Never done LARPs, but have done the Renaissance Faire in garb for quite a while. When I was younger, a big one used to be done in my home town. The smaller one we have nearby has jousts, which is fun, and we're getting young ones interested.

Years ago, the school I went to trained actors in classical skills like sword fights and jousts. One on these was guy named, Robin Wood. I am not kidding! Anyway, Robin used to spend his summers working some major RenFaire's until a jousting pole caught him between the legs.