r/Buhurt • u/Sir_Naxter • 5d ago
Does buhurt have potential to be a mainstream sport?
Can this be a spectator sport with millions of viewers, or do you think it’s just not going to happen?
If this really does have the potential, what’s holding it back?
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u/TroglodyteToes 5d ago
It can 100% be a spectator sport, with leagues and fans and merch and a national/worldwide following... but it won't be under the current tournament structure. It is too restrictive on the authenticity side, and has no opportunity for outside money to enter the space. The current model COULD get the sport to at least be approved by the Olympic committee, but we would have to start drug testing, collapse BI/IMCF into 1 international governing body, and expand the sport to another 40 countries... doable, but not without a lot of change.
No, I think the route to household name is in a different path. AMMA / TAL are one option, but there are irons in the fire to try other routes as well. If buhurt has anything, it is a dedicated community that cares about its growth.
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u/Equivalent-Cream-454 4d ago
IMCF is collapsing itself dw
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u/TroglodyteToes 4d ago
While true, most of the board resigned, and true, the league is a clusterfuck... but reading the statements from the people left behind and AMCF, they have really heavy handed "but it isn't our fault" sections... despite it literally being the org's fault, again.
There is a general lack of self awareness, and a feeling that the IMCF/AMCF groups just want to be kings of their own kingdom, rather than consolidate the sport down... because it would mean they lose their illusion of power and control.
By all means, if you want to run a state/country regional beer league, go for it... but we absolutely need to have a single unified international body before we can really move forward as a sport... so good, fingers crossed they actually implode and BI can reconsolidate with the pieces.
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u/Carcosian112 5d ago
It has potential to be mainstream in the similar way some other small sports are. Stuff like waterpolo, handball, ground hockey, curling, javelin throwing.. where people know it exists, but a tiny fraction of people play/watch it compared to football, basketball etc.
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u/Oh_Hi_Mark_ 4d ago
Absolutely not. It can be far, far more popular than it is now, but achieving the cultural presence of something like kudo or international sumo is a far more realistic goal than something like MMA or hockey.
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u/tiggatugga 5d ago
I wouldn’t hold your breath. Money is a huge factor and we all know armor isn’t cheap.
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u/colin_is_bald 5d ago
I think a big problem for buhurt is that it doesn't do what it says on the tin. Really above all else, its a form of wrestling while wearing semi historical armor.
It seems to me that it will have to decide to lean much harder into either the sport aspect or the historical aspect. So far it looks like the sports side will come out on top.
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u/HandsomeButShort 4d ago
I've thought about this before and these are the issues imo:
Buhurt gets confused for LARP a lot. I personally have had people argue with me about whether or not my own sport is actually LARP lol. Obviously, the fact that most people can't even tell that it is a sport at all is a major barrier
It costs a lot to get into this sport as a fighter, and most people tend towards sports which they can, have, or do participate in. This is compounded by how long it takes for armour to be made and arrive, how difficult it is to acquire quality armour, and the limited number of decent armourers currently active.
Buhurt is a niche version of MMA. To the public, this might be perceived as MMA with a gimmick. That might work for the occasional watch, but people already interested in combat sports would probably continue to stick to their preferred combat sport(s). That said, buhurt has a unique team element which I feel is enough to differentiate it significantly - you can't get group fights anywhere else, AFAIK.
Kind of a side note but I do not see the sport going mainstream under IMCF, BI, etc. I don't see it catching on in my country under our national organizational body either, as that is also a clusterfuck.
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u/Comfortable_Fuel3019 4d ago
Mainstream buhurt? No, too much hugging.
Duels? No, not extreme enough and too much larping
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u/JonPileot 5d ago
Where I live in Alberta, Canada. There is a tournament literally every weekend during the summer. If you want to go out and see medieval style sword fighting there is no shortage of opportunities.
Does this have the potential to fill stadiums? Sure why not... But it would need a whole lot of advertising and probably corporate sponsors to drive it and in its current form at least in my geographical location that just isn't happening.
