Just out of curiosity, when it comes to sport, me myself personally doesnt have much time for this kind of thing. Is this the general consensis of the smith....if so why might that be ?
Thoughts!

Are you talking about sport as in golf, football, soccer, tennis, etc? Recreation type stuff? Like in EXCERCISE!?!?! HA! I scoff at such...

Each time I injured myself in a sport, I changed sport and added another repetitive motion type injury. Pain just about everywhere now. I tried to contact a karate club that opened not to far from me, of the style I studied, but they will not call me back.

Now I just do a little yoga and 10 pound barbells.

Edited August 17, 200916 yr by UnicornForge

bowling, darts and pool when i have some time just got back into bowling something i can do with the wife and kids. Darts and pool just when me and my wife can find some one to watch 3 kids at one time. dosnt happen offten.

Yoga; but it's physical therapy for me.

When I was somewhat healthy and forging who had the energy for sport? Of course my right arm was twice the size of my left but so what.:D

The way I see it is that a sport is for self improvement, even if you're not the greatest at your sport, you persist at it to keep yourself healthy and in shape. Take for example that I do swimming, surfing, and weightlifting (heavy) I have dislocated my right shoulder (hammer arm) around 8 times... yet you just don't quit... not because I'm the best at it, but because I know it's best for me physically... and it shows at the forge, first day I did any forge work I was able to swing a hammer for hours with minimal tiring... got my dad out there and he was done in less the 30 minutes... so, even if you don't do the sport because you're good, do it because you never know when it'll come in handy.:p

Now just how handy is golf? My main sport used to be shooting. I was very good at offhand shooting with my .22 target rifle. I shot on a regular basis groups that measured .28" center to center. That did absolutely nothing for my smithing skills nor my rabbit hunting skills because very seldom did the critter sit still long enough for me to go through all of my routine before squeezing off a shot. Now with my big bore target rifle at 600 meters it was a different skill set but here again it was a round black dot I was shooting at and not a walking critter. My shooting skills just didn't translate into the real world for much use. Take trap shooting. My friend said if I shot trap that more birds would be in the skillet. Well I got good at trap and I got was more birds but less meat. I mean I shot the guts and stuff right out of them, nothing left to bring home unless you count feathers. So how do bowling, darts, pool or archery make you better out in the world? Now pounding out a nice forged steel vessel is wonderful for you and the person you give it to. Sports are fun and I'm not dissing them but they are not life, if you're talking about exercise I agree we all need a little more of that.:cool:

I used to enjoy sports greatly, played Soccer for nine years. However, once I got into highschool and began acting I had no time and stopped. For awhile I missed it, but I must say I have found much more rewarding hings in life then playing sports. Not trying to diss sports or anything, if that is your thing then more power to you, but for me I have found other things. For instance smithing, and this along with school, a bum ankle, and other hobbies I have no time for sports. : ) *throws ten cents in the jar*

I used to do judo since I was 8 years old and got pretty good at it. When I was about 19, I started training for the Olympics. I was the first one at the Olympic Training Center when they started a judo program where we trained full time. I got hurt and had to stop, then I became a horseshoer and got interested in forging. I wish I had put all that energy into doing something a bit more productive alot sooner.

does "flying off the handle"-"running amuck" and "jumping to conclusions" count as sport and/or exercise?

used to do lots......then i got over it, hate watching it on tv, if the mood strikes and the pain doesnt i might....rarely

Like Bentiron my 'sport' is target-shooting. Very little direct real-world application but it helps to relax me due to the mental and physical routines involved. Focusing all attention on getting every variable the same over and over again helps to calm the mind and get over the emotional stresses and strains we all encounter. Plus of course the people I meet through it are almost exclusively friendly and helpful. I've never really been one much for 'sports' though I do enjoy non-competative swimming, horse-riding and such -- though to me if I'm competing I'm taking to too seriously and usually don't enjoy it.

i obsessively do kung fu which i really love and have been doing for years- its hard to fit it in with the kids and crow bar-ing workshop time in etc but i reckon its good for my state of mind and is definately worth the effort - also i do some tai chi to try to keep my head straight - tai chi and yoga have got to be a good idea for everyone coz they are so beneficial for your health and you dont have to be some majorly fit athelete to attempt them! and stretching can really help with the aches and pains:) So myloh - a bit of tai chi before you light the fire??:)

Thank you folks for your input. Forging in itself is quite a physical excercise, i have attended some tai chi classes myself in the past and realised the benefits. Might give that another go, start off with the swage block as a base and gradually progress to the top of the leg vice.,
Yoga ..yes another possibility, imagine being supple ..my god!
On the whole sports have very positive effects on us, through team work, fitness, setting personal challanges and achieving them, good for the head good for the body. The majority of smiths i know are not sporting folk, at the end of the day its just a generalization of mine to think "smiths and sport ...nah.."
Cheers
M

I used to do weight training, but I'm taking a break now, as I've been getting much busier with school work. Now I do more cardio, such as swimming laps or taking my dog for a mile-or-so walk. If I don't exercise every few days, my body will start to feel negative effects.

Kinda crazy .. but smithing is my sport. I am a stagehand and rigger, and I love to hammer for fun!!!! I am finding that a lot of stretching for shoulders and back is the order of the day after long days/nights at work... That and dragging the dog for distance... and whatever else it is I fill my time with... there just doesn't seem to be any...

I have a garage filled with gear for the "gravity" type sports. Snowboarding, whitewater kayaking, and Mt. biking are the favorites. I'm 38 and cannot imagine life without those pursuits. Had to give up soccer. I believe that when you stop working out your joints and muscles and lungs is when the aches and pains begin. The physical intensity and required finesse is what attracted me to forging metal.

Ran track in high school, and played little league baseball, but that was it. I like to shoot, and I recently bought a home gym to get in shape. I now commute 100 miles each way to work, so I spend a few hours sitting in the car, and being a tool maker isn't that strenuous either.

As for watching sports, I haven't even turned my TV on in about 2 years now. I do like any kind of motorsport though, from air races to swamp buggies it's all good. My favorite is Drag Racing. There is just something about dressing in women's clothes and driving really fast that excites me :D

I ran track in grade school, lifted weights regularly and practiced tae kwon do for a number of years until I tore a retina after a punch to the head. I found out then that I was "blessed" with thin retinas so pretty much abandoned the martial arts rather than risk possible blindness. Over the passing years, I steadily gained weight but the activity from blacksmithing was not enough to keep it at bay so about 18 months ago, I took up running again and have lost 40 lbs since then. I'm over 50 and would rather be a little leaner these days so I'm watching my diet and running 12 miles a week on average.

I also love to target-shoot and hunt so that is really my "hobby" and I seldom spend time in front of the TV watching organized sports. I also practiced archery for a number of years and shot a 65 lb recurve regularly - that will also build up the upper body and can complement forging exercises. I do believe a person needs to stay active their entire life or risk getting creaky in old age.