The Armour Archive

In that picture I am giving up a lot of size. Not my usual horse, but the secret weapon that has been there and never blinks horse. She is about 15.2-15.3 and the monster coming the other way was probably near to 17.0, but I think our side of the lane (as that was the last passes of a weekend) was worn in a bit deeper. And as much as I hate to admit it, Alexis is probably a little right in that my big behind make the horses look even smaller.

Eule - Good to know and I will be looking for more information forthcoming about the tourney at GW.

Black Swan Designs wrote:Jeff and I would absolutely LOVE to be able to include Americans in our events, so seeing this interest and enthusiasm is absolutely awesome.

Gwen

Yes, we would like to include -more- Americans. So far we've had only 3 from the US- Toby C, Jeff Wasson and myself. There are more who are close to being ready, and maybe this surge of interest will encourage them to persevere.

It will be fantastic when the SCA is a place where more people can catch "joust fever" and have more possibilities to develop their skills and kit for this type of jousting. It's ALL goood!!

While I haven't been in the SCA in quite a long time, I will be more than willing to help out with this. For the longest time, I spoke in favor of the IJA assisting the SCA in their jousting pursuits, as I looked at it as a great source of new competitors for us in the US.

When we ran the first IJA-USA tournament at the Silverleaf Renaissance Faire in 2007, most of the competitors were SCA members that had "moved up" to balsa, and they acquited themselves extremely well.

While I am not medically able to joust any longer (too many concussions) I will be more than willing to assist, teach, coach, and judge those that wish to further balsa jousting in the USA. I am in Northshield, but am more than willing to travel if helped with expenses.

I was the one of the first IJA Level 4 Jousting Instructors/International Jousters authorized in the US. I began jousting in 1981, have owned and operated a couple of professional joust troupes, have been the joust director at a major renaissance faire, and have had the honor to be the instructor to many jousters across the US (and some who are in Iraq and Afghanistan) (and yes, I am always looking for new members for my LH tourneying group).

So, I either need to just move to southern California or Chicago...hrm...

Hi Lloyd-

At the risk of proving myself hopelessly out of the loop, I have to ask if the IJA is at all active in the USA? I have been watching the IJA-USA Forum religiously, but there is generally little activity, and nothing at all since September. The IJA_USA Website is a splash page with no content. It's been that way since it went up a long time (a year or more?) ago.

Maybe I have weak Google foo, but I can't seem find a list of IJA jousters, events, or anything about the group that would imply activity.

Conversely, the International Jousting League is udated regularly, and has a current list of 2010 events (although I see it needs to be updated, our event is not on it yet), rankings, and lot of information about the organization, access to affiliation forms, a Board of Representatives that covers 11 countries, Rankings in 5 Divisions (covering all sorts of horse activities, including archery, combat and archery) for dozens of competitors from all over the world, etc.

Additionally, the IJL Forum, although slow at this time of the year, has regular (weekly or more) ranking and event updates.

As an outsider I can't help but wonder if since the SCA is an international organization, wouldn't it better serve the long term goals of 'balsa jousting in the SCA' to work with a demonstrably active international organization like the International Jousting League, rather than an organization that serves the US only?

Just wondering-

Gwen

Kilkenny wrote:

Tarquin Bjornsson wrote:

Kilkenny wrote:

Tarquin Bjornsson wrote:I think it would be great to add it to the Sca line-up. However i wouldn't want to see jousting suffer in terms of appearance like heavy fighting. I would not want to see any plastic armour....


You would also run into issues of people having to "authorize in jousting." That is just a recipe for disaster.

Just my two cents
Chris (IJA Canada)

I'm very curious as to why you perceive "authorize in jousting" as a recipe for disaster.

Certainly you cannot believe that there is no need for a process for vetting people to insure that they are competent before allowing them to take part....

No quite the opposite actually i think it should be very strict. Do you want just anybody charging at you on a 1200 pound animal with a lance?

mmm.. so, in that case I smell politics.

Note that you didn't answer my inherent question - Why you consider "authorize in jousting" to be a recipe for disaster.

As for your question to me - huh ? oh.. smoke screen...

The inclusive nature of the SCA will eventually have somebody get hurt even just testing someone.

sorry i wasn't very clear before.

Black Swan Designs wrote:Hi Lloyd-

At the risk of proving myself hopelessly out of the loop, I have to ask if the IJA is at all active in the USA? I have been watching the IJA-USA Forum religiously, but there is generally little activity, and nothing at all since September. The IJA_USA Website is a splash page with no content. It's been that way since it went up a long time (a year or more?) ago.

