A few of the world's best cliff jumpers got together at Abiqua Falls in听Oregon听to push their limits on the 102-foot听drop.听Oregon Send Fest comes courtesy of diver and videographer .

The post This 102-Foot Cliff Jump Is for Pros Only appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

has a strange job. As one of the most successful cliff divers in history, the 44-year-old Colombian gets paid to travel around the world and dive off precipices up to听88 feet听high. After spending the past two decades competing in professional events, including the , he鈥檚 become the face of the sport, racking up 13 world titles and two , one of which he earned for scoring a perfect dive. But even after all that time at the peak of his sport, Duque听admits his nerves are听not totally made of steel. 鈥淚 still get a little scared before most jumps,鈥� he听says from San Miguel Island, off the coast of Portugal, where he听competed听in the Azores leg of the听Cliff Diving World Series. 鈥淚t鈥檚 inevitable. That fear, that bit of excitement. It鈥檚 one of the reasons why cliff divers do what we do.鈥�

Just being able to compete in the sport at the age of 44 is impressive when you consider听that听a typical dive involves jumping from perches three times higher than what you see at听the Olympics. Falling at 32 feet per second, the divers flip and contort their body at breakneck听speeds, rotating up to 2.5 times per second. When they hit the water at about 60 miles per hour, they decelerate in 0.3 seconds, experiencing up to ten听G鈥檚 of force.听

If you鈥檝e caught any of the competitions on Red Bull TV, you know that each diver on the tour is ridiculously fit and also pretty young, ranging from about听18 to 35. The impact from diving more than eight stories into open water can be brutal on your body, with听injuries that can vary from from a broken tailbone (very common) to a separated pelvis (less common, but still possible if you land wrong). 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to feel any small mistake when you hit the water,鈥� says Duque, who鈥檚 had his share of injuries over the years, most recently a torn calf muscle.听But he has managed to outlast most of his contemporaries, as recently as 2017 and finishing in the top ten听at the Portugal stop of the Red Bull World Series, earning a qualifying spot for this year鈥檚 world championships in South Korea. 鈥淵ou have to stay fit. I have to put the time in during the off-season to make sure I can handle the impact.鈥�

But it鈥檚 not just the physical听impact that Duque has to handle. It鈥檚 also the mental pressure that comes with convincing yourself to jump off an 88-foot cliff. Once you decide to do it, you have to have the body awareness听to perform gymnastic听moves throughout the three-second听free fall. Duque鈥檚 signature dive, the one that in 2000听earned him , is a reverse double somersault with four twists. If you aren鈥檛 familiar with diving, it looks like a bunch of midair chaos, but it鈥檚 actually an act of precision鈥攅ach rotation and flip is timed and executed based on the landmarks Duque sees as he鈥檚 tumbling听through the air.

Being able to execute these sort of mid-dive听gymnastics boils down to aerobic fitness, says Duque鈥攌eeping his breathing and heart rate in control.听鈥淵our cardio capacity needs to be really high, because that helps you concentrate for the few seconds that you鈥檙e in the air,鈥� he听says. 鈥淐oncentration is key.鈥澨�

Duque trains five to six days a week to prepare for each season, mixing in running and spinning with gym workouts that focus on building strength rather than bulk (think: plyometrics that develop explosive strength and side lunges to work the abductor muscles). 鈥淎 few years ago, training was just trial and error,鈥� he听says.听鈥淚t was divers helping other divers and trying to figure things out. Now听there鈥檚 so much science involved. The sport has really evolved.鈥�

And for Duque, that has been key to his own longevity. 鈥淚t is difficult to maintain that level of fitness as you get older,鈥� he听admits. 鈥淪trength goes away really fast. When I was younger, I just stayed strong. Now if I stop for two months, I have to rebuild almost from scratch.鈥�

But one aspect of the sport that doesn鈥檛 wane with age is technique. Duque was on Colombia鈥檚 national diving team when he was听young,听before discovering cliff diving at 24, and the听precision he learned in the pool early on served him well as he started jumping from greater heights. 鈥淲hen you learn good technique, it stays with you,鈥� Duque says.听鈥淵ou have to put in the time up front, but it鈥檚 something you can keep with you as you age.听It鈥檚 the same in other sports, too. Just look at Roger听Federer. His technique is flawless. He鈥檒l compete for many years because of it.鈥�

Still, Duque has no desire to outlast the 37-year-old tennis legend. He听says this season will probably be the last of his competitive career,听although听he鈥檚听not going to quit the sport entirely. Through his work with Red Bull and other sponsors, Duque has had the opportunity to travel the world and dive from dramatic locations noncompetitively. He鈥檚 jumped from 100-foot-tall trees into the Amazon River听and donned a wetsuit to dive from the top of a 30-foot iceberg in Antarctica. As he nears retirement, he鈥檚 looking forward to pursuing the adventurous aspect听of diving. 鈥淚 have a few more years of intense diving in me,鈥� Duque says.听鈥淚 might not compete, but I still want to do high and challenging dives all over the world. There are still so many places I want to explore.鈥�

The post Orlando Duque Has Mastered the Mental Game appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

It was all going so well for Orange County鈥檚 Anthony Booth Armer. Just two months old, his YouTube channel had already accrued 56,000 subscribers and more than 16 million views. Stunts like jumping 129 feet from the roof of a condo building into the harbor below听had earned him widespread notoriety, and even听a segment on Comedy Central鈥檚 Tosh.0. And then, at 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday, the police . The consequences of his death-defying antics hadn鈥檛 taken long to catch up with the man previously only known as 鈥�8Booth.鈥� Not only was the jump illegal, it was really, really dangerous.听

