I have been involved with the Society for Creative Anachronism for approximately three years off and on. A fellow by the name of Den Cummings wanted to produce some cartoons for our local newsletter, but while he had the jokes, he was not able to draw out his ideas. He shared one with me, and this is the product of our collaboration. Understanding the humor of the joke definitely requires an understanding of SCA fighting and the problems that come with it, so I would not be surprised if the average viewer were scratching his head mumbling "I don't get it..." For a quick conclusion, just consider that SCA fighting, an opportunity to be an armored knight and fight it out with swords, is a very safe sport conducted with padded wooden swords and high safety restrictions. Let's just say that it's no more dangerous than and probably even less dangerous than playing high school football. Of course, as with so many activities that any of us engage in, the fancier and better our equipment is, the closer that it seems to the real McCoy, the more we strut it around. Well, only so much of your equipment can be "authentic" to fight in the SCA; otherwise, people would be coming back from their weekend get away missing arms, legs, etc. In this cartoon, one fellow goes just a bit to extreme...
Everytime that I have watched the heavy arms fellows out on the list field ringing each other's helmets like the bells of Notre Dame, I could not help be struck with the similarity that their mock battles would have compared to the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If a combatant lands a solid blow to the arm or leg of his opponent, the stricken fighter might continue the fight as though he had lost the "wounded" extremity. Personally, I find it difficult to imagine a man continuing to fight after losing an arm or a leg, but these chaps would be having such a great time and be so consumed in the competition of the contest that they would be sitting on the ground holding a sword in their nondominant hand in an effort to still claim victory. I swear that the next time I find myself in that position, I will challenge my opponent with "Come back here you bloody coward! I'll bite your legs off! Come here and I'll bleed all over you! Chicken!" (If you have seen the film, you undoubtedly understand the association that I am attempting to represent...)
If you would happen to want more information on the Society for Creative Anachronism, please access the SCA's home page. From there, you will be able to find a local group that can introduce you to the fine art of "getting medieval."