Abstract: The Middle Ages was an era dominated by the Christian Theology that disdained flesh and suppressed physical activities. But knights' tournament was an exception to the physical practice of the era in both size and system.By means of literature research and historical analysis, this paper explores and explains the evolution of knights' tournament and its influence on modern and contemporary sports practice. The findings show that the tournament not onlyhad their own unique evolutionary process, but also carried forward the sports spirits of equality, competition and honor. It not only boosted the formation of modern sports games such as equestrianism and fencing, but also had an important influence on modern sports practice including sports event organization such as propaganda and competition rules, and compilation of physical education textbooks.

Key words: tournament, evolutionary process, modern and contemporary times, sports practice