8 Unconventional Hobbies and Sports ...

Taxidermy is not as morbid as it sounds. Actual animal skin is only sometimes used to recreate a lifelike 3D representation of an animal. Usually it’s antlers together with a man-made framework that is more commonly utilized. There are also times when the representation is completely man-made. Taxidermists are skilled in different crafts such as carpentry, woodworking, tanning, molding, casting, sculpting, painting, and drawing.

Urban exploring is the examination of the unseen, off-limits, and abandoned places of modern civilization. Usually, urban explorers go to hospitals, schools, drains, military bases, crypts, tunnels, factories, homes and castles. This is an exciting and sometimes dangerous hobby. Urban explorers face the dangers of spiders, snakes, wild animals, poisoned plants, asbestos, rotting floorboards and ceilings, cave ins, homeless people, and the police.

I think I already wrote about this in my Harry Potter post but I thought it should be mentioned again. Yes, there is such a thing as Muggle Quidditch. In the 2010 International Quidditch Association World Cup, there were 146 teams and over 700 players from two participating countries. Players still play with brooms and the rules and equipments are basically the same with the Wizarding World’s Quidditch except for modifications to suit play on ground.

Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that is similar to geocaching, in the sense that there are the elements of the hide and the seek. The basic idea of letterboxing is a placer plants a letterbox in a certain location and people try to find the box with the help of clues. These clues are either posted somewhere on the internet, passed by word of mouth, or even hidden in other letterboxes. When you find a box you log your find in yours and the placer’s logbook. While there is a whole community of letterboxers out there, this hobby has managed to escape mainstream attention.

Poi spinning is a traditional Maori performing art that makes use of a ball suspended from a flexible material such as a plaited cord. The ball device or poi is then held in the hand of the performer and swung in various circular patterns. These days, poi is considered not just a kind of performing arts but also a hobby and a form of exercise. There are different types of poi such as beginner (softer and less intense impact), advanced (with swivels and weighted handles), glow poi, meteors, and fire poi. One should take great care when engaