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Posted: 02/25/2012
For outsiders, extreme sports enthusiasts appear to be nothing more than “adrenaline junkies.” Those who have never experienced the thrill of swimming with sharks or feeling the wind on their face from thousands of feet up simply cannot understand the excitement that surrounds extreme sports. Extreme sports are incredibly popular for a number of reasons, and each sport has its own ways of drawing in competitors and observers the world over.
Though perhaps not the initial intention, extreme sports have opened the doors for major money to be made. Athletes who become exceptional at any given extreme sport end up being merchandised. Before you know it there are posters, water bottles, gym bags, and anything else that you can think of with the name, picture, logo, or other symbol of a certain athlete. Those who follow extreme sports will have their favorite athletes just like with traditional sports; they begin buying the merchandise and just like that, the athlete makes money without even trying.
Of course, the events themselves also bring in a significant amount of money, not to mention that the locations that host the events are extremely well benefited by the rush of people from all over who come to take part.
While the excitement and adrenaline are not the only reasons that extreme sports are so popular, they are a major factor. There are people who believe that living life to the fullest means taking risks, losing your breath, and laughing in the face of danger. For these people, the more extreme the sport, the better, and they are always looking for new ways to make the even the most extreme sports even more extreme. This fact alone is what has so many fanatics coming back for more as well as more and more people watching or taking part in extreme sports every day. There seems to be no end to the number of extreme sports that can be performed.
Once one sport is established, extras are always being added on to add to the element of danger and keep things as exciting as possible. For example, ironing became a big deal very quickly, but what’s even more exciting than ironing? How about ironing while skydiving? There is seemingly no end to the possibilities when it comes to extreme sports and there is no such thing as too extreme.
Not everyone wants to spend their time shooting hoops or watching baseball games, and extreme sports offer an alternative to those looking for something a little more exciting. Those who like to travel also enjoy extreme sports because they give them the opportunity to travel to new and exciting places to experience the sport in a different way.
There are so many different extreme sports that anyone can find something that they enjoy; from skateboarding to diving to BASE jumping; the list is endless and most cannot helped but be pulled in.
Photo courtesy of Marcos Lacerda
Laura Ginn writes for Extreme Sports X, one of the largest and most comprehensive extreme sports magazines on the web today.
Why do people use rangefinders in golf?
People use rangefinders in many hobbies – shooting, geo-caching, photography, and golf.
The use of rangefinders in golf is a controversial topic – some argue that they are simply a more hi-tech version of the ‘yardage books’ and the expert (and often pre-tested) knowledge of the best caddies. Others respond that in order to keep the game of golf honorable, people must refrain from using laser and GPS to gauge the distance to the hole.
Quicker than pacing, many top tour players use rangefinders, from brands like Bushnell Golf, to improve their game, especially while practicing for the real thing. The PGA has also sanctioned the use of rangefinders, since 2008, which is great – embracing new technology helps keep golf fresh, and speeds up the game, keeping golf an interesting, accessible spectator sport. For weekend players, it helps avoid that awkward moment where queues start to form and etiquette is strained.
Point and shoot laser devices are the simplest form, easy to use and require no subscription. GPS devices come with thousands of pre-loaded golf courses from your country, detailing yardage and other useful tips. There are also hybrid models, which combine the two functions for a doubly useful tool – especially good if you travel frequently, and love exploring an unfamiliar course. They can be used to judge distance to the pin, distance from water and other hazards, or the distance from the 19th hole – so get a pint, and enjoy!
This article was written by Helen Gallagher, who works with an online golf shop called Golfbuyitonline.
If you watch professionals play table tennis, otherwise known as “Ping Pong”, you will see athletes running, jumping, sweating as they swing at what seems like an invisible object. This is because they are chasing a little white ball moving at almost 70 miles per hour! They are able to do this because table tennis has taught them to respond at rates which border on premonition, something that is truly amazing. This superhuman ability is just one of the many potential benefits of playing this under-appreciated sport.
If you meet with an expert, many will rightly recommend juggling for improving hand and eye coordination. While juggling is great for developing a person’s ability to coordinate movements, table tennis is even better. Table tennis is superior because when you juggle you are dealing with a closed system, a repeating pattern. When you play table tennis you are essentially juggling against an opponent, who is doing everything they can to make you fail. This challenging sport can sharpen your senses.
Table Tennis has been called “Chess at Light Speed.” Like Chess, table tennis is a psychological game, where it can be won and lost based on clear thinking. To add tension and improve mental quickness, traditional chess players use a special clock, but no matter how fast a chess player teaches his or herself how to think and move, they will never hit the speeds of a typical table tennis game. If you want to become quick, you should learn how to play table tennis.
