Friday, December 4, 2009
Bull Riding..
Now this is one extreme sport that I feel I have to participate in at least once in my life. It's just you against the animal, and not just any animal a "bull." Bulls are solid muscle and weigh at an excess of 1000 pounds. Bull riding has been said to me the most dangerous 8 seconds of any sport. The object of this sport is to mount the bull while being strapped in, then release the bull from the pen, the rider attempts to stay on the raging animal for 8 seconds with only one arm allowed to hold on. Scoring in bull riding goes from 1 to 100. The score is dependent on how well the rider stays on and also on the tenacity of the bull. Thus, a victory can depend just as much on the bull as it can the rider. I can remember watching Bodacious, the most legendary bull in history just dominate riders. He was never riding and in fact was nearly banned from the sport for being to dangerous. The most famous rider is Tuff Heidman, that actually died doing this sport. That's one crazy sport.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Cliff Diving
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.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Paintball...
Paintball...
I never got to serious into this sport, but when I was was younger for Christmas one year me and my brother and dad all recieved paintball guns. So just like any new toy, you have to out it to use right away. So we all ventured out into the woods fully geared up and ready for battle. Shoots started flying, and it wasn't long before we realized something wasn't right. The paintballs had been left outside the night before and froze, therefore they weren't bursting on impact. HAHA my brother got hit on the top of the head, and me on the trigger finger. This pretty much put and end to our paintball experience for that day.
In 1976, three friends by the names of Hayes Noel, Bob Gurnsey, and Charles Gaines began to ponder over the thrill they got over a hunting trip in Africa, and how they could recreate that excitement for themselves. Thats when one of them inspired by the book "the most dangerous game" and there recent trip came up with the idea of using paint guns that were formerly used to mark tree and cattle as weapons to play among each other. Not long after that the first ever recorded game of paintball took place, it was twelve on twelve, and was capture the flag.
Nowadays paintball is a major sport of which anyone can particapate in. You jus have to be willing to deal with some pain. Better yet, just dont get shot.
I never got to serious into this sport, but when I was was younger for Christmas one year me and my brother and dad all recieved paintball guns. So just like any new toy, you have to out it to use right away. So we all ventured out into the woods fully geared up and ready for battle. Shoots started flying, and it wasn't long before we realized something wasn't right. The paintballs had been left outside the night before and froze, therefore they weren't bursting on impact. HAHA my brother got hit on the top of the head, and me on the trigger finger. This pretty much put and end to our paintball experience for that day.
In 1976, three friends by the names of Hayes Noel, Bob Gurnsey, and Charles Gaines began to ponder over the thrill they got over a hunting trip in Africa, and how they could recreate that excitement for themselves. Thats when one of them inspired by the book "the most dangerous game" and there recent trip came up with the idea of using paint guns that were formerly used to mark tree and cattle as weapons to play among each other. Not long after that the first ever recorded game of paintball took place, it was twelve on twelve, and was capture the flag.
Nowadays paintball is a major sport of which anyone can particapate in. You jus have to be willing to deal with some pain. Better yet, just dont get shot.
Snowboarding...
Snowboarding...
Living in the mountains as a boy, snowboarding is something that was pretty popular where I'm from. I tinkered around with it some, but could never get into it to heavily due to wrestling. Snowboarding was inspired by a mixture of skateboarding, surfing, and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A in the 1960's and 1970's and became a recognized Olympic sport in 1998.
Compotition for snowboarding consist of 8 main events:
Slopestyle
Competitors perform tricks while descending a course, moving around, over, across, or down terrain features. The course is full of obstacles including boxes, rails, jumps, jibs (includes anything the board or rider can slide across). Sounds tricky, and is very fast paced.
Big Air
Big Air competitions are contests where riders perform tricks after launching off a man made jump built specifically for the event. Competitors perform tricks in the air, aiming to attain sizable height and distance, all while securing a clean landing.
Halfpipe
The half-pipe is a semi-circular ditch or purpose built ramp (that is usually on a downward slope). Competitors perform tricks while going from one side to the other and while in the air above the sides of the pipe. This is my favorite event to watch
Boardercross
In Boardercross (also known as "Boarder X"), several riders (usually 4, but sometimes 6) race down a course similar to a motorcycle motocross track (with jumps, berms and other obstacles constructed out of snow on a downhill course).
