Well if you really want the answer, it's the Society for Creative Anachronism.
Here's a synopsis of what it is:
[
www.cynnabar.org]
And yes, that's what the fighter practice was too. In fact, there are hundreds of apocryphal SCA stories along this line, including the one on the New York subway where a fellow (coming home from an event and still wearing chain mail under his shirt) was accosted by a thug and told to hand over his money. When he asked why he should do so, the thug pulled a knife and said "I've got 6 inches of steel that says you're going to do what I say". The SCA member reportedly replied with "I'll see your six inches and raise you 20" while unsheathing his sword.
I'm a member of the local SCA group here in Ann Arbor, Michigan (US). I don't fight, but I sing with a small madrigal group and do and teach medieval and reniassance dance. In fact, our group is hosting a big dance event on the 29th, at which I'll be teaching a class, and running the dessert revel during the evening ball (for which I'll be making and decorating a large cake).
Within the SCA I'm know as Lady Magdalena Vogelsang (but all my friends call me Magda, even in real life, rather than using my legal name).
--------------
"I've often said that the difference between British and American SF TV series is that the British ones have three-dimensional characters and cardboard spaceships, while the Americans do it the other way around."
--Ross Smith