Like poker, pool, darts and bowling, table tennis is a great getting-to-know-you game. A leisurely game is a great companion to a conversation, and a fast-paced game is even better. In addition to being much more fun to watch than cards, it is a game that calls for people to connect with one another.
Ping Pong tables have been fixtures in community centers and rest homes for decades. They are popular because it is an activity that utilizes and unites several areas of the brain, playing table tennis is a great exercise for the mind.
Table tennis was meant to be played aggressively as with regular tennis, with lots of movement and fully engaged bodies. It’s an aerobic exercise. A robust game between two competitive people will leave both tired, sweaty and out of breath.
Table tennis is a much more dynamic game than most of us give it credit for being. It is more than an activity, it is a sport and wonderful tool for sharpening skills and keeping fit, and it has produced some of the sharpest and fastest athletes in the world. No wonder it has been an officially recognized Olympic sport for over a decade.
Written by Frederic, freelance writer, mac fix specialist and online marketing consultant
Netball is a game, predominantly played by women, that has continued for many years to be popular all over the world; not only is it a fast paced game, but there are also fewer rules to remember than with other ball sports. The upshot of this is that it can therefore be easily picked up and enjoyed by all. Each team of seven contains one of each of the different positions, these being Goal Attack, Wing Attack, Goal Shooter, Wing Defence, Goal Defence, Goal Keeper and Centre. The netball court is divided into three equal sections and also contains what is known as the shooting circle; this is a semi circle area around each netball ring that all goal shots must be taken from.
Using the court
Each of the different playing positions mentioned above has different restrictions regarding the areas of the court they are permitted to be in. For example, the player who is acting as the Centre is able to travel into all three sections of the court but is not permitted to travel into the shooting circle; this means that a Centre is not able to score goals for their team. The Goal Shooter is only permitted to be in their shooting circle and up to the first transverse line that cuts the court into thirds. With each of the players only having specified areas that they can travel into on the court it is essential that good teamwork is employed in order to score more goals than the opposing team.
Technical details
A standard netball game lasts for sixty minutes and is split into four periods of play that last fifteen minutes each. Between the first and second period and the third and fourth period the players are given three minutes to catch their breath; between the sec
ond and third period of play, also known as half-time, this time is extended to five minutes. Although there are shared similarities with basketball, one of the main differences is that netball players are not permitted to travel around the court with the ball; instead, advancements towards the goal are made by passing to fellow teammates. As each player is only allowed in specific areas of the court it takes a great deal of teamwork to play the game successfully.
Attempts at goal
Due to them being the only players permitted inside the shooting circle, the Goal Shooter and Goal Attack are the only players who are able to score for their team. Shots at goal can only be defended by the Goal Keeper and Goal Defence and the rules state that they must be three feet from their opponent when doing so; both defence players are allowed to use their hands to help obstruct the shot but should they break the three foot rule then the shooting player from the opposition is awarded a penalty shot. During the penalty shot the player from the opposite team has to stand at the side whilst they re-take their shot at goal.
This is a guest post by Adam Johnson. Adam runs a London based netball league from his website Go Mammoth.
The State of California is the Mecca of sporting events. This state is the home to over 30 professional sports team and its large cities and fabulous sports arenas draw hundreds of major sporting events each year. If you are a sports fan, than you need to find out what California has to offer!
California - It's not just about Hollywood!
California is a popular destination for international sporting events. Cities like Los Angeles and San Diego in particular are often used as the home base for these events. This is because of the great weather, the availability of large sports arenas and fields, and the availability of adequate amenities for visiting athletes and spectators. The popularity of California for international sporting events has been proven by the multiple times that it has been selected to host the Olympics and the multiple times it has been selected to host such events as the Women’s World Cup Event.
As mentioned earlier, California is home to over 30 professional sports teams. There are the more recognizable teams like the L.A. Lakers, the 49ers and the L.A. Dodgers, as well as some lesser known teams like the San Jose Earthquakes and the Los Angeles Kings. Whether you are interested in baseball, football, basketball, soccer or hockey, California has one or more professional teams for you to choose between.
In addition to hosting a great selection of professional athletes, the State of California also is the home of hundreds of world-class college athletes as well. California has one of the highest numbers of colleges and universities in the United States. As a result, it has one of the largest college student athlete populations in the country, and in the world. If you love college sports, then California is a great place to visit during tournament time.
When sports enthusiasts think about buying tickets to a sporting event they generally focus just on professional, international and college level sporting events. These events tend to involve the more common sports that people watch, namely football, basketball, soccer and hockey. However, there is one more sports category that California excels in, extreme sports.
Extreme sports include marathons, triathlons, super-marathons, X-games, surfing and strength competitions. There are even emerging sports that are starting to gain in popularity in California. California is a great state to target if you are looking for a unique sporting event to attend.
