January 2025 Fighter of the Month – McKenzie Karickhoff

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRAINING FOR ARMORED COMBAT?

I think five to six years maybe? 

DO YOU HAVE ANY BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE IN MARTIAL ARTS OR OTHER SPORTS?

I did all kinds of sports growing up and in highschool. Volleyball, basketball, soccer, swimming, track… I have a twin who I was always playing sports with. However, I think my biggest success was winning the state championship in Pole Vaulting. I tried out as a joke actually and realized I was decent at it haha. 

HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT ARMORED COMBAT AND WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN?

I was gearing up for nursing school and community college at the time, and I would sit doing homework at the Warlord Combat Academy. My fiancé, Adam Harrigan, along with my friend (and now coach) Brett Skinner both coached there and compete in the sport. I met some really awesome people who made up what was the beginning of The Dallas Mythics at that time: Julee Peterson, Ayden Grace, Lauryn Lueken, Shanin Lind, and Daria Melnikova. I sat in the front office on practice days for some time before their persistent encouragement made me put on armor for the first time. Now our team chat has 19 members, including Brett haha. So, the rest was history I guess.

DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU FELT IN YOUR FIRST FIGHT? CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE?

There are a couple of different “first fight” options I can think of between the different categories we are able to fight in…duels, melees, profights. I did my first duel with Shanin, my first Profight with Megan Ganley, and my first melee at Blood and Steel where the first ever 5v5s took place in the US. The movies don’t warn you about how heavy armor is or about how it’s exhausting just to get on when you start.  And the fighting itself? I felt pure adrenaline. Does that also feel like terror? Yes haha. I didn’t notice any armor bite or think of one specific thought. I just felt like a train that knew it had to keep chugging. Also, lots of mouth breathing haha!

WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED WEAPON? DO YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR FAVORITE?

I use a one-handed axe and a punch shield in melees. I’ll talk about that because it’s where I compete most often. I think I just started with that and it became the thing I learned most often with. It allows for a lot of grappling options that we train and has been said to be a simpler combination to learn with. I have one personal axe made by Brett Skinner who runs Optimum Armes, and I hate using any other axe. I also got every shield I have ever used from his inventory and I feel the same way about them. His care to make optimized, durable fighting equipment has felt unmatched compared to when I’ve had to use other equipment. I am considering potentially switching to a falchion in my training soon because, while it is great to be able to grab my own axe handle, that also means other people can grab the axe too! 
Little life hack: I wrap hair bands around the end of my axe because I’m constantly forgetting to bring them to practice or tournaments. 

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE SOME POSITIVE ASPECTS THAT COME FROM THE SPORT?

I think I have discovered several positive aspects and still have many to learn. I think this also heavily depends on the people who spend time within this sport and what we each make of it. Luckily, I am surrounded by an incredible group of people. I think this sport spills over into everyday life in a slow way and it changes you. If you can do this sport you can declare interest in a promotion at work, you can set boundaries with your loved ones, and you can work to better your life. Not to mention, you gain a team on the field and off the field. I’ve congratulated teammates on their first babies, I’ve loved them through hurt and sickness, and I consider them a true support system. My teammates, and my friends, have supported me through the deaths of loved ones, helped me move into a new apartment twice, and generally just positively impacted my life overall. Not to mention, the sport is physically incredibly beneficial…as long as you’re not tearing something haha. The positives are numerous.

WHAT IS YOUR FIGHTING STYLE – IF YOU HAVE ONE?

Definitely grapple heavy. The most striking I do is usually punching and that’s more to set up a grapple anyway. My favorite attack though is sweeps. Kind of like pole vaulting, it just sort of became something I was pretty good at. It’s great to learn new things but it’s also very fun to have one or two attacks that are “your attack”. Find something you like or are decent at and really nail it. Maybe one day I’ll pick up a two-handed axe and try my swing out, who knows.

DO YOU THINK FIGHTING CHANGES WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON? HOW HAS IT AFFECTED YOU PERSONALLY?

If you want it to, I believe it can. Sometimes, even if you don’t want fighting to change you, it does haha.  These questions are deeper than I’d like to admit. Because of how I feel about fighting and the impact both the sport and the people in it have had on my life, these questions may be hard to answer. I consider myself a somewhat timid person and I tend to avoid conflict whenever I can. You can’t exactly be that way on the field. I’ve talked to some of my team about the fact that when time is leading up to a fight and I step onto the field…There are the first few seconds of any fight where I feel locked in place almost, terrified. There is a lump in my throat and I have to control my breathing so I don’t panic. Then you look across the line and see the people you have to do the right thing by, to defend, and to battle with. Then you have to become the terrifying thing, you have to choose to be the thing to be afraid of on the field. It sounds dramatic but so is stepping onto a field in full armor knowing if you fail you could leave your teammates with more risk of “harm”. I think this sport demands your respect for yourself and others, as well as an intense amount of mental and physical dedication if you want to succeed. It promotes community, passion, trust, hope…I could go on and on. 

WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE FOR NEW PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE SPORT?

This sport goes year-round. Life responsibilities do as well. We owe it to ourselves to have a hobby, a sport, that brings us joy and love for ourselves. Find a balance of both and don’t deny the time to get away from the responsibilities we all have. Passion will ebb and flow so dedicate yourself to the time you can spare and make the most of it. Pay attention to instructions and choose things to get passionate about. You can only learn if you try. Also, travel and gain knowledge from all kinds of fighters! Always believe in yourself and show those around you respect, you may fight with them or against them one day. 

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO FOR THE FUTURE OF ARMORED COMBAT SPORTS?

Definitely the growth of profights and women’s melees over 5v5s (I did my first 10v10 this year and had such an incredible time). 

ANY FINAL WORDS YOU WANTED TO MENTION?

I’m not sure what else I can offer but I owe a lot of people love for where I am today. Thank you to my team and friends who supported me, taught me, encouraged me, corrected me, trained with me, threw me on the ground, and helped me stand back up. I love you guys. Thank you to my coach, there genuinely is not another like you. I believe our team and the skill of this sport would not be where it is today without Brett Skinner. Thank you to my family for sharing my excitement for this sport. Thank you to my fiance Adam Harrigan, surprise grappling me literally anywhere does pay off I suppose haha. I love doing this sport and life with you sweet man. Thank you to myself too! We are all so much more capable than we think. Happy New Year, happy holidays, happy life, and happy fighting!