Risk-takers have been taking part i

Risk-takers have been taking part in action sports since the beginnings of time: the new challenge has always appealed to
adventurous minds. The trick with risks is to understand the possible dangers and then remove them by treating each as a
problem with only one solution: the safe one. From the outside the game still looks 'risky', but to the risk-taker who
understands the difficulties, the game is a personal test of skill, rather than nerve. None of these sports ought to be
dangerous; if they are, you're doing something wrong.
Risk-taking has other benefits. The best cure for a stressful working life may not be a week is flat-out on a beach; emptying
the mind merely leaves it open for occupation by the home stresses which you brought with you. Pick up a new challenge,
something that is exciting, stretching, new, and you not only escape entirely from that other life, but return to it on a wave
of confidence and strength that carries you over the problems which once seemed part of everyday life.
Action sports offer an escape, one where you learn very quickly: in one week - or even in one weekend - you can learn more
about yourself than you did al) year. All inner fears disappear in the burn of concentration demanded by learning to fly,
dive, ride or climb. The pride earned through jumping from an aeroplane at 12,000 feet, or learning to roll a canoe, will stay
with you for life. Then there are the other spin-offs: the mental calm which comes with rock-climbing; the wonderful
colours of caves; the moment of freedom felt during that first flight beneath the wing of a glider. All these sports cause a
wonderful thrill - be it dashing waves or freefalling through the air at 120 miles per hour - but thrills are just a part of the
story. Many of these sports double as types of travel. Horses, bicycles, skis, hot-air balloons can be used as vehicles for truly
exotic journeys; journeys on which you can look at landscapes (and yourself) from a new angle. And all of these are 'soft'
vehicles; ones which allow you to move through, and feel for, the countryside, the mountains and deserts.
The sports in this book cover the complete range of physical and mental skills: they can 6e done from your own doorstep or
from any one of hundreds of places abroad. The sports demand from as little as the cost of a pair of boots to as much as it
costs to buy a flying machine. Some of them are very easily reached (I have a friend who goes gliding in his lunch-break),
while others require travelling-time and complex equipment.
Finally, remember that each action sport is a wonderful experience, and the more experiences we have, the richer we
become, and the more we have to share.