What do you think of when you think of a knight in shining armor. Bravery? Valor? Chivalry? Well, chivalry was indeed a part of the knight's code, but this same chivalry and code of ethics (political correctness of old) got in the way of their becoming effective fighters. I have several good reasons for this take:

#1 - Heavily Armored Knights Had Every Inch Of Their Body Covered With Metal Protection - This indicates to me that the most heavily armored knight, who was also the wealthiest, had very little confidence or skill in attacking or avoiding getting hit. How could they execute much movement and agility in these heavy and clunky metal suits? In fact, the suits weighed about 50 or 60 lbs., and there was not a lot of mobility and flexibility at the joints.

Sometimes when knights in heavy armor were knocked down on their backs, like cockroaches with their feet twirling desperately in the air, they couldn't get back up on their feet. This really made them sitting ducks to an opponent who may have been more agile, quicker and dressed with little or no armor.

#2 - Only Rich Noblemen Could Afford Fancy Armor - Armor was very expensive and took sometimes 3 to 4 years to build. Much of the shiniest armor was decorated, very ornate and showy. Having a finely decorated suit of armor in your household was indeed a status symbol and a "babe magnet" for all of the fair maidens in the land. Only the very rich could afford the most elaborately decorated and opulent metal suits.

Why would anyone go to so much trouble to create flashy armor if its true purpose was to get it all banged up in battle by someone who is out trying to kill you! The wealthy have never been the type to go out in battle versus sending the real fighters and soldiers first to do battle for them.

#3 - Flashy Armor Was Used A Lot For Sport And Jousting - The parallel to this is the modern-day Mixed Martial Arts sports fighter and the trained reality-based fighter of today. One looks good in the sport. The other knows how to survive in a life or death struggle.

#4 - Medieval Knights Had To Fight Under A Code Of Restricted Rules Of Chivalry - A knight, before being a warrior, was a gentleman who had to follow the politically polite correctness of chivalry. This meant, for example, that if a knight was lucky enough to knock his opponent to the ground, in many cases, he would not be allowed to continue attacking or be allowed to leave him on the battlefield to die.

So, from this historical perspective of medieval fighting and warfare, we could say of the romanticized knights of old that, the flashier the armor, the less of the warrior.