Berlin, Germany: The sound of swords crashing on to steel armour resonates around the municipal sports hall as two teams of heavily-armoured knights commence a ferocious battle.

One combatant launches himself into another, hauls his opponent to the ground, then regains his footing to smash his sword into another's helmet.

Welcome to Rise of the Knights III -- the third edition of a Medieval Combat tournament held in an innocuous sports hall in Bernau, near Berlin.

Teams from across Europe clashed in a day-long series of five-against-five battles on Saturday.

Forget about choreographed re-enactment battles where no one gets hurt.

Medieval Combat is a full-contact sport where armour-clad participants attack each other armed with an array of weapons.

A small team of referees ensure the strict rules are followed during the violent clashes in a fenced-off area.

Rather than kill an opponent, as in medieval times, victory means putting your opponent on the floor and the winning team is decided by who is left standing in the best of three rounds.

Blows to the neck, feet, back of knees, groin and throat are strictly prohibited, but punching, kicking and tripping your opponent is allowed.

The swords must not be sharpened, while the armour, which costs around 1,200 euros (US$1,357) for a set, has to all come from a specific historic period.

It's neither for the unfit nor faint-hearted as each combatant carries roughly an extra 25kg of armour.

The weapons, ranging from long swords to polearms (wooden shafts with a blade on top), are blunt on all sides, but the fights are very real.

Poland I defeated the 2014 champions Battle Heritage Lions, made up of the English and Welsh national teams, 2-1 in this year's final.