Dozens of combatants converged in McCarren Park yesterday to beat each other mercifully as a crowd of bystanders shouted words of encouragement. The Cardboard Tube Fighting League came to north Brooklyn as planned, drawing competitors in all sorts of corrugated armor and costume to hit one another with regulation cardboard “swords.” Besides a lot of trees, it’s pretty safe to say nobody was hurt. A video of the cardboard melee is after the jump.

The west coast-based Cardboard Tube Fighting League is coming to Brooklyn, offering a safer, legal and less aggressive alternative to the mixed martial arts battles of Ultimate Fighting Championship. Next Sunday, cardboard tube combat takes place in McCarren Park following a Saturday tournament in Philadelphia. Competitors are encouraged to bring cardboard armor and other costumes, but “no outside tubes allowed” lest someone does battle with any weapon sturdy enough to do damage.

Also, bring “water, cameras, video cameras, name tags & positive social attitude.” And although it’s a free family event, it’s suggested that only “only children above the age of 5” actually participate because “welts and possibly bruises” can be expected. Related: a Washington Square Park battle of fluorescent painted cardboard tubes in April.

Photo by DaveGolden