With the rise of action cams, easy video editing software, and social media, new life has been breathed into the classic daredevil trope. Now, anyone with a GoPro and an Instagram account can risk his life for all the world to see. For what?听Fifteen听minutes of fame and probably more than a little dose of proving your parents wrong. But the quest for one upmanship, and the encouragement of frankly idiotic behavior, makes all this stuff dangerous and potentially deadly. Those ? .听

If there's a silver lining, it's that Armer's shenanigans have brought a lot of attention to听the sport of cliff jumping, and raising important questions about how to do it safely. I exchanged a few short emails with听Armer听prior to writing this article, with the hopes of interviewing him. He stopped responding. Next,听I turned to听鈥攖he godfather of Southern California鈥檚 cliff jumping scene鈥攖o help detail what 8Booth gets wrong with his jumps, and explain how you can jump off tall stuff into deep water听safely.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH0xq09jlIL/

Armer Enters听the Water All Wrong

Landing on your butt is not fun. Just ask my friend Audrey, who landed on her ass completing a 50-footer in central California. She sported a bruise for weeks.听

鈥淲hen this dude jumps, he鈥檚 basically cannonballing,鈥� describes Edwards. 鈥淚f he penciled, he would break his legs,” because of the water depth.听

Armer can be seen jumping into many very shallow places, which informs听his body position as he falls: he鈥檚 jumping for a shallow splash. The payoff: more of his body hits the water, in a more painful way.听

Because you鈥檙e a smart person and you鈥檙e only going to jump into water that鈥檚 plenty deep, you鈥檙e going to enter feet first, taking care to keep your feet together, your chin tight to your chest, and your arms either clamped to your sides or supporting your head. Basically, you鈥檙e trying to minimize your body鈥檚 surface area as it penetrates the water.听

https://www.youtube.com/embed/mtqFdtLqyII

He鈥檚 Jumping Into Water That鈥檚 Too Shallow

鈥淔or any jump, you need to start with at least eight feet of water,鈥� explains Edwards. 鈥淎dd another two feet to that for each 10 feet you gain in cliff height.鈥�

Armer鈥攚ith his multiple dives into California pools鈥攆ails听to abide by this most basic rule. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a law in Orange County that public pools can鈥檛 be more than eight feet deep (unless they鈥檙e diving pools). That鈥檚 why you see all those “No Diving” signs,鈥� says Edwards.听

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vctjm9nUF68

We Never See Him Check听the Landing听

Never jump off a cliff without first having explored the water beneath it听to check out depth and potential obstacles under the surface.听鈥淧eople die all the time,鈥� Edwards says. 鈥淚t's either because they didn't check the water depth or are jumping from higher than they've done before, just to impress their friends. Deaths happen when people hit the water, gasp for air, and swallow water. They get knocked out and they drown.鈥�

Did 8Booth swim the water beneath the dock before his 129-foot jump? It鈥檚 not clear. But if he didn鈥檛, he could have been diving on top of sunken trash, old pier pylons, or onto any number of potentially deadly hazards.听

Even if you鈥檝e jumped there before or if other people report that听it's fine, swim the water immediately听before a jump. Logs and other debris can float downstream and even pools can be irregular, with rocks and curved walls听in unexpected places. Develop an ironclad guarantee that your entry is clear听before risking听a jump.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=dlFwJ1NBlLY

He Doesn鈥檛 Work Up to the Big Stunt

鈥淥n his huge jump at the harbor, you can see he lands flat on his butt and back,鈥� says Edwards. 鈥淗e realized mid-jump that he was barely going to clear that dock, so he panicked and leaned back. Thankfully he did that or he would have died.鈥�

Experienced听cliff jumpers work up to bigger and bigger jumps to听develop an understanding of how far they听need to jump at which heights and at what point you'll enter the water. Humans听fall with some very semblance听control, so you must develop a progressive understanding of a jump and its entry.听

鈥淭he lesson is: if you jump stuff before testing depth and clearance, you鈥檙e gonna die,鈥� says Edwards. 鈥淚f you want to be a YouTube sensation, make sure you don鈥檛 break your legs in the process.鈥�

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLybJ1XAk2v/

He's听Ruining听the Sport for Others

Practice safe cliff jumping and you won't give others an excuse to stop us from doing it. 鈥淸8Booth]听sets a bad example for younger audiences. Now some 14-year-old is going to try to impress his friends, he鈥檚 going to jump something huge, and he鈥檚 going to die. All because this guy wants more YouTube views.鈥澨�

Edwards and his friends have worked hard to legitimize the sport of cliff jumping. Not only do they advocate for safe practices, they also try to positively听affect听the locations they鈥檙e jumping from, cleaning out trash and painting over graffiti. That may seem to jar with the pursuit鈥檚 rebel image, but it's vital that any sport benefits the natural places it relies on. Slowly, cliff jumping鈥檚 reputation is improving. But it still only takes one idiot to destroy it.

Don鈥檛 be that idiot.听

鈥淚f you want to become a cliff jumper, start off on something small and legal,鈥� says Edwards. 鈥淎lways check the depth so you don鈥檛 float up dead. Also, try to jump things where you don鈥檛 have to clear an obstacle [like a dock or a boulder] before landing in the water. Find a popular spot, ask locals where to jump, and watch other people do it. And definitely don鈥檛 jump just to impress someone. Do it for the love of jumping.鈥�

The post What We Can Learn About Cliff Jumping from the Short-Lived Career of Anthony Booth Armer appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.