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Armored And Dangerous: Sacramento Woman Ready To Go Medieval On Her Opponents

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — In most sports, there is a uniform or a typical style of dress. For the Sacramento War Pigs, it's a suit of armor. And for one of the few women in the league, the experience has been life-changing.

When Alexa Bennet works out, she commands attention and fear.

"It just feels like fighting with a whole bunch of weights on," she said.

Ninety pounds of weights, not including the helmet, which can add another 20.

"There's a lot of stainless steel as well and it's super heavy," she said.

Alex

A video of the team looks like a clip from Game of Thrones. Alexa calls it an adrenaline rush.

"You see someone running out on the field and they've got this beautiful black fluted armor and you're like, that person is gonna die!" she says, laughing at her joke.

She and other team members have just returned from Scotland where the women's team came in fourth -- an excellent placement on the international circuit where teams are segregated by sex.

Back at home, she relishes a chance to fight men armor to armor.

"It's kind of scary when you have a big 250-pound man coming at you with a giant battle ax," she said. "Mostly, I just find that fun."

Alexa says she was never into sports and describes herself as a former nerd and couch potato.

"Once the helmet goes on for me, I become a completely different person; I'm so peaceful outside of armor but when I put that helmet on I'm ready to go," she said.

It's a new side of her that has perplexed family and friends,

"I show them video, and they're like, 'oh you're insane,'" she said.

She loves the period weaponry like her mace.

"You just want to whack as much as you can," she says cheerfully.

Participants can also use an ax, which looks something like a meat cleaver on steroids. And though she realizes it seems strange to outsiders, she credits armored combat with boosting her confidence and changing her life.

"It's very liberating. Fighting in armor is very freeing because you don't think you can do something until you try it. Personally, I've always been a timid person, and once I started fighting in armor, my extroverted side started coming out a lot."

She's now upping her game with more intense workouts and powerlifting. At 28 years old, her goal is to win internationally by age 30.

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