Indycross
Much like Boardercross (above), but instead with single-competitor runs, so as to remove 'pole positioning' from competitive equation; the rider has to skid and turn down the course.
Rail Jam
A rail jam is a jib contest. Riders perform tricks on rails, boxes, pipes, wall rides, and several other creative features. Rail jams are done in a small area, usually with two or three choices of features for the rider to hit on a run. "Ive seen some pretty nasty falls on this event"
Racing
The racing events are slalom, giant slalom, and super G. In slalom, boarders race downhill through sets of gates that force extremely tight turns, requiring plenty of technical skill as well as speed.
Giant slalom uses a much longer course with gates set further apart, resulting in even higher speeds. Super G is the fastest of all, with speeds of up to 45 mph (72 km/h).
Slush Cup
The slush cup is an event held at some ski hills on the last day of the season, the point being to cross a man made lake at the bottom of the hill. Very few people make it across but there are often prizes for all that try. This event is more just for fun than other types of competition.
You see Snowboarding being included in many movies nowadays. That's shows me just how popular of an event it has come to be. which is why defiantly suggest everybody to at least give it a try sometime.
Living in the mountains as a boy, snowboarding is something that was pretty popular where I'm from. I tinkered around with it some, but could never get into it to heavily due to wrestling. Snowboarding was inspired by a mixture of skateboarding, surfing, and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A in the 1960's and 1970's and became a recognized Olympic sport in 1998.
Compotition for snowboarding consist of 8 main events:
Slopestyle
Competitors perform tricks while descending a course, moving around, over, across, or down terrain features. The course is full of obstacles including boxes, rails, jumps, jibs (includes anything the board or rider can slide across). Sounds tricky, and is very fast paced.
Big Air
Big Air competitions are contests where riders perform tricks after launching off a man made jump built specifically for the event. Competitors perform tricks in the air, aiming to attain sizable height and distance, all while securing a clean landing.
Halfpipe
The half-pipe is a semi-circular ditch or purpose built ramp (that is usually on a downward slope). Competitors perform tricks while going from one side to the other and while in the air above the sides of the pipe. This is my favorite event to watch
Boardercross
In Boardercross (also known as "Boarder X"), several riders (usually 4, but sometimes 6) race down a course similar to a motorcycle motocross track (with jumps, berms and other obstacles constructed out of snow on a downhill course).
Indycross
Much like Boardercross (above), but instead with single-competitor runs, so as to remove 'pole positioning' from competitive equation; the rider has to skid and turn down the course.
Rail Jam
A rail jam is a jib contest. Riders perform tricks on rails, boxes, pipes, wall rides, and several other creative features. Rail jams are done in a small area, usually with two or three choices of features for the rider to hit on a run. "Ive seen some pretty nasty falls on this event"
Racing
The racing events are slalom, giant slalom, and super G. In slalom, boarders race downhill through sets of gates that force extremely tight turns, requiring plenty of technical skill as well as speed.
Giant slalom uses a much longer course with gates set further apart, resulting in even higher speeds. Super G is the fastest of all, with speeds of up to 45 mph (72 km/h).
Slush Cup
The slush cup is an event held at some ski hills on the last day of the season, the point being to cross a man made lake at the bottom of the hill. Very few people make it across but there are often prizes for all that try. This event is more just for fun than other types of competition.
You see Snowboarding being included in many movies nowadays. That's shows me just how popular of an event it has come to be. which is why defiantly suggest everybody to at least give it a try sometime.
unicycling
Unicycle...
What an odd sport of sorts. What some would expect to see only on a circus side show, has become somewhat of a popular thrill seeking sport. It seems to date back all the way to the 19th century when people rode bikes called Penny-Farthings. These bikes had a problem with the cranks and so when riders would begin to pedal there weight would be shifted forward taking the weight off the rear wheel. So riders made modifications to these bikes by taking the rear wheel off and simply riding just what is now known as a Unicycle.