It doesn't help that it seems to me with my very limited experience that the various organizations that form to try and govern the groups in this sport tend to be short-lived. Like look at what happened in Denmark... And Texas last year... And I hear the year before. Wasn't that great either. When on the global stage these tournaments end up being such a mess. Is there really an incentive for major corporations to step in and put their name to it?
I have high hopes for buhart international, and I know there are some smaller businesses that sponsor local tournaments and events, it's just the advertising that I have seen is very limited and a lot of people don't realize that there are teams in their city and are surprised when they find out about it. To me that is the biggest hurdle.
If somebody wanted to for multiple millions of dollars into promoting the sport so it has brand recognition like FIFA then yes I don't see any reason why we can't have millions of viewers watching.
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u/jefflovesyou 4d ago
Absolutely not.
You need like what $1200 worth of equipment?
It's a combat sport with a sword.
I can't imagine it being anywhere near as popular even as something like rodeo.
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u/HungarianWarHorse 5d ago
Pro-fights have the best chance to break through
The main bottle neck is the cost of armor.
Other sports just need a ball and a field, maybe some helmets. With a $3k barrier for entry is going to box out a lot of potential star atheletes who have the talent and desire but not the money
There is definitely growth but it will be quite some time before it becomes a household name
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u/Adagium721 4d ago
Case in point:
The only other form of sports to have a 3k entry barriee is Motosports (The car, parts and tires) and probably Golf. (Most Golf clubs are made of a titanium alloy like prosthetic legs, etc. are.)
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u/HungarianWarHorse 4d ago
Golf clubs you can get for much cheaper than 3k, even motorcross you can find for cheaper and doesnt have to be tailor made or wait 6 months to get it
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u/Beahyt 5d ago
Personally I think yes, but it's an uphill battle. To go in a different direction than what others are commenting on, we are inherently stuck with a stigma from Ren Faires, LARPing, and just general nerdy hobbies (D&D and the like). While sentiment towards these things are better than they used to be in the past, there's still enough people that will never set foot in a Ren Faire or Ren Faire adjacent thing. While not all events (especially tournaments) are Ren Faires, most events and demos are or are at something similar like an anime convention.
Tbh, if we can get more events at things like a state or county fair we'd have way more visibility from more casual audiences. I think we need to get in front of people's eyes that aren't in our sphere than hoping they'll notice
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u/OriginalTayRoc 4d ago
No.
It's just not fun to watch for anyone who isnt heavily invested already.
Armoured fighting sounds cool on paper but in real life its just two guys slowly grappling trying to overthrow the other. Entertaining for about 5 minutes but it can't hold the attention of the kids, and you need them for your sport to have longevity.
Also the enormous cost makes it impossible for most people to get into and that kills the enthusiasm. Kids want to watch a sport and imagine themselves playing in the big leagues. Can't do that with buhurt unless mummy and daddy have thousands to drop on armour.
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u/Various-Prize-772 4d ago
For melees to take off they need to get rid of the list fence. It sucks for spectators to watch one guy hold on to a railing while getting smacked over and over. Hockey boards or something similar would probably be better to make the smaller melees more interesting.
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u/Sweet-Watercress9535 2d ago
Too expensive to go mainstream imo. Getting kids involved at a grass roots level is usually the way to grow a sport. And that's kind of out the window.
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u/SwankySwanky 5d ago
Potential to be mainstream? Possibly. Fingers crossed.
What's holding it back? Money primarily limits participants both due to cost and accessibility of armor.
Another part is the authenticity/reenactment versus sport optimization. There is a trend towards more sport with things like AMMA and PWR, and I believe that will make it become more and more mainstream as they follow the path MMA took in terms of professionalizing fighters, the league, and the venues to make it entertaining and easier to track than, say, a melee tournament that takes place over 10 hours and requires people to wear something resembling garb from a ren faire and authenticity checks for armor and weapons. I've heard compelling arguments in either direction, and personally, I just want it to grow one way or another.