Maybe I have weak Google foo, but I can't seem find a list of IJA jousters, events, or anything about the group that would imply activity.

Conversely, the International Jousting League is udated regularly, and has a current list of 2010 events (although I see it needs to be updated, our event is not on it yet), rankings, and lot of information about the organization, access to affiliation forms, a Board of Representatives that covers 11 countries, Rankings in 5 Divisions (covering all sorts of horse activities, including archery, combat and archery) for dozens of competitors from all over the world, etc.

Additionally, the IJL Forum, although slow at this time of the year, has regular (weekly or more) ranking and event updates.

As an outsider I can't help but wonder if since the SCA is an international organization, wouldn't it better serve the long term goals of 'balsa jousting in the SCA' to work with a demonstrably active international organization like the International Jousting League, rather than an organization that serves the US only?

Just wondering-

Gwen

Hi Gwen,

When the docs told me that I couldn't joust anymore, I did my best to get away for awhile. At first, it was too hard to be around it and not do it (20+ years of jousting will do that) - so I distanced myself and concentrated on WMA (BTW, gotta find cash to get two of those dead sexy simulators). Jeremy took over and I know that they have been holding some tournies on the East Coast and doing a lot of crossover events with IJA- Canada (since a boatload of the old WCJA jousters moved over and are jousting with the IJA up there, eh). So, Jeremy would actually be more of the person to ask.

Since I think that I am still a member of the IJL, I think that either and both would be a good resource for the SCA. When you note that Jeremy and Leo are SCA Knights and IJA Competitors, there is already a contact there. But, I will leave that to the folks in the SCA to decide.

Now that I have gotten (most of) it out of my system, I am ready to start training jousters and assisting when/where I can. If the SCA can use my experience and knowledge, I am more than willing to help them. I am going to again pay my IJA dues starting in January and maybe work to put together an IJA team for the Upper Midwest. But compared to the old days, my participation will be limited to what time I feel that I can take away from job and, more importantly, family.

I am very glad that your tournaments have taken off as well as they have. I would have loved to have jousted in them, but that train has passed. Talk to you and Jeff soon.

The IJA is pretty much defunct.
It was too hard to make it work and to get some people to adhere to the minimum historical standard. Some of the crap they would turn up in would make you cry.

The issue with large joust organisations is that you will always have the few who will spend the money and time to get decent gear and skills.
The majority will cry you are harshing their vibe and joust in pseudo medieval harness with next to no riding skills. I have seen it over and over again.

Hmmm. That's too bad, but if anyone should know about the IJA, it would be you I guess.

I suppose the kit thing would be another point for the IJL, as they have several divisions with different kit standards that range from unarmoured (archery and skill at arms), thru the 'sport' jousting, all the way to the 'historical' jousting division.

Our events are affiliated with the IJL, so competitors can accrue points for their IJL ranking if they so desire. Some of new guys are not ready to joust, but got a start in their IJL ranking by competing in the skill at arms. I think it's a great way to meet people, as well as being a rather low key way to jump in at the shallow end of things.

Anyway, not sure if any of that really matters, just some Friday night ramblings.

Gwen

Rod Walker wrote:The IJA is pretty much defunct.

Man....I just got into that and found out about it this year. Well, guess it's back to playing around in the front yard again and hoping the SCA gets balsa......

The IJL is the same. Some really good stuff happening at the upper end, but the majority of the jousting, equipment etc is decidely,,,,,,,,,, rough.
As I said, you will get this in all organisations with more than 20 people taking part.

In this modern world pretty much everyone thinks it is their God given right to take part no matter how much time or money they can afford to spend.

Don't mind me folks. Just the bitter ramblings of someone who has been burnt and seen the worst in people so many times that he has come to the conclusion that there are maybe 10 jousters in the world worth playing with.

I operate on an invite only basis now. I only invite people to my events that I want to play with. As we have a limited budget each year I invite a different few each year.

It looks like Jeff and Gwen are operating pretty much the same way for their event (tell me if I am wrong). At least this way we are guarenteed to retain our sanity by playing with friends.

Rambling off to play with my bike.

In this modern world pretty much everyone thinks it is their God given right to take part no matter how much time or money they can afford to spend.

