Gravel up a section of the river-bed (to give good traction) and erect a barrier lengthways along the middle of the river. Punt for all you are worth along your side of the barrier. When you are close enough, pull the pole out of the water, cradle it in your arm and try to knock your opponent off by hitting them square in the chest with the top end of the pole.

Padding up the end of the pole and wearing lightweight body armour is highly recommended since punting in a full suit of armour is more than a little tricky. The bottom end of the pole would also have to be adapted to make it easier to grip, since you'll be holding the slimy end of the pole when you lift it to joust.

(Googling for "punt jousting" gives a few responses but none of them seem to use the punting pole as a jousting lance; they all seem to be two-man events with one person punting and the other using a padded stick as a bludgeon.)
-- st3f, Jul 28 2005

Technique, I think, would count more in punt jousting than in other forms of jousting. It would be very hard to avoid falling in the water yourself as you try to unpunt your opponent.
-- hippo, Jul 28 2005


I find punting my own boat and not falling in hard enough without the added requirement to knock someone else in too. It's going to be quite difficult to swim in full plate armour but I guess that's extra incentive to win [+].
-- DocBrown, Jul 28 2005


When I went punting in Cambridge last month, I got a few comments on my ungodly American Ozarks pole-handling technique. What I do is pivot the pole around me horizontally to put the working end out in front of the boat before dropping it back into the water. This nearly jousted a few people, and startled a few more.

I'd use that horizontal sweep, then switch grips to hold the pole level. That way I wouldn't have to hold the wet end of the pole in a joust. Of course, I'd probably get tangled up in the barrier and fall in the water before I ever got hit. +
-- baconbrain, Jul 28 2005


Although jousting is the sport of sports for the modern gentleman (and indeed lady), there seem to be a lot of jousting/jousting related posts lately. At some point there is bound to be an echo.

Luckily, this isn't it. [+]
-- pooduck, Jul 28 2005


May not be linked on the Internet, but this is as old as the Cam (or the Cherwell). But padding is for wusses.
-- DrCurry, Jul 28 2005


The problem with this idea is a dearth of punt. The improved version:

Punt up a section of the river-punt (to give good puntion) and punt up some punting lengthways along the punt of the punt. Punt for all you are worth! When you are close enough, punt the puntage out of the water, punt it in your punt and try to punt your opponent off by punting them square in the punt with the punt punt of the punt.
-- bungston, Jul 28 2005


Would the punter going upstream be at a disadvantage? Or, do the rivers not flow where you live? (The rivers generally don't even have water where I live, so what do I know about it?)
-- half, Jul 28 2005


The Cam, the river I went punting on, had no flow to speak of. It has several dams that form long pools where the punting is done.
-- baconbrain, Jul 29 2005


"Dams" ?! Weirs.
-- DrCurry, Jul 29 2005


Damn! I thought they looked kind of weird.
-- baconbrain, Jul 29 2005


[baconbrain] - that's "Pun Jousting" - you're meant to be writing about Punt Jousting.

//punting in a full suit of armour// - misread this as "punting in a full suit of amour"
-- hippo, Jul 29 2005


*That's* definitely been done before.
-- st3f, Jul 31 2005



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