As a kid I loved jumping off the rock ledge into the lake. Then it seemed like it was sooo high, when it was probably only 9 feet or so and today it isnt as exciting. For some people though jumping off some rocks into a lake isn't quite enough. They have to go up to the highest point of some cliffs and jump from there. And unlike with me its not about who can do the best canon ball with the biggest splash. These crazy folk actually dive, doing technical moves such as flips, twists and landing either feet first or hands first trying to make as little splash as possible.
Back in 1770, Kahekili (1710 - 1794) the last independent king of Maui and chief of four islands was famous for “lele kawa”, which in English means: Leaping off high cliffs and entering the water feet first without a splash. In order to prove their courage and loyalty, Kahekili forced his nakoa (warriors) to follow his example, jumping of the leap into the Royal Waters at Kaunolu.
Today divers dive from these heights with the World High Diving Federation. WHDF is an autonomous federation, not subordinate to any higher institution. It was founded in 1996, and is an inscribed Sport Federation with headquarters in Avegno, Switzerland. The purpose of WHDF is to provide professional information and promote the disciplines of Cliff and High Diving, also to organize and carry out national and international competitions.
There is a lot of various rules and regulations, regarding licensing, what swimsuits are allowed, how to train, judging etc. http://www.whdf.com/ has all the information if you ever want to start jumping off cliffs.
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