Mikal Suleiman used to enjoy kicking a ball around with friends, but he suffered more injuries playing football than he has in his current sport – the ancient martial art of sword fighting.

At the age of 16 he took up the sport, which enthusiasts call historical European martial arts, or HEMA, and is now part of a group in Malta winning medals for the sport around Europe.

The Martial Era Revivalists Combat Society (MERCS) compete in several events, including different types of sword fighting such as using sabres and the medieval weapon, the longsword.

In September, members took home gold, silver and bronze medals at a HEMA competition in Cork, Ireland.

The Maltese contingent sparred for their medals fighting ferocious competition from other countries including Ireland, France, Italy, America, Hungary and Poland.

MERCS members spar during a vigorous training session.

'Inspiration to start this sport from the media'

“One of the main inspirations to start this sport is the media, because of the way they portray certain fights in series such as Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings,” explained Suleiman, a biology student.

Now he and his fellow revivalists perform stunts and work as extras in the kind of films that roused in them the passion for combat.

Members of the combat society took part in the docudrama God’s Soldiers, which tells the story of the Siege of Malta, where they played soldiers from the Ottoman Empire attempting to conquer the islands during the Great Siege of Malta.  

Skillful use of weaponry also landed them sword-fighting parts in the Maltese supernatural thriller, Mostri.

Technique and appearance have helped them be camera-ready, with Dylan Sultana, MERCS president, acknowledging that some members are cultivating a certain look, especially beards.

Christine Montebello flanked by two other members of MERCS.

Christine Montebello, a founding member of the society, and one of its few female members, said she was influenced by strong female characters on television. 

She recalled watching Xena: Warrior Princess as a child before moving on to a diet of fantasy books and building up an appetite for combat.

The 33-year-old wants to inspire other women to join the sport.

Aside from individual competitions and movie parts, the group also dons armour to battle in Viking re-enactments, joining up to 1,000 others to relive historical events.

Although they are called re-enactment events, the armies compete to win, explained Suleiman, and strategy and focus are key as the complex formations engage in combat.

The team from Malta is often positioned at the flank in battles, working unitedly to ward off the enemy, he added.

'Maltese language comes in handy'

Suleiman said that the Maltese language comes in handy in these situations as they can communicate instructions clearly without fear of being understood by the enemy.

Scenes take place in fields or beaches, and different conditions challenge the different combatants.

On the battlefield at a re-enactment event in Poland. Photo: Marzena Marcinkiewicz

The Maltese, accustomed to the heat, fare well in hot weather, said Sultana, but he joked that “when it rains, they’re at home and we’re drowning in the stuff”, referring to fellow re-enactors used to a colder climate.

Chain mail and plate armour is heavy, as are the weapons and shields, and battles may last up to an hour.

To prepare for such a challenge, the group trains twice a week doing cardio and stamina exercises, using weapons and armour as weights to improve strength, before focussing on technical instruction.

The swords we compete with “are real replicas of swords used in the period but they are blunt”, Montebello explained.

“It is a metal object so, if we’re not careful, people will get hurt but that is why we train, we train to be safe,” said Sultana, agreeing with Suleiman about seeing worse injuries in football.

The group now hopes to continue developing the sport in Malta and eventually compete in the Swordfish which is one of the premier events in the world for Historical European Martial Arts.

MERCS welcomes newcomers twice a year in January and July.