A lot of ren faires have jousting events. Some of them even do melee weapon duels once they're dismounted. I've seen it live and it's awesome.
this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2026
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I used to do that. It's as choreographed as any other stage show. More so due to both safety and the need to improvise occasionally.
That sounds like the only logical explanation of what I see in this short video.
Have you heard of the international medieval combat federation?
Because CTE isn't bad enough; give me a huge wooden splinter through the skull.
Those lances are made of balsa wood usually. It makes them explode so dramatically at such low speeds and you aren't getting pierced with a balsa splinter.
Also you're probably not at a high risk to get CTE. They aim for the opposing rider's shield, not the helmet.
Getting unhorsed can absolutely give you serious injuries. I didn't know they just used balsa wood though. I imagine it reduces the odds of being unhorsed too.
I imagine it reduces the odds of being unhorsed too.
Yeah, you can see the rider on the right slip off his horse instead of falling off it. Falling off a horse can fuck you up if you don't know how to land or if you get a foot stuck in the stirrup but those are problems even without jousting added in. These guys probably just learn how to take a hit and how to fall in order to reduce injuries. Also a full suit of armor will stop a surprising amount of falling injuries, it's for the same reason why you wear a full suit of body armor during downhill mountain biking. Falling hurts much less with protective gear.
Fun fact!
The lances in A Knight's Tale were made of balsa wood and filled with dry pasta so that when they shattered there would be a more dramatic explosion of splinters going every which way.
imagine if this was in the olympics and they had jousting leagues? "oh, I'm going to beer-league jousting after work, you guys down?".
I'd so Fucking watch Olympic jousting. I'd watch it so hard....um...
It's awesome but it also looks like a really really bad idea and a great way to get injured for life
They had better healthcare back then. They weren't risking as much.
Oh, you'll love "Run Nation" then. Look it up on YouTube.
break a shoulder, head concussion, falling on the ground. yeah seems like something we could not do
So you're just opposed to regular riding as well, then? Because I think it's far riskier. You wear only a helmet if that, whereas these dudes are padded to high heaven. In regular riding you ride in all sorts of terrain, all around the year. These guys have a very well taken care of field and a direct path.
Also the lances in these are soft af and they really never off-seat their opponents, it's just about accuracy and style.
I used to ride massive horses when I was like 8-9 and I also did a bit of "equestrian vaulting", which is just riding without a saddle and doing tricks on the horse while riding. And no I couldn't probably do that again right now, it's been like 30 years lol.
Anyway I just once saw jousting in real life a year or two back and seemed way calmer than I had assumed.
I have to say that IS interesting as fuck.
I went to watch real life jousting in a castle near me a summer or two back. I have to say, I was rather disappointed.
The lances seemed to be balsa wood and the force of impact didn't even seem to push the opposing rider. You really couldn't even tell the winner until the judges told you who won based on, idk, style akd and accuracy or smth.
Yeah, I used to go to a place called Medieval Times. It was a dinner show kind of thing and the lances were balsa. But that was just for show. Actually I had no idea "real" jousting existed.
Oh shit, I had no idea those places were real. I mean going by what I saw in "The Cable Guy", I'd imagine you saw "more real" fighting.
START THE JOUST BEFORE I PISS MYSELF
You got it, Bobby B!
Fuckin'... Ow!
Real life? Where do you think it originated, from a video game?
"Real life" as opposed to what you'd see in a movie or TV show.
I suppose. Thank you Commander Shepard.
... or as an attempted excuse gone out of hand, now just because you lied what you & Jeff were doing in the woods ppl will need to care abut a boring sport full of politics for centuries.