Super Science Fair Projects has loads of visitors that are interested in sports. In fact, one of the most pages visited is ideas for sports science fair projects.
I wonder how many people who watched Kung Fu: The Legend Continues are aware of the fact that David Carradine, the actor who plays Caine, had little or no martial arts experience. It’s also worth noting that Bruce Lee was turned down for this role. It’s interesting because not only is Caine a myth, but Carradine is too. I bet there are a few people who assumed the late actor was some sort of martial arts expert. The people who believe this are probably among the horde that continue to take martial arts myths as fact. They see a black belt and are immediately in awe. In their eyes, this person is a martial arts legend. The trouble is, they have no idea what the black belt actually means.
Being a Black Belt - is there more to it?
Believe it or not, the black belt is worth the square root of nothing when it comes to martial arts mastery. We hear stories of people gaining a black belt in karate or some other martial arts form and automatically assume they are some sort of master. There have been reports of people earning this belt in 5 years or so. Aside from the fact that these belts may have come from a ‘belt factory’, do you really think someone can become a master in 5 years? If so, then you really know absolutely nothing about martial arts. With the amount of misinformation available relating to martial arts, this is no surprise.
Instead of being an end, a black belt really only signifies the beginning. All this really means is that you have ‘mastered’ the basics and can now move on to the more advanced and difficult to understand elements of your chosen martial art. This is confusing to the average person who believes they have already achieved mastery. It explains why such a large percentage of people stop trying to learn once they hit black belt status. One of the reasons for this is because they were ‘sold’ a martial arts black belt as something that can be achieved in a few years. In reality, mastery of martial arts takes a lifetime with true ‘masters’ only achieving this exalted status after 40+ years of training.
One of the more humorous black belt myths revolves around ‘deadly weapon’ status. Believe it or not, some people actually think that black belts have to register as deadly weapons. One of the origins of this myth came after the Second World War when traditional Japanese martial arts were made illegal for a few years. This only applied to Japan and did not last very long. Also, in and around the 1930s, boxing had publicity stunts whereby the police were around to register the pugilists as deadly weapons. This was of course complete nonsense and had no basis in fact.
While it is true that juries in court cases sometimes take into account a person’s martial arts ability, this is a far cry from ‘deadly weapon’ status. Laughably and lamentably, some unscrupulous ‘teachers’ manage to convince young, impressionable students that this is the case. As a result, they can extort money from them under the guise of providing them with a ‘registration card’ which is completely worthless. Police officers in various nations confirm that the idea of a black belt being a ‘deadly weapon’ is completely nonsense.
While a black belt is a noteworthy achievement, provided it came from a proper school, it is nothing more than a step on the martial arts path. You are still a long way from mastery and have plenty to learn. And for heaven’s sake, don’t go around pretending that you’re a deadly weapon!
AUTHOR: Justin Wheeler works for Black Eagle, suppliers of Martial Arts GIs and equipment. Between the team they have over 40 years of Martial Arts experience, which is why they’ve become the trusted shop for all combat sport supplies.
People all over the globe have been hearing about Muay Thai martial arts. Millions watch fights at tournaments or on television, bearing witness to Muay Thai style action full of explosive punches, deadly and penetrating kicks, devastating elbows and shattering knees. Television provides viewers with a remarkable coverage, but to truly appreciate the sport, nothing compares to being ringside amongst the legions of screaming fans.
Muay Thai Championship Boxing
The martial art of Muay Thai boxing stands alone with a wonderful history and tradition as a favourite sport of the Thai people. This form of martial art has strong links to the history of its founding nation. Thai people have a calm and gentle disposition but have had to rely on fighting skills to protect their nation and their families throughout history against thieves and enemies.
In this spirit of defending their homeland, the people of Thailand developed combat skills that were suited to close quarter attacks needed in the rugged landscape they battled in. This led to the young males receiving instruction in the martial art as a rite of passage into adulthood.
People from all around the world have taken an interest in Muay Thai and it is now a truly international fighting style. Russia and the United States have established training schools staffed by professional instructors to provide instruction for new students of the sport.
As a result of Muay Thai’s global appeal, tournaments and fights received international television coverage every week to satisfy the sport’s growing fan base. International Boxing has become equally successful in gaining worldwide television ratings. The majority of International Boxing champions have started their fighting careers in Muay Thai, adding to the style’s appeal to people entering the world of martial arts.
There are traditionally five rounds in a Muay Thai contest, with each round lasting three minutes. A two-minute rest is allowed between each round. Fighters show respect to their trainers before each contest by performing a ceremonial dance. This tradition serves as a warm up exercise for the fighter and has significant links to the Muay Thai ideals.
Whist training and competing, Muay Thai fighters will wear headbands and armbands as a good luck talisman. The bands that they wear on their bodies have usually received a spiritual blessing from either the fighter’s teacher or a religious monk. Practising Muay Thai is a source of great pride for these fighters and the blessed arm and headbands provide further inspiration to succeed in this proud tradition.
