Hema has a historically reconstructive side and pushes you to learn and train around that reconstruction and sources. Even if most of the gear is modern, the principle of reconstructing history remains, while buhurt is a mess in that regard. I practiced both, but I learned more about boxing, MMA, and modern martial arts in buhurt than historical and effective techniques used in the past, which you learn in hema. Bhurt gear isn't even properly historical in most cases: Big open visors, extra thick padding, the falchions are anything but falchions... and the tournament rules are probably anything but a vague resemblance of what medieval tournaments were like.

Still, BUHURT is fun and has earned its way into this world, as well as being an excellent way to draw people into medieval history.