Not everyone though Rod. I would kill to take part in the 15th C jousts. I just know that in reality, I simply can't afford to do so. I sank all my chips when I had them into the wrong centuries gear, and now can't afford to switch to a new high end harness worthy of the high end events.

Myself, I would never sully the grand visage the late period guys have going on with something not of the caliber they present. That is why I hope the IJA isn't defunct...I could use my 14th C armor there!

Regarding the various tournament organizations, we support the IJL, as it has proven itself viable, and provides a 'circuit' of events with enough scope to keep everyone from newbie to seasoned veteran happy and competing. We hope the SCA will prove to be another circuit. Without numerous events supporting all levels of skill, there will be no 'minor leagues' to give competitors the practice and experience required to improve and move up. Without a circuit of events to compete in, tournamenting and jousting will be relegated to oddball displays and the occasional competition instead of growing into a viable international sport.

As for our events, Rod is correct, WorldJoust events are invitation only. However, anyone is welcome to apply to compete. We don't presume to think we have comprehensive knowledge of who is out there ready and willing to participate, so we have solicited applications. Anyone who would like to throw their name into the ring is welcome to send us your resume. 2010 will see the Order of the Crescent holding the field against 5 challengers 'a la St. Inglevert.

As for period, Tournament of the Phoenix will always be mid 15th C. because that is our period of interest. We have plans in the works for additional WorldJoust events with different 'theme' periods, sponsored by various associates and held in different parts of the US and other countries. 14th C. is on the top of the list, then 16th C.

We would like this information to be available to anyone who may find it useful, so please feel free to disseminate this message freely. I have done all I could think of to spread the word, but have probably missed lots of avenues I'm not aware of.

Thanks-

Gwen

Leo-

Don't throw your 14th C stuff away quite yet. I should be ready to have at it this summer. I think our places are a little less that 5 hours apart and I just put in a new 210' x 90' arena I'd hate to have go to waste.

Take care,

Duane

Tarquin Bjornsson wrote:

The inclusive nature of the SCA will eventually have somebody get hurt even just testing someone.

sorry i wasn't very clear before.

I see. Perhaps I've missed something, but I was under the impression that people get hurt jousting. Even very skilled people with good equipment.

It's one of those things that's hard to eliminate when you start slamming into people with lances on horseback.

Obviously, there's a whole concept of what constitutes an acceptable level of risk and then the process for keeping people within whatever range that may be.

I think there's a red herring in the water here.

Instead of attacking the SCA - why not focus on addressing the legitimate issue of how one makes a very dangerous sport as safe as possible.

That would be the productive course.

why not focus on addressing the legitimate issue of how one makes a very dangerous sport as safe as possible.

Equipment. You can't use half-@$$ equipment in this sport. Maybe with foam, but not with balsa.

Training- you have to be able to RIDE not just be a passenger. This is not a stunt show where the game has been simplified into 'knock the other guy off his horse and score a point.' This, like other equestrian sports, is about staying IN the saddle, not coming out of it. This game is scored on where you hit, how you hit and how much of the lance you break. For us it also involves looking good. Duarte reiterates over and over how grace and style are every bit as important as skill, and we take those words to heart.

I'm not in the SCA, and I've not seen the foam jousting in person. I have no idea what kind of people do it. I have no experience with the people who have made Rod so disgusted and bitter. My personal experience is that some people see jousting, think it's crazy dangerous and don't even want to try it. The people who come out to try it as an 'extreme sport' figure out in under an hour that the horse is not an ATV, and jousting is more extreme than they want to pursue.

Maybe I'm a Pollyanna, but I'd like to think that people who would undertake such a risky activity would understand the ramifications of what's involved, and decide whether they have the finances to underwrite the necessary equipment, and the time to practice to gain the necessary skill. The SCA is inclusive, yes, but I constantly see people on these boards talking about safety, which leads me to believe that people will be able to figure out for themselves if jousting is for them. Getting a starving college kid into a cheap set of protective equipment so he can bash his mates with a stick is one thing, climbing onto a horse with an 11 foot long pole with the intention of breaking that pole on an opponent's chest is quite another.

Jousting will never be safe (neither will parachuting or point jumping), but there are ways to minimize the risk, and the primary ways to do that are with proper equipment and training.

JMO-

Gwen

Black Swan Designs wrote:... climbing onto a horse with an 11 foot long pole with the intention of breaking that pole on an opponent's chest is quite another.

To add to Gwen's point...

