The first thing that comes to mind when I first met Evan Ringo and saw him fight is his great field of awareness. His capabilities of navigating the field, utilizing speed to his advantage to take out his opponent by surprise was what stood out to me the most. It is no wonder why people have called him a “squirrely” fighter. Most commonly known for his nickname as the TrashKnight, Ringo’s dedication and love for the sport truly shows representing the North Eastern Region of Armored Combat Sports and as a member of the New England Executioners.
NOTABLE WINS
2 time USA long sword champion.
6 time Chapter wars winner, 3 times as captain
2 time chapter wars runner up, once as captain
4 years running New World Cup Winner
7-2-1 knight/pro fight record
Knight fight episode champion, and semi finalist in season championship
3 time IMCF Representative(pretty sure Smallest man) to ever fight on the Striking eagles.
2 IMCF silver medals for 16s
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRAINING FOR ARMORED COMBAT?
6 years of dedicated training, started in June of 2014
DO YOU HAVE ANY BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE IN MARTIAL ARTS OR OTHER SPORTS?
I wrestled a bit in highschool but very little. Played a lot of soccer my whole life. Fought in the SCA for a year or 3 before starting dedicated steel training
HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT ARMORED COMBAT AND WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN?
I broke up with a girlfriend and needed something to fill my time. I went to a SCA event where Mike Luich was fighting. He invited me to come to The Knights Hall, and there I met Jaye fresh off his first Poland trip. I wanted to try steel but between hesitancy and money it took me a few years to join
DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU FELT IN YOUR FIRST FIGHT? CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE?
Tiring. Hot. It was the Beat James Glacken into happiness event. A bunch of NYC fighters came up, and a bunch of them as new as me, Lane, and Brandon. We did satisfaction fights to start, fight till you are satisfied your opponent has beaten you, and I think I lasted a minute? I fought twice, and after popping my hat the second time I couldn’t get my internal heat down and just kept feeling worse and worse. Eventually I realized, like 20 minutes later I ended up puking all over my armor. Brandon then stripped me down and got some cold wet towels on me. 30 minutes later they called for melees so I kitted back up to get back out there.
Sam Awry and I ended up staying after everyone and fighting a few extra rounds so that Morgan from NYC could get his first fights borrowing Glacken’s armor. Then Sam and I fought and did like 3 tied rounds. We were both too exhausted to continue and I yielded to him after the 3rd or 4th round. I found out years later he was seconds away from doing the same thing.
Ever since then we’ve been trading back and forth wins on longsword.
WHAT IS YOUR PREFERED WEAPON? DO YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR FAVORITE?
For singles Longsword is my heart. It is the most fun and by far the prettiest fight. I love my tylko though it’s currently broken and I need to get someone to weld it or buy a new one.
In Melee I like a small falchion and small buckler, for the versatility.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE SOME POSITIVE ASPECTS THAT COME FROM THE SPORT?
Fuck if I know. I just love fighting.
I guess for me personally the pro’s are that it probably saved my life. I used to have daily suicidal idealization before I found this because life just felt hollow. It’s also great exercise, has taught me a bunch of history, driven me to excel in other aspects of life, forced me to learn a variety of arts such as writing and video editing. I’ve also made life long friends which is dope.
WHAT IS YOUR FIGHTING STYLE – IF YOU HAVE ONE?
Uh…I think someone said I was like a squirrel on coke?
Basically though it’s just staying alive till the other guys fuck up and fall over and don’t be afraid of getting hurt or fucking up. Just send it man.
DO YOU THINK FIGHTING CHANGES WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON? HOW HAS IT AFFECTED YOU PERSONALLY?
Yes. To misquote Fight Club, something changes when you realize you aren’t made of glass and taste your first ass kicking. There is a confidence that comes from surviving melee’s, a swagger that comes from winning them.
Beyond that 90% my personal drive and discipline can be traced back to learning how to work out for this sport. Trying to excel even at the amature level takes so much. And even just hanging in there is more than pretty much any other recreational league sport I’ve seen. There is a grit the training forces. A different grit taking a beating at the hall gives you. I’m very much a different man because of fighting….Both good and bad.
I have an outlet for my anger now, but also I lean into my violence more and am not nearly as scared of letting it out in real life as I used to be. My sense of pride has grown and that means I believe in myself more, but also react much poorer to slights than in my past. I’ve learned to be a leader and coach, but also have become far more elitist about who I put my time into. So yeah. Fighting definitely changed me.
WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE FOR NEW PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE SPORT?
Fuck, uh, read my blog? Like there is just way too fucking much on that, haha. I’ve already written at least 50000 words on fighting at this point, not counting scripts for videos or throw-away lecture notes. There is no easy way to encapsulate wisdom about starting this shit. The game is too complex.
I guess if I have to distill it down to a tweet size answer I’d say get used to your armor. Nothing prepares you for being in armor, like being in armor. It doesn’t matter your background, how badass you are out of armor: if you aren’t used to moving in armor, you’re gonna eat dirt.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO FOR THE FUTURE OF ARMORED COMBAT SPORTS?
Moving away from the tourney style fighting to a more traditional sports meta. Seasons with regular matches over a few high profile tournaments.
ANY FINAL WORDS YOU WANTED TO MENTION?
Everyone eats dirt. Cardio is King. Suicide is not painless. You aren’t a bad ass without your 500 fights.
Deeds not Words
Follow Evan Ringo at his blog dedicated to living the armored combat lifestyle, Life As A Swordsman. https://lifeasaswordsman.wordpress.com/
