support and lots of promotion, we plan to make Armored Instinct into an actual sport that a major network would want to be a part of.

Q: What are some of Kyle and Andrew’s favorite or preferred historical weapons, and why? What about armor and shields?

Kyle: My favorite historical weapon would have to be the bastard sword. I like this sword because it’s long enough overall to be effective, and not cumbersome and awkward to use with one or two hands. I myself prefer the two-handed style. I have always favored plate armor, just because of the overall protection it gives. In regards to styles of plate, I have always liked the sleek and smooth. I prefer smooth running plates as opposed to large, bulky ones because I am able to move faster, along with causing an opponents blade to deflect off instead of direct impact. I have nothing against a shield; they are an amazing offensive and defensive tool. I just prefer my blade because it forces me to be more aggressive and less defensive.

Andrew: Two-handed bastard swords, mauls, the great axe. All weapons of a large, menacing nature have always appealed to me. I’ve never been one for historical accuracy. I’ll take a fantasy blade just as much as a historical replica any day. As for armor, though, I’ve always been a fan of the old Roman armor. But for what we are doing, it wouldn’t be a wise choice. I wouldn’t be able to take a hit. As for shields, I’ve always wanted to shatter one, but never will you find me behind one.

Q: What nerdy hobbies do Kyle and Andrew take part in, such as role playing games, video games, comic books, etc? Any other type of hobbies?

Kyle: My favorite nerdy hobby would have to be my Xbox. I enjoy playing Destiny, Halo, and many other titles. On my PC I have played World of Warcraft, but trying to finish college forced me to stop playing it. I also enjoy reading. My favorite series has to be “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R. R. Martin.

Andrew: As I said, I am a gamer. Xbox One, mainly Destiny right now. POSEIDUNN is my gamer tag, lol. I also play Magic the Gathering on weekends. I love Dungeons & Dragons and have always been a huge fan of comic books. I used to play a miniatures game called Mage Knight, and I still have my collection to this day.

Thanks to Kyle and Andrew for their answers, and good luck in the future with Armored Instinct. I’m sure there are plenty of nerds out there who would be excited to watch swords swinging in an armored bout.

If you are interested in learning more about Armored Instinct, check out the Facebook page and YouTube channel.

And never forget to Stay Nerdy!