A quantifiable case in point: I saw a new "Modern Marvels" episode yesterday afternoon (discussing military tech...in this example stirrups at Hastings) where they put an impact meter on the back of a quintain. With no stirrups, the rider struck with about 40 lbs. of force. With stirrups it was about 5,600 lbs. of force. This, of course, is not surprising to those who have received these kind of hits, but seeing the numbers in quite interesting. I would have like to see more data points though.

Of course, that was against a non-moving target....I'd love to see the results against another opponent.

Kilkenny wrote:

Tarquin Bjornsson wrote:The inclusive nature of the SCA will eventually have somebody get hurt even just testing someone.

sorry i wasn't very clear before.

I see. Perhaps I've missed something, but I was under the impression that people get hurt jousting. Even very skilled people with good equipment.

I'm afraid your impression is inaccurate. Perhaps you are repeating what has been said by a number of jousters out there who believe they're doing it at the top level with good equipment, then brag about the injuries they've sustained while jousting? For me those puzzle pieces just don't fit together.

The fact is, if you're jousting with well made equipment that fits well and is designed after historical examples, it is VERY possible to joust with minimal and possibly -no- injury. I don't equate injuries in jousting with doing it at a top level. Professional and elite amateur sportsmen compete at a top level without injury all the time. It's because they pay attention to what they're doing and do everything they can to reduce the risks. In another field, would you hire a stuntman who bragged about how banged up he got, or the one who rarely got hurt? My point is, the best athletes compete hard, make it "look" easy and come away from it without getting hurt. Injuries aren't something to brag about. They point out that mistakes have been made.

Our ancestors had much more experience at this than we do and knew what they were doing. We should pay attention to them, and most jousters that do have jousted regularly for years with minimal risk and injury. It's how you approach and execute the game and what you use while doing it. When someone re-invents the wheel and thinks that we can do it better than was done historically but with less knowledge or effort, someone will probably get hurt.

If people sustain regular and repeated injuries from jousting and it's a problem for them, they need to do it differently. They need to re-examine their practices and equipment and alter it to reduce the risk. This is what sensible athletes who want to participate long term in their chosen sport do. Continuing with unnecessarily risky practices doesn't prove how tough somebody is, it just proves their unwillingness to learn and change.

Just like it is with any other risky sport, jousting doesn't inherently equal injuries. Stupid and ignorant jousting does.

Kilkenny wrote:

Tarquin Bjornsson wrote:

The inclusive nature of the SCA will eventually have somebody get hurt even just testing someone.

sorry i wasn't very clear before.

I see. Perhaps I've missed something, but I was under the impression that people get hurt jousting. Even very skilled people with good equipment.

It's one of those things that's hard to eliminate when you start slamming into people with lances on horseback.

Obviously, there's a whole concept of what constitutes an acceptable level of risk and then the process for keeping people within whatever range that may be.

I think there's a red herring in the water here.

Instead of attacking the SCA - why not focus on addressing the legitimate issue of how one makes a very dangerous sport as safe as possible.

That would be the productive course.

There are incidental injuries. However they are few and far between. Because the people who joust are capable riders (intentionally not saying good), and also wear good armour.
enjoy the

I am not attacking the SCA, i am a member there of and in general enjoy it. I was just stating my opinion there of.

sorry guys, I dont frequent the boards as much any more...

But the IJA is alive and kicking IJA-USA is finally it's own standing buisness and we are just making the finishing touches so that we can start doing memberships at the begining of the new year.

Our biggest obstacle is resources... Either we dont have the funds often to help people out with thier travel or we just dont have enough trained horses. Hopefully as we grow, we will be able to increase that.

Now IJA-USA isnt an America only group, but it will help us concentrate on getting it up and going here. We are so much bigger than our european counterparts that it can be hard to get people together but we are growing..

I would totally suggest that anyone interested in jousting join both the IJA and the IJL as each provides a seperate function to our jousting society and easily exist side by side and can work hand in hand!

I applaude the things that Historic Enterprises does with the jousting here in the US and I can only hope that we can get similar things going in other places.

Our goal is to have at least one if not two major jousting events this season and as things get locking into place, I will make sure everyone gets a heads up.

So kiddies, that is the state of the IJA-USA union. The wheels have turned slowly but momentum is being gained!

GoneRiding wrote:It was too hard to make it work and to get some people to adhere to the minimum historical standard. Some of the crap they would turn up in would make you cry.

