Extreme sport influence
Extreme sport is a kind of sport that is associated with high risk, peril or danger. This type of sport started to emerge relatively not long time ago. Before, humankind did not have such industrial and technological progress as we do nowadays; humans had to procure food and shelter constantly in their everyday life. It was all about danger and tension that embodied in the form of wild animals, natural disasters or other perilous things that surrounded humans. Nowadays, however, the world became much safer in the terms of nature. People can control many things yet sometimes it is difficult to control the desire of getting strong emotions such as adrenaline. Adrenaline is a primary adrenal medulla hormone and a neurotransmitter. Each person has their own habits, style of life a comfortable zone where they feel safe. For some people, nevertheless, it is essential to feel this hormone as it makes them feel vivid and thus, many of them are keen on extreme.
Emotions and behaviors, associated with extreme sports
Extreme sport is an inducement of body and soul to throw as much adrenaline and emotion as possible. Extreme is a state of being "on the edge", it is a splash of positive and negative emotions that gives awareness of self-greatness and self-impotence at the same time. Some people cannot live without these emotions; therefore, they resort to the extreme sport and lead an active style of life. Therefore, there are also some people for whom extreme sport is an ability to maintain an elevated sense of life on the constant basis. The main characteristics of people who fond of the extreme sport are courage, stamina, power and, sometimes, recklessness. Despite the abundance of injuries, people addicted to adrenaline cannot forsake their style of life. Some modern kind of sports that started to be promoted in the 50s of the previous century gradually became commonly called "extreme". They are bicycle motocross, skateboarding, and snowboarding, parachuting, rock climbing. One would not be far from the truth to say that extreme sports are born every day. All of them are characterized by “a high degree of danger to life and health, a large number of acrobatic stunts, high levels of adrenaline” (“The most extreme kinds of sports”).
Extreme sports can be divided into three main categories: air, land and water and also they differ by seasons: summer and winter. Among the most popular extreme sports nowadays are parachuting, canoeing, ice and rock climbing, jet skies, parkour, paragliding, diving etc. More and more divisions of extreme sports are emerging in our society with the rapid technological development and equipment that allows humankind reach the speed of cheetah without a usage of mechanic vehicles, conquer the highest summit and the deepest bottoms of our planet and soar in the sky without a plane.
The hidden role of extreme sports
There is a fine line between athletes and extreme athletes. For athletes, the sport is a mean of tension on their bodies and mind to the great length of physical limit for fit maintain and health. For extreme athletes, it is all about pushing their bodies and mind to the farthest possible limit of their ability and risking their lives at the same time. Adrenaline is like addictions: once received it in the bloodstream, a person wants to get it once more. It gives a sense of excitement and joy. Adrenaline is released into the blood in the moments when a person senses danger or fear. At this point the work of the heart increases, blood pressure increases, pupils dilate. In this state, a person can stay, usually a few minutes, followed by a decline to a new force sensation of fear (Forleo 174).
Complexities and overlooked rules
In extreme sport, there are also some complexities that often overlooked by athletes. In most cases, it is a simple rule of safety: using a full set of equipment is always required, in particular, a reliable protective equipment. Moreover, it is essential to have a required calisthenics for some kind of extreme sports.
One of the famous examples of people whose live is passing in constant danger is Michael Schumacher: being a passionate race driver, who holds many driver records and won championship and races, Schumacher has not had any serious incidence during his racing performance but who, however, in December 2013, fell down during skiing while crossing an unsecured area on the speed (Williams). Wearing a helmet was a decisive point in Schumacher’s life; without it, he would surely have been dead by now. This case shows us that even an experienced skier can have an incident and the safety procedures cannot be neglected. Yet there are some other assumptions regarding the helmet damaged so badly. Despite the fact that Schumacher had new skis, “his bindings have been subsequently tested and were not at fault; he was fully in control of his movements as he left the marked pistes and traversed the patch of snow in-between two groomed runs in Meribel” (Williams). Investigators believed that was a camera’s fault attached to Schumacher’s helmet that made it shatter into pieces.
Extreme is a dangerous hobby and still, it is a question why so many people are keen on extreme sports. One of the main reason why people enjoy these sports is that they are generally practiced in the free or uncontrolled environments, such as skydiving, base-jumping or parkour. This means that while traditional athletes carry out their activities in a particular environment, such as gyms, courts, and fields, extreme athletes involved and show their skills in a free environment. For this reason, it is crucial for success to understand the issues and the laws of physics. Control and physics are the main traits of the extreme sport’s concept. The second is excitement and boundaries overcoming.
The excitement at the upcoming extreme sports is the most powerful feature. Athletes are fully open to the mercy of immediate danger. The challenge is all about how to maintain self-control and to apply the necessary skills, while in the extreme position. For this same reason, extreme sports are widely condemned. Many people do not recognize the sport where others put themselves in danger, not realizing the possible consequences.
Qualities of extreme sport concept
Extreme sport is often used to overcome own boundaries and limitations. Balancing and control of basic instincts are tested under the extreme conditions. The reaction of nerve system and the ability to control the situation in uncontrolled situations are the main driving factors for people to engage in these sports, experience and enjoy them.
