Popular Extreme Sports
In this article, we’ll introduce some popular extreme sports!
Are you familiar with extreme sports?
“Extreme sports” are activities that involve performing daring feats using various gear or your own body, often incorporating intense elements, or competing in height and speed.
In recent years, activities like slacklining and bouldering have become especially popular.
For those who’ve thought, “I want to try at least once!”, we’ve put together a list of popular extreme sports this time.
Some can be dangerous, so don’t push yourself!
Know your limits and enjoy them to the fullest!
Popular extreme sports (1–10)
BMX
When people think of extreme sports, many probably think of BMX first.
BMX is a bicycle characterized by its small-diameter tires and thick pegs mounted on the front and rear.
There are many ways to enjoy it: jumping and spinning the handlebars, clearing obstacles, or racing for speed.
In a discipline called flatland, riders compete in artistic tricks that look almost like dancing.
slacklining
Slacklining pairs well with the recent outdoor boom and has gained widespread popularity.
Simply put, it’s like extreme tightrope walking.
However, the line that’s set up has elasticity, so just keeping your balance is quite a challenge.
The biggest appeal is not only crossing it, but also nailing various tricks on it—jumping, spinning, bouncing off your butt, and more.
Skydiving
Skydiving is a familiar sight on TV shows.
You often see celebrities traveling abroad to try it on variety programs.
It’s a sport where you ascend in an airplane, gear up with a parachute, leap boldly, and descend to the ground.
It sounds simple when you put it into words, but it’s something you rarely experience in life.
For those with a fear of heights, the footage is downright terrifying (lol).
flyboard
Among marine sports, this flyboard has become especially popular in recent years.
It’s also known as hydroflight or a hoverboard.
You can try it at waterside leisure facilities.
Water jets shoot out from beneath the board with tremendous force, lifting your body so it feels like you’re flying.
Just like snowboarding, there are many tricks, and it’s a sport where you perform and compete with acrobatic moves in midair.
Skateboarding
Alongside BMX, skateboarding is one of the most popular extreme sports.
Many of you have probably seen videos of people skateboarding using city stairways and guardrails.
With skateboarding added as an event at the 2020 Olympics, the number of skate parks in Japan has been increasing.
It’s one of the sports whose popularity seems set to grow even more.
snowboard
Among extreme sports, snowboarding is probably the most widely known! In addition to the halfpipe, which you often see at the Olympics, big air—where riders launch off massive jumps and compete on the precision of their tricks—is also popular.
It’s hard to look away when athletes soar high and land beautiful tricks.
Footage of riders carving down steep mountain faces—terrain you wouldn’t find at a standard ski resort—is also truly compelling to watch!
Rafting
Rafting is the sport of riding an inflatable boat down rapids.
Simply put, it’s like taking a leisurely river descent and making it extremely intense.
Compared to the rafting you might enjoy at tourist spots, rafting as a sport tends to be more extreme and thrilling, tackling whitewater and strong currents.
You may get swallowed by small waterfalls, collide with rocks, or have the boat flip due to recirculating water, so wearing a helmet and life jacket is mandatory.