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.
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.