Training in Muay Thai encompasses both the physical and spiritual well-being of the sport’s participants. Training also involves learning about the history of the art and the skills needed to fight. Muay Thai bouts are extremely demanding on the fighter which means that a lot of training is involved. Training provides no respite from the physical demands of the sport and can be vicious in some schools. Training in Muay Thai is guaranteed to be rigorous and challenging.
Muay Thai is a very demanding and taxing sport to be involved with as a competitor. The reward for all the hard work is that you can develop the best skills in the martial art world.
Laura Ginn is a writer and editor for Extreme Sports X, an extreme sports magazine that is updated daily with the latest news, reviews and feature-length extreme sports articles.
Sports fans all over the world are truly spoiled for choice in any given year. The range of major events that occur is simply mind-boggling, and even the most ardent addicts have to miss out occasionally, because there’s simply too much to take in, especially for those individuals who are keen on a number of different activities.
Although most people would agree that attending a sporting fixture in person is better than watching the action on a LED TV, the television viewer has a number of other advantages over the real-life spectator. For the individual, a decision has to be made about which events are worth going to and which would be a preferable stay at home option.
Sports such as cricket, football and rugby are perhaps ideal for watching in person, because all of the action takes place in a specially built stadium with clear visibility for all spectators. As long as you’re watching the match at all times, the chances are you will see all the major talking points as and when they occur.
Not getting the whole picture 
However, other sports don’t offer the same experience at all. If you attend a Formula One Grand Prix, for example, you’ll be able to soak up all the unique high-octane atmosphere, of course, but wherever you sit or stand you won’t be able to see the whole track. Therefore you stand a good chance of missing a spectacular overtaking maneuver or a high-speed crash.
Spectators who attend golf tournaments will no doubt enjoy their day, but they will always miss much of the action. Some people choose to follow a specific player or group during their round, which is always a good idea, of course, but they will then miss every other player as they make their way round.
There is an alternative, which is to stay in one particular spot. With careful planning, they can select a specific location where they will be able to see one of the greens and one of the tee boxes, for example, but again this has its drawbacks because there will be so much going on in other parts of the course.
With live action, the atmosphere is always better, but with the quality of modern televisual equipment it’s easy to see why so many people choose to stay tuned to the TV when major sporting events come along. It’s often a balancing act for the individual to decide which activities work best on the television and which would be better seen live.
David Rice is based in the south-east of England and is a huge sports fan. He likes to watch golf on his LED TV, to record Formula One races on his digital set top box and to attend football matches in person.
The river Thames and rowing have had a long and historical relationship. Indeed, the sport of rowing as we know it was developed over the past two centuries on river Thames itself. Whether you wish to row for pleasure, or are interested in the sport of rowing, you can join a club along the river Thames. You can also row on your own if you have your own boat.
As the largest river of the British Islands, and one that does not drop more than 71 meters from Cricklade to the sea, the Thames is ideally suited for rowing. The section of the river that sees tides is called the tideway, and is just about 160 km long. The rest of the river upstream, up till the town of Cricklade, is divided by locks into component lock reaches. As far as rowers are concerned, a single lock reach in effect acts as a lake, where they can row as individuals or as members of clubs.
A number of boat races and rowing regattas are organized on the river Thames, particularly in the summer. Boat races are the highlight of the sporting life for many colleges on the Thames. The boat race between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, which is so popular that it is known simply as The Boat Race, is just one of the many rowing events organized on the river Thames in the spring and the summer. The Henley Royal Regatta is another major boating event that is organized in the first weekend of July every year, and lasts for 5 days.
There are countless rowing clubs active along the river Thames. Most of them are open to all and their fees usually vary from £35 to £200 per year per member. Once you become a member on payment of the fee, the club will issue you a boat whenever you require, and as allowed by rules, as well as other equipment such as oars etc. You can also buy your own boat if you are so inclined. A single-seater boat can be bought for as low as £1,500. If you have your own boat, you can take it anywhere on the river after registering it with the Environment Agency, which is the agency responsible for the management of the waterways of the country.
Once you get started, as part of a club or with your own registered boat, you can row in any part of the river. As a rower, you should always remember to take adequate safety precautions, especially with respect to other rowers and the locks found on the river at regular intervals. Rowing on the river Thames is not only a great way of exercising your body, but also a very appropriate way of enjoying the sights along this historically and culturally significant river.
Crew Clothing have been producing casual clothing wear since 1993 and take a lot of interest in rowing, as it is part of the brand’s heritage. See their latest range of men’s clothing here.
2010 University Boat Race on River Thames. Oxford boat is on right and Cambridge is on left.
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