Hi. I am John Bibby. I own Tennesseebuhurt.
I heard about Buhurt about 15 years ago, but there were no clubs anywhere near where I lived and I wasn’t in a life space where I could commit to the amount of travel needed to participate, much less succeed. About 2 years ago I discovered a seedling club here in Nashville. We met at someone’s house and trained in their backyard; but there were plans, ambitious plans. I wasn’t really part of those plans, but I was willing to help and certainly to train and fight.
Some of those ambitious plans have been rolled out. I have seen them succeed and I participated in the first Fight Extravaganza at the Nashville Palace. I lost my match in a sudden death squeaker. Not bad for a guy who gave up 30# and 20 years to his opponent.
I love the fighting, the comraderie; but I may like building things for the sport more. That is how Tennessee Buhurt came about. I built my own Brig (which I still use, although the Mk II version is in the works). Then, I started building shields. My first few were not so successful, but forensic examination lead to great improvement. I can now tailor the shield to a specific niche in the sport.
Next, I noticed the Polearm guys breaking hafts in almost every fight. I started prototyping designs. The first few were better than solid wood options, but not by a lot. I am now on the Mk IV version and I am pretty sure it is a very strong option.Sure enough that I warranty them.
As hinted at above, I am likely a bit old to be competitive on the National or International stage. Real easy to see, as Mickey Gallus (current US Champ in my weight class) routinely kicks my ass. But, I have fun and most of the young guys are not exactly happy to draw me as their opponent. Not to mention, nothing like fighting while using your own equipment as a means of testing a new design.