By Cody "Calsus" Metcalfe
"I wrote this paper on Safety, a lot of my sources came from this site
so I thought I might see if you wanted it. I got an A on it, I thought
I did a pretty good job on it for the most part."
"So there I was, the wind blowing in my hair, my feet making a light
slapping noise on the pavement. Jogging through the college, one of the
greatest feelings I get. Then, I saw it, two ledges spaced apart about
8 feet, a small jump when running. I go for it, I hop up on the first
ledge, make a couple sprinting steps before planting my foot on the
edge, bending my knees, leap, look for my landing, plant my other foot
on the next ledge, slip, fall, face plant, bleed, and done." Read more for the rest of the essay!
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Now as far as pain goes this was minimal, especially with adrenaline pumping through your body. But as far as stupidity goes, this was far, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight, even though I wasn’t confident with my abilities I still tried do the jump, ultimately, ended in failure and blood. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m definitely not saying for you to go out and slam into a concrete slab full force to have a couple cool scars and a story to tell people. In fact, I’m here to tell quite the opposite, safety. First, we’ll look at what exactly safety is, then why safety is so important. Lastly, some boundaries you could establish to make your life a little safer.
Safety- Any device for preventing an accident, being safe. Sounds simple right? Well this simple little aspect is either over looked or over used in modern day society. People every day are getting hurt over the smallest things and yet they’re panicking about some made up no big deal epidemics. They’re simply not worrying about what they should be worried about.
One thing people are doing is trying things before they are actually ready themselves. Jereme Sanders, a trained athlete, “When you train, do it safely, smart, and as hard as you can, as often as you can. Don’t be in a rush, it only leads to injury.”
Sometimes slower is better, especially when it comes to safety. Lt. Kameg of the Gainsville Police mentions, “We don’t recommend doing stupid things because it ties up emergency lines.”
Importance-meaning a great deal; having much significance in value. Safety is important, really important, it is one of the first things people should be aware about when going out. When you get into a car what do you do? Seat belt, check, mirror, check, seat, check. Safe sex practices keep STDs and unwanted children from running loose.
Rafe, another athlete, says that when “anything is practiced recklessly or incorrectly, it can have horrible effects on the body.” The National Center for Health Statistics states that in 2006, 20,823 people died from unintentional falls, and 27,531 people died from unintentional poisoning and 43,664 from car accidents. Come on people? Read a label, watch your step, be… Smart.
Stupidity- lacking normal intelligence, foolish. Most harm of people, physically or mentally, is usually the result of somebody’s stupidity. How many people have died because someone drank some beer and thought they were well enough to drive? According to alchoholalert.com, in 2007 out of the 41, 059 car accident fatalities, 15, 387 were drunk driving. Although that number is going down, it should be at 0.
I am not innocent of the stupidity factor, I have in the previous story, I crashed and burned all because I got scared and tried to do something when I wasn’t fully aware of my abilities. This is nothing compared to some people who have life conditions because they thought they could jump off of buildings like the professionals.
Here are some things I would find useful in dealing with safety. “You should never attempt anything that is intentionally hazardous, reckless, or without regard.” Says Westfury a professional athlete. In other words train first, prepare yourself, and don’t jump into situations that will get you hurt.
Also, eliminate some competition, I’m not saying completely, just some, because competition almost always ends in injury of either yourself or others. Nicola Bamford, a writer, states that when it comes to sports, “seek out professional instruction wherever possible,” and to “evaluate the hazards beforehand.”
Setting goals is a good way to keep yourself from going over established boundaries. Sander says that, “It’s all about goals and you have to be willing to achieve that goal no matter what. You need to have the drive, determination, and discipline to make something out of yourself.”
Constant practicing will help you drastically, George Hilbert, a French author and Navy seaman, stated that “The most remarkable specimens of the human race acquire or maintain their physical development through constant and daily activity.”
I will lastly say that being too safe would mean no advancement, so be a little dangerous. Westfury also mentions that “In contrast if safety were to completely dominate someone’s mind without regard, no advancement would occur.”
So in conclusion, we have covered what safety is, why it’s so important, and what you could do to make life safer, but not to safe. I’m all for being safe, if I were to not consider safety in the sport I do, then next time I may have little more than a couple scars and a story to show people.
www.disabled-world.com Map of Latest H1N1 Outbreak Cases and Statistics. June 19th 2009. October 13th 2009. <http://www.disabled-world.com/health/influenza/swine-flu/cases-statistics.php>
www.car-accidents.com Car Accident Statistics. 2005. October 13, 2009<http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/stats.html>
National Center for Health Statistics Accidents or Unintentional Injuries. 2006. October 13, 2009. <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/acc-inj.htm>
www.alchoholalert.com 2007 Drunk Driving Statistics. 2007. October 13, 2009 <http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics.html>
Gregg. “Hawaii Parkour Administrator” PE or the Complete Training by the Natural Method. April 23rd 2009. October 8th 2009 <http://hawaiipk.com/forum/index.php?topic=1116.0>
Alex Orlando. “Avenue Writer” Parkour Atheletes Take Advantage of ‘Useless’ Architecture. October 1st 2009. October 8th 2009. <http://www.alligator.org/articles/2009/10/01/the_avenue/features/091001_parkour.txt>
Rafe. Safety and Parkour. September 20th 2007. October 8th 2009 <http://parkournorthamerica.com/plugins/content/content.php?content.18>
Westfury. The Elements of Safety December 6th 2005. October 8th 2009. <http://overflux.com/parkour_plugins/content/content.php?content.62.2>
Nicola Bamford. BBC Manchester Blast. August 15th 2006. October 8th 2009 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2006/08/15/blast_06_nicky_parkourinterview_feature.shtml>
Sanders, Jereme. How to Get ‘Good’ at Parkour. August 20th 2009. October 8th 2009 <http://www.americanparkour.com/alliance/2009/08/how-to-i-get-good-in-parkour.html>
Pacific Northwest Parkour Association. Parkour Information. 2008. October 8th 2009. <http://parkourvisions.org/resources/parkour-info-packet.pdf>
Pacific Northwest Parkour Association. Parent Info. September 2008. October 8th 2009 <http://parkourvisions.org/resources/parents-faq.pdf>
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