People all over the world are getting out of their comfort zones and joining a new breed of sportsmen who are into extreme sports.
Extreme sports are simply modification of many “regular” sports. Rules, equipment and limits are simply stretch to accommodate more daring stunts for the athletes. For extreme sports enthusiasts, the exhilarating experience of stretching limits is enough to reason to face risks and dangers.
In many countries, ice climbing is a popular extreme sport. This extreme sport takes place in cliffs and rocks where water has frozen. Alpine ice climbing takes place in mountains and requires the sportsman to do intensive climbing to the summit. Water ice climbing takes place in cliffs. Ice climbing is dangerous because ice is very slippery. Once on high places, there is should be no room for mistake. The choice of ice axes to bring should be carefully considered.
Snowboarding is another extreme sport for the cold regions. Snowboarding is some kind of combinational sport between surfing and skateboarding. A sportsman descends into a slope wearing only a boar attached to his feet. It is also similar to skiing, only more dangerous. The sport was invented and popularized in the United States and even became one of the games in the 1998 Winter Olympic Sport.
Another extreme sport that can be played anywhere on the planet is the Motocross. The motocross, often referred to as MotoX or MX, is a very intense motorcycle race in terrible close circuit terrains. It is traditionally held in wet conditions and the drivers get muddy while the roads get slippery.
Rock climbing is an extreme sport that test mental control, strength and endurance. Rock climbers ascend through rock very steep and pointed formations. Several techniques and gears have to mastered by the climber because one mistake can mean death.
Similar to Rock Climing is Bouldering. Compared to rock climbing, the height to climb in Bouldering is more limited but the rope will not be used.
Drag racing is a popular car race in many countries. Usually the sport involves two cars racing against each other over ¼ or 1/8 mile at very high speed. This sport is very dangerous because the driver has to be very accurate with shifting gears to avoid accidents.
Hang Gliding is an aerial sport that resembles paragliding using less sophisticated craft. It is a competitive but at the same time a recreational sport but many consider it to be unsafe. A person hangs on the craft and soars for hours. Otto Lilienthal, a German national and human aviation pioneer, died of from a gliding crash. He was considered as “Glider King”.
There is a popular television show called X Games shown on ABC and ESPN. It features several extreme sports. Despite many criticisms about the sports unsafe practices are evidenced by several injuries and even death, extreme sports have become so popular that many companies have targeted their products on marketing extreme sports sub-culture. Some popular names in extreme sports apparel include The North Face, Patagonia and Teva.
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