There is an unnoticed thing about extremes: it can be used not only for people who fancy it but also by people who want to prove to themselves that they are capable of doing it. For instance, a person who suffers claustrophobia might make a resolution to dive to the bottom of the sea or someone who is afraid of high – to jump with a parachute.
Beyond the concept
One would not exaggerate if says that fear is one of the most dangerous enemies of humankind, and the question of how to overcome fear is one of the oldest issues. At first, it might seem that it is nonsense as after all, a sense of fear, on the contrary, is intended to protect a person from getting into dangerous situations. Indeed, when it comes to a primitive existence, the notion of fear seemed to work. The feeling of fear has emerged in the process of evolution, but the farther people developed from the primitive society, the less sense of fear fulfilled its protecting function. Real dangers dissolved but fears turned into developing phobias. At the same time, the fear that no longer had a real foundation, started to slow down human activity. For example, at some stage of industrial development scientists thought that it was impossible to overcome the speed of 60 km/h: they believed that people would not be able to breathe at that speed. Only a brave, capable of overcoming the fear, sat in the first horseless carriages, first overtaking pedestrians, then a horse, then trains, and then the sound itself. Thus, the ability to overcome the fear factor was the development of many areas of technology.
The problem is that on the level of instinct, we, as beings born by nature, do not trust technology. It seems to us that the plane might fall, and we are afraid of flying, it seems that the parachute might not open, and we are afraid to jump. We are not in a hurry to start doing tricks on a skateboard or roller skates because we are afraid of the pain when we fall down. All these fears keep us from development, from moving forward, from the satisfaction of a passion for travel, for the achievement of sports results, or even by active holidays. In most cases, the sense of fear is not groundless as we see on TV the falling aircraft, car crashes and hear news about frozen bodies found at Everest. It makes human fears only grow, gaining a foothold in reality.
All of these factors arises a question of whether we can overcome the fears. There is no unequivocal answer to this question as the answer can differ from case to case. However, it is vital to point out that all the things that surround us are not only for contemplating. Our human nature dictates us to enjoy the process of living by not only examine the landscapes but taking an active participation. In this terms, it does not necessarily mean that there is a need to take extreme sport and overcome our fears. It means that the nature of human beings implies being active and curious about things that around us.
It is scientifically proven that a truly successful people are more active and positive by nature. In the most cases, they have achieved success because of their desire, activity, and the ability to overcome laziness to take a step forward. Being active is not only about sports, however, it is essential to keep ourselves in a good form: there is a direct correlation between physical and mental health. Becoming more active does not mean that a person has to plunge into a grueling workout and strive to run a marathon or do bench press, lying in the gym with the speed of light. There is no need to practice in crammed gyms on intricate simulators or to sign up to expensive subscription. It is important, however, to not become a hermit in the room in front of the computer and devote the only life we have to the unreal world.
Extreme sport as escape from the real challenges
In real life, fear associated not only with physical activities. Often, a person might experience challenges in their life and dread to cope with them, to postpone and to procrastinate.
Firstly, it is important to distinguish between a real threat and social sense of fear. When there is a real threat, the fear is usually situational and short. The first step is to take steps to overcome it is to realize it and eliminate it. For example, if a person is scared to climb a rock with a large dispersion of hazardous shelves or moving stones, it is better not to do so.
Secondly, it is necessary to realize fear. It is often hidden under the guise of fearlessness situation where fear is not really designed. A person simply avoids frightening situations, and consequently, and a large hunk of experience is entombed. What is more peculiar thing about it is that taking extreme kind of sport can be an excuse from the current challenges in the person’s life. In this case, extreme sport creates a feeling of overcoming fear, which in fact does not lead to development.
Conclusion
Extreme sports wakes up the association with a high level of intrinsic danger. Many people cannot help taking risks and receiving a dose of adrenaline – a substance that is released into the blood in the moments when a person senses danger or fear and this is what happens exactly when a person experiences extreme activities. Nowadays, more and more new types of extreme sports are emerging that in general might be reckoned as deviations of the existing types of sports. The main characteristics of the extreme sport are that they are generally practiced in the free or uncontrolled environment. While performing extreme styles of sport, it is important to remember about rules of safety and to have appropriate physical compatibility. The main qualities of extreme sports concept are that it overcomes human boundaries and limitations. Balancing and control of basic instincts are tested under the extreme conditions. Extreme sport, however, is not taken by people who fancy it but also by people who want to prove to themselves that they are capable of doing it and so overcome their fears. The role of fear played a substantial part in human development. Without overcoming it, human beings would have stayed on the primitive level. Therefore, it is natural for people to aspire to the sensation of overcoming limitations and to come up with new technologies that allow humankind to perform better: faster, higher, and stronger. Often, however, extreme sport becomes the escape from the challenges in the personal life of humans. Participating in extreme sport creates a feeling of overcoming fear, but in fact does not lead to personal development and solution of the problem.
Work cited
Forleo, James. Health is Simple, Disease is Complicated: A Systems Approach to Vibrant Health.
North Atlantic Books, 2008. Print
“The most extreme kinds of sports”. Web. 03 June 2016. http://www.bikehockey.org/most-
extreme-kinds-of-sports.html
Williams, Alexandra. “Michael Schumacher skiing crash: did helmet camera cause head injuries?” The Telegraph. 16 Feb 2014. Web. 03 June 2016
