Now it’s the turn of «Knyaz Sumy» fighting captain Borys Bashkatov.
Borys didn’t earn the title of captain by chance — across Ukraine he is known as one of the most skilled fencers. Yet to the people closest to him, he is first of all a good family man, a loyal friend and a wise mentor.
Together with his wife Lida, Borys is raising two wonderful daughters. While taking care of the girls’ education and leisure, he runs his own business and recently even decided to try himself in a new field — IT. «I’ve always been interested in IT — so now I do two favourite things at the same time,» Borys says.
From childhood Borys was a very active, restless kid. In primary school he took up karate, but a serious head injury forced him to give up sport for a time.
As a student he got into fantasy and the Middle Ages, which led him into role-playing. He joined the role-playing club «Kaer Morhen». But the romance of role-playing games outdoors with songs around the campfire didn’t hold him long.
«After visiting Medzhybizh, Dima Drozd and I decided that this format was more our thing and split the club in two. Most went with us, but the need to train and shifting life priorities left only me and Dima.
A few generations of fighters have passed through the club since. That’s how «Asgard» came about, which a few years later joined the «Akra» alliance,» Borys says.
In time the core «Akra» alliance clubs disappeared, leaving only the Sumy contingent and a few people in Mykolaiv and Khmelnytskyi. To take part in mass divisions, Borys — as captain — had to look for new allies.
«I think I made the right call joining Knyaz Club — it has been good for everyone. Thanks to Anton Trubnikov, by the way, for bringing so many good people together and for not walking away from this project after 18 years.»
Apart from competitive tournaments, Borys, like most of us, loves the Living History movement — full immersion into a historical period. Already as part of the «Akra» alliance, Borys and his friends took part in several small projects in western Ukraine. With Knyaz Club he attended one of the biggest reconstruction festivals in the world — «Grunwald Days» in Poland.
«The brightest impression has to be a cavalry charge straight at us. I’ll tell you — even though it’s staged, it really does make you tense up,» Borys says.
As for combat disciplines, Borys prefers the tournament side. «Probably because I’m better at it,» he admits. «And mentally it’s easier — you only answer for yourself; in team formats there’s constant pressure not to let your team down. But the price of victory in team formats is higher, and so is the buzz.»
We also asked Borys about his plans for the future — both in life and in reconstruction — and his honest, brief reply was: «A secret!»
We’re very grateful to Borys for finding time in his packed schedule to tell us a little about his life and how it ties in with full-contact armoured combat.