This is always what happens when a group does not have a defined idea of what its goal is. Where as you will have success amng an unorganized group that has a defined idea of what they want to do. It basically is the root problem with a group like the SCA, no one can give you a clear answer as to what it does. But compare that to the late-15th century historical jousting movement which has a very defined idea of what it is doing and its expectations.

Modern jousting is basically late-15th or 16th century jousting. The period equiptment is basically as safe as modernly designed equiptment would be. The sport is more or less as safe as many extreme sports. If you stick to the period of time it is closest to there is virtually no limit to the historical possibilities which enables a community to exist and grow.

Brent,

I think you have some good points, but feel that success or failure depends even more on the individuals involved, their persistence, and the results they achieve.

A group like the IJL has rather broad focus, but has achieved incredible results and has developed a varied and vibrant membership. Our tournaments have a narrow focus and have a good degree of success.

It would appear that though IJL and WJT parameters differ considerably, both have good success, and I would hypothesize that it's because of approach and execution rather than degree of focus. Either or both can produce results with motivated people involved.

Although I agree that motivation is essential, I agree with Brent- I think focus is key. It's easy to get people motivated when they know exactly what they're getting motivated about.

IJL has very vague rules and whatnot- their focus is being a clearinghouse for affiliated events/participants, and a central place to accrue points/rank. There are blessedly few hoops to jump thru, and the ones in place are pretty straight forward and sensible. They also allow the event organizer to determine the parameters (theme, kit level, etc.) for each event. People know and understand the basic framework for IJL events, even if they have differing themes.

On the other hand WJT has really, really stringent rules and requirements. Even so, those rules and requirements are very clearly outlined, so people know what to expect. Based on the number of people who want to compete, stringent requirements don't seem to put people off.

Be that is it may, as I discussed with someone earlier today, for right now the SCA is trying to have stand alone events that are not affiliated with any other entity. Because of the way SCA rules and regulations are structured, there may not be a way to affiliate with another group. In my view that would be a tremendous pity if the SCA couldn't lean on an established organization such as the IJL, as the SCA would then have to reinvent a wheel that has already been developed and is functioning brilliantly.

However it goes, I'm glad someone is trying to make it happen. There needs to be more jousting in this country!

Gwen

I really think that the sca NEEDS to look at all of the established jousting communities to see what they would like to do.

Safety first for this. That means rider and gear. I dont care how nicely armoured a person is if they cant use a lance, or ride a horse. Also, the equipment needs to be safe. When we do get the sca crossover, I always get the questions like, can I wear my plastic breastplate and I always tell them the same thing. In the SCA armour stops you from getting hurt. In jousting it stops you from being killed.

Oh, and well done period armour is way more protective than modern gear. It's just hard to get. Most armour doesnt think about the function... Sure, it can for foot combat, but not for jousting. Overly long vambraces are the #1 cause of broken hands and wrists but are often very serviceable for foot combat. Thats why getting armour from someone like Jeff Hedgecock is great because Jeff does it and so know the intricacies that others may not. I have a pair of his spring legs that are the envy of many of my friends and they are just stock pieces! My wife has all of her limbs covered in his stuff and even I'm jealous! Jeff Wasson is a great person to get custom stuff too! I cant say enough good things about the armour from either Jeff. (this is a personal endorsement, not one of the IJA-USA... but... and... dont tell people...it should be

Jeff Wasson jousts too, so he knows how armour should work for jousting. Same with William West of the Englysh Plate Armourie in the UK. There are some really fine up and coming armourers, like Matt Bayley, too.

Gwen

SirAngus wrote:I really think that the sca NEEDS to look at all of the established jousting communities to see what they would like to do.

We are.

SirAngus wrote:I really think that the sca NEEDS to look at all of the established jousting communities to see what they would like to do.

They did. One of the reasons for the successful movement towards this is the original poster is a lawyer and has been able to reshape the liability issues that opened the path way for this. So Alexis and Eule and that bunch have a very clear idea of what they want to do. But as others have pointed out the SCA suffers from certain cultural traits that are always going to be problems. For example a desire for armour technically to be allowed vs its true safety and its desire for sports equipment.

The historical jousters also come with cultural baggage. Most specifically a desire for fine armour. Where will they end up drawing the line between acceptable and not acceptable or the huge grey area or what not.







