Every one of us is an expert when a world cup in a particular sport comes up on the TV or it’s time for the Olympics. We love watching athletes compete, but we often forget how hard it is for them to achieve the greatness we’re witnessing.
Many sports are tough, but some are more difficult than others. We think we can do them while we can actually only dream about reaching the heights the athletes we see already reached.
In this article, we made a list of three interesting sports that are both mentally and physically challenging, and one needs to spend a lot of time in their life perfecting them. They can be frustrating and impossible to do at times. See the list and find out how tough they are.
Table of Contents
1. Fencing
Fencing is not an extremely popular sport globally, but we’ve all seen those guys at the Olympics trying to stab the other person with their sabers. There are more than 160 participating countries in the world with their athletes all trying to win the gold medal at championships and Olympics.
When an amateur sees how this sport is conducted, it seems like something that everyone can do. It’s just two people swinging the sabers, trying to touch the other person while blocking the other participant’s attempts.
What seems so simple it’s actually highly complicated, and it takes a ton of practice and preparation. Aside from being physically and mentally out of this world, athletes need to wear special suits that are heavy and complicated but keep them safe.
The speed of the saber moves at unimaginable speeds, and opponents still manage to block the intrusion. If an amateur tries to win against a professional, they’ll probably lose 100-0, as the mind of the pro fencer works hundreds of times faster than the one of the amateur.
2. Fishing
Some may be surprised by seeing fishing on this list, but it’s actually completely logical to have it in here. Fishing is something that nearly everyone experienced once in their lives, but that was most probably with the assistance of someone else who’s more skilled in it.
There are thousands of fish types available for fishing. The fisherman’s equipment is amazingly huge, and the options before going fishing can measure in thousands. A person playing basketball has one type of equipment – shoes, shorts, and a shirt, and that is it.
A fisherman has different types of rods, lines of different thicknesses, floats, reels, hooks, and lures. All of them will be different depending on the type of fish a fisherman aims for. For example, small fish require a thin line, a small hook, live bait, and a float. On the other hand, trout fishing requires a thick line, strong rod, vibe lures, and a boat.
Then, there are different ways of fishing. Saltwater and freshwater fish are entirely different. They require a different approach. These differentials go on forever, as there are thousands of options. Being a skilled fisherman means knowing and practicing all of them, only to find yourself unlucky when going to a designated spot and catching nothing.
3. Boxing
We’ve all been in a fistfight once in our lives, but what we experienced as kids is entirely different from the sport of boxing. Boxers are athletes who are amazingly physically and mentally prepared for the challenge.
You may not be afraid of anything and no one, but feelings hit differently when you’re in the ring against a huge person full of muscles ready to destroy you. You need to be prepared for the challenge, and this is something that isn’t coming from the experience of coming off a simple fistfight a couple of years ago.
Boxers spend hours working on their physical strength and mental preparedness every day. A boxer needs to be skilled in dodging opponents’ punch throws who come in with outstanding speeds. This is what made Muhhamad Ali so great during his career. No one dogged punches as he did.
Additionally, a boxer needs to have outstanding stamina, and when a punch lands on their face or body, they need to take that punch and stay on their feet, only to continue the fight. It seems like an easy job, but a 120 kg fighter with muscles punching you in the ribs is not a joke.
Conclusion
These are the three sports that we think are tough to manage. You may think they are easy, but being successful in these sports means a lot of investment. It’s one thing to be an amateur and try them and another to be professional and reach the pedestal in some competitions.
If you have tried some of them in the past, you know how hard it is to be a top athlete in them. You can be sure that you’ll need a lot of preparation to become a pro athlete.