There are many different types of unicycles
Freestyle Unicycles: used for flatland skills and routines
Trial Unicycles: trials unicycles are stronger than standard unicycles in order to withstand the stresses caused by jumping, dropping, and supporting the weight of the unicycle and rider on components such as the pedals and cranks.
Offroad Unicycles: Used for the mountains and rugged trails. Built with much thicker and tougher components.
Touring Unicycles: Used for long distances, these unicycles are specially made to cover distances.
Along with the different types of Unicycles there are all different types of riding styles as well. Most of which branch off from the types of Unicycles. This is a sport I plan on trying out one of these days. Yet, I don't plan on doing it by taking the rear wheel off of my bike.
What an odd sport of sorts. What some would expect to see only on a circus side show, has become somewhat of a popular thrill seeking sport. It seems to date back all the way to the 19th century when people rode bikes called Penny-Farthings. These bikes had a problem with the cranks and so when riders would begin to pedal there weight would be shifted forward taking the weight off the rear wheel. So riders made modifications to these bikes by taking the rear wheel off and simply riding just what is now known as a Unicycle.
There are many different types of unicycles
Freestyle Unicycles: used for flatland skills and routines
Trial Unicycles: trials unicycles are stronger than standard unicycles in order to withstand the stresses caused by jumping, dropping, and supporting the weight of the unicycle and rider on components such as the pedals and cranks.
Offroad Unicycles: Used for the mountains and rugged trails. Built with much thicker and tougher components.
Touring Unicycles: Used for long distances, these unicycles are specially made to cover distances.
Along with the different types of Unicycles there are all different types of riding styles as well. Most of which branch off from the types of Unicycles. This is a sport I plan on trying out one of these days. Yet, I don't plan on doing it by taking the rear wheel off of my bike.
Surfing
Surfing...
This is one sport that has always appealed to me. It is an art and looks so beautiful when being done properly. Surfing stands for surface water sport, and is performed on waves on some sort or another. The waves do not always have to be salt water, in fact many waves are found in fresh water along meandering rivers. It seems as if the most known early accounts of surfing took place in Hawaii, when the Chief position in the tribe went to the person who was the most impressive on the waves. Also respect was giving to neighboring tribes that had impressive surfers as well, but the best boards made from the lightest/strongest boards was giving to the tribe that had the dominant riders. It seems as if surfing is a culture in its own. The followers of surfing live by a different lifestyle, and approach life from different angles. Not to mention they have there own lingo, "gnarly man" or "Snake". Either way it's an extreme sport I plan on participating in.
This is one sport that has always appealed to me. It is an art and looks so beautiful when being done properly. Surfing stands for surface water sport, and is performed on waves on some sort or another. The waves do not always have to be salt water, in fact many waves are found in fresh water along meandering rivers. It seems as if the most known early accounts of surfing took place in Hawaii, when the Chief position in the tribe went to the person who was the most impressive on the waves. Also respect was giving to neighboring tribes that had impressive surfers as well, but the best boards made from the lightest/strongest boards was giving to the tribe that had the dominant riders. It seems as if surfing is a culture in its own. The followers of surfing live by a different lifestyle, and approach life from different angles. Not to mention they have there own lingo, "gnarly man" or "Snake". Either way it's an extreme sport I plan on participating in.
Ultimate Fighting
Fighting is a sport that has been around since the beginning of time. It is almost human nature to be enthralled by the challenge of two people going head to head pouring there heart into the fight. Thus people seen promise in this as a business proposition. Early 1990's an organization known as UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championships was developed. In the early days the sport received a bad rap for the negative image that it put off. Critics compared it to modern day gladiators, or said it was far to savage. When UFC began rules were very limited, no biting, no eye gouging, and no groin shots. In the beginning there were no rules pertaining to weight class, and time limit, and the contestants didn't wear gloves. So due to this negative image that UFC put off it seen an rapid decline in popularity and was even made illegal in many states. Yet, partial owner Dana White would not go down without a fight. He changed and added rules to make the fights at least a little more civilized. The rules added would help prevent serious injury among the fighters. Now UFC has surpassed professional boxing with its popularity, and continues it's rise fame.
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