[img]http://www.casiberia.com/images/products/AB0063.jpg[/img]

I'd imagine Jeff cringes just looking at those and would probably throw up in his mouth at the idea of having one of them at his tournament, but I would guess that he would not turn down a tournament that uses the same rules and ideas as his held say in the middle of the US with 10 other competitors 3/4 of which are wearing those harnesses. In a way it is like all sports equipment, a large span of equipment will work but you aren't going to win a gold metal in the Olympics with most of it.

OK, new guy asking question here:

While I have only gotten one severe horse related injury (lost a day due to a severe concussion when I was 8, haven't ridden a horse but once since), my question is this:

Has anyone in full contact jousting pulled a Bono? How about non-Bono deaths?

-Ivan
Who realizes his mom was West Kingdom Eq. Marshal.

What means 'pulling a Bono?'

We're actually moving toward having a panel of experts to assess potential WJT competitors, so it won't just be 'Jeff and Gwen being @$$h%&$'. More on that soon, as well as future events.

Gwen

Oh yeah, and as for the above images-

#1 flunks because we don't allow sallets for jousting.
#2 flunks because the armet doesn't have a wrapper
#3 flunks because a barbuta isn't a jousting helmet

And another 'oh yeah'- we're just back from a Caid equestrian practice where Jeff was authorized to compete in SCA horse stuff. I guess they thought he was safe enough. So guys (you know who you are), he has his card!! Yeah!!

Gwen

Black Swan Designs wrote::?: What means 'pulling a Bono?'

I think he is referring to Sunny Bono but I don't get it.

Black Swan Designs wrote::?: What means 'pulling a Bono?'

We're actually moving toward having a panel of experts to assess potential WJT competitors, so it won't just be 'Jeff and Gwen being @$$h%&$'. More on that soon, as well as future events.

Gwen

Oh yeah, and as for the above images-

#1 flunks because we don't allow sallets for jousting.
#2 flunks because the armet doesn't have a wrapper
#3 flunks because a barbuta isn't a jousting helmet

First off, congrats to Jeff on getting authorized!
Also, for the high end tournaments of the 15th C folks, what would have to change on this harness? I know the breastplate would as it is not correct for the rest of the armor. Would a 1460 great bascinet be accepted?





Thanks!

Black Swan Designs wrote:Oh yeah, and as for the above images-

#1 flunks because we don't allow sallets for jousting.
#2 flunks because the armet doesn't have a wrapper
#3 flunks because a barbuta isn't a jousting helmet

Additionally, I would hope all three would fail because they are not very good reproductions. They are great by SCA standards but thats about it.

Tom

There's 'perfect world' and 'real world'. If we were super critical and took only the very best, we'd have about 5 people in the world to invite to our events. Obviously that's not going to fly, so we will be accepting kit that might not be as fabulous as Jeff's, or Toby's or Arne's, but still meets a basic minimum.

But you know what, this is derailing the purpose for this thread, which is to discuss balsa jousting in the SCA. If you guys want to pursue questions about WJT events, Start a new thread and fire away. Jeff and/or I will be happy to give you the skinny on anything you want to know.

Gwen

I don't think anyone other then the people or group running an event have the right to decide what harnesses are good enough and which ones are not. That said I want to note that I didn't put them forward as possibilities for a World Joust 15th century tournament. Many people if not most have different standards for what they themselves put forward vs what they would decide to participate in. Unfortunately the Steel Mastery image didn't come through but my point was that there is a level of equipment that may not be good enough to play in the major leagues but may be acceptable to a group as an entry level.

One of the issues with historic jousting like many similar historical things is that you have to decide what sacrifices to make unless you simply have an amazingly dedicated group of people with the resources to do it. While that will attract some people there will be those who are interested but lack that level of dedication or resources. So you start playing with compromises. One compromise is loosening the restrictions a little. Another would be to develop something similar that is more cost effective for example jousting from an earlier period. Both of these have problems. keeping the feel is important for developing and moving people forward.
People who choose the first compromise of a slightly lower standard but the same basic thing set themselves up to more easily go to a major league event. Once they have developed the skill then they upgrade their equipment which is basically a better version of what they had been using and they are good to go.
Due to the nature of doing historical things choosing the second compromise is more complicated. Lets say you kept the same basic standard ideas as the upper end guys but go 70 years earlier to c.1400. The problem you face is that jousting is in a different stage of development so you have to decide do you joust like it is c.1470 years later with c.1400 equipment or do you keep true to the idea of historical jousting and joust as it was done in c.1400 without a tilt.

To a certain extent these are very personal or group of people who are working with decisions and not necessarily ones to be dictated from above.