ESPN's top 50 most difficult sports.

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Toughest sport

Whoever was on the panel of experts couldn't have been familiar with gymnastics. But if they were, they're idiots. Look how they rank flexibility as a ten. Sure, gymnasts are probably more flexible than most athletes. But we all know that gymnasts are probably the strongest althletes around. They couldn't do what they do without "relative" strength(weight/strength ratio). Pound for pound they are stronger than other athletes in other sports. I'd say that my 70 lb, ll year old daughter, who can easily do 10 perfect press handstands-with weights on her feet, and climb a 12 foot rope in 51/2 seconds-with perfect form, has a better weight strength ratio than any boxer or football player. And no other athlete can claim to have the same nerve and focus that gymnasts in general display on the balance beam just prior to doing a difficult skill. That inerve and focus is off the scale. Can you imagine a football player doing a front aerial on the beam?

Having boxed and studied martial arts in the past, I can assure you that both of those sports(especially mixed martial arts) are very demanding in many ways, both physically and mentally. I think they both deserve to be in the top ten. I used to think that calling boxing the "sweet science" was silly. But I learned that there really is a lot of technique involved in the sport, just like there is a lot of technique involved in various gymnastics skills. But I concede gymnastics should be ranked higher. If boxing is the sweet science, then gymnastics must be the ultimate science.

My daughter has taught me that gymnasts kick.....posteriors. Other sports pale in comparison. We need more movies like "Stick it" to show off the sport, to educate people about the training and other awesome aspects of gymnastics.


Tuduri
 
The nerve, strength, and power ratings really threw me for a loop too.
 

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