It’s so clear and evident that extreme sports get their name from their extreme nature. But for those who stick with it for a while, the boundaries alter, and the once-unthinkable becomes the standard. Those who have already established a routine of running marathons without incident may wish to try ultra-trail running as a means of diversifying their training. The intensity of limit-pushing can occur on a variety of scales. What one person considers to be excessive is often just the right amount for someone else.
In Sports, What Exactly Constitutes the “Norm”?
So, the considered “normal” in sports varies based on what the majority does and on individual criteria. The current tendency in leisure sports is to raise the personal bar continually. Thus, not only the normalcy of the individual but also that of society is gradually moving. This is likely owing to the numerous popular social media profiles of extreme athletes who serve as mass influencers. The average athlete considers these accounts and adjusts their aims accordingly.
It’s been “normal” for people to play on club teams, watch professional games on TV, and make little bets on the results. If you’re interested in the last option but can’t find any bookmakers in your location — say, in Kuwait — then using a comparison website to learn about and select the best betting site in Kuwait is a good idea. SBO makes it simple and free. You only pay anything to an online bookmaker when you cash out your winnings. That’s exciting, but many people these days want “more of the same.”
Unusual Behavior Can Become “Normal”
Normal is what we often observe in our everyday lives: Behaviors that are not out of the ordinary. We have a perceived statistic that defines normalcy in the mix with certain morals. But the more often we encounter unusual behavior, the more normal we find it. A beginner just starting to run will, over time, find it normal to run from home to the woods and back. Then he doubles his distance every two days, referring to the old course as “normal” while the new method is the “long version.” Over time, however, he runs only the extended version, making it “normal.” And so, it goes on and on – you can apply this principle to other areas of life. In 1850, it would seem very extreme to most people to drive through the city at 50 km/h. Today, it’s normal. A few decades ago, an utterly meatless diet was considered a strange case. Today, there are so many vegetarians that no one even thinks of these people as oddballs. Collective fear avoidance is expected until some people begin to confront fear and get rich on adrenaline.
Why do people seek the extremes?
What makes people overcome fears and indulge in extreme sports in the first place? Nowadays, hard physical work, sweat, and exhaustion are usually not necessary for life. People seek this state voluntarily because everyday life is too dull for them, too unadventurous. With extreme, they feel that there is much more slumbering in their body and soul than they have been able to live out so far. Thus, hardships and efforts suddenly become favorable, opening up new horizons of experience. Fear and suffering avoidance tend to keep people down and deny their experiences.
Extreme Sports are Not about Health
Sport is “normally” supposed to be good for health, but we throw that overboard in extreme sports, too. We no longer strive to prolong our lives and avoid illness but accept accidents and sometimes even overstress our bodies to achieve desirable goals. So, we have a counter-design to the actual athlete’s life in front of us, which also goes beyond the usual framework in terms of intention. While society still tends to avoid risks by taking all possible precautions, such as getting insurance, extreme athletes consciously choose to take risks. Human wildness, the thirst for adventure, comes into play here and unfolds in an exciting but generally accepted, even admired way.
The admiration, in turn, calls imitators to the scene, making the existing extreme athletes seek even more extremes. Will this enable modern humankind to leap from sofa surfer to adventurer, or only to a minimal extent? After all, experience says that most of them remain relatively inert, especially since daily working life is often strenuous enough already. But the window of normality has shifted a bit in favor of extreme sports and their fans, which could continue for a while.
