That sounds like the only logical explanation of what I see in this short video.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I suppose. Thank you Commander Shepard.