History Channel: FMJ

episode 1
Intro of people (will do as they joust and give background)

16 contestants of various backgrounds but all men

Basic intro to sport

Picking of teams (Red/Black)

Red Team
Coach: Ripper Moore
1. Mike (Marine Corps Veteran)
2. James (Professional Show Jumper)
3. John ()
4. Nathan (PRCA Bull Rider)
5. "Avery" (Josh - theatrical jouster)
6. David ()
7. Paul ()
8. Jake (Horse Trainer)

Black Team
Coach: Rod Walker
1. Rope (World Champion Steer Wrestler)
2. Tom ()
3. Matt (Philosophy Student)
4. Josh K (theatrical jouster)
5. Landon (auctioneer)
6. Joe ()
7. Brian ()
8. Jack

Horses
1. Gulliver
2. Navarro
3. Crispin
4. Superman
5. Jefferson
6. Praetorian


First the contestants are dressed on their armor and then get chest shots with a battering ram! I suppose it also helps them learn how to fall

With warnings to keep their mouths closed and not to let their tongues go between their teeth or they might bite it off, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of instruction on how to actually fall so to minimize injury (maybe that's hard to do in 80# of steel)

The other team got to get on the horses and ride - while the coaches whack them in the chest with baseball bats - metal ones - but they tried their best to keep the shots on the grand guards

First joist:
Black vs red team
Josh vs Mike

Josh rides Navarro
Mike rides Crispin

In practice, Josh unseated his trainer and caused a bit of discomfort

In practice, Mike was unseated by the smallest dude on his team (James); he also took a shot in his "special place" but shook it off

Josh has a 3yr old daughter
Mike refers to having a "girl" ... But don't know if it's a daughter - he also seems to be a former marine

STATS:
Rider_______Josh______Mike
Horse______Navarro____Crispin
Combined
Weight_____2,065#_____2,015#
Skill____theater jouster__Horse Stuntman
1 1/4" thick lance
Pass 1:
0-0 although they hit
Pass 2:
0:1 mike strikes
Pass 3:
0-2 even though mike hit the lance plate
Pass 4:
0-2 tip to tip hit (repass called)
1-2 Josh hit
Pass 5: 1 1/2" thick lances
2-3, both strike
Pass 6:
7-4, josh broke lance
Pass 7:
7-4 both miss
Pass 8:
8-5 both strike

Although mike lost, he becomes a "second" and can be put back in the game if one of his team mates can not compete in their joust

Reality Show: Full Metal Jousting

Holy crap - how did I miss the first 5 episodes of this show?

It is On Demand so check it out

This isn't your great ancestors jousting - well kind of - they are wearing stell instead of armor made the old way ...

There is a $100,000 prize - but some of what these guys are put through you have to wonder if it's worth it ...

There are no women allowed - or at least not shown - in the competition just as it was in the old days

These guys are taking full shots! Full unseatings ... Some even take hits that could leave them scarred or crippled for life

This isn't the "pretend" overly controlled jousting matches you see in Vegas or at your local renaissance festival - these guys are out for blood ... The Unseating is worth the most points and can actually cause the most damage ...

Well you try to fall off a horse that's about 6ft high at a run while wearing a steel suit!

The equipment they use is different than those you will find at the fantasy sports as well, really it has to be

The shoulder shields (gridded grand guard) have a grid on them for scoring purposes and that area is about the size of a license plate according to the host

The lances are 11 ft long sticks of solid wood, but I see some metal on there as well for the pummel unless that's just painted that way

The suits weigh 80 lbs (and don't cover everything that the guys wish they would ... See episode 6)14 ga. Stainless steel

The horses are not those sphelt lean things you see on tv - these horses are built Jousting Tough - well they would have to be in order to carry the weight of a man and his armor ... This also means the guys have an extra wide seat

The horses run on a sandy field, and that's what the jousters land on - if you ever fell off a swing set or climber as a kid you know that sand feels like concrete when you fall uncontrolled

Scoring:
01 pt strike on grand guard
05 pt strike and break your lance
10 pt unhorsing (although the 1st episode says it has to hit the grand guard first)

So keep an eye out for updates

They will be labelled History Channel FMJ then the episode guide with in (just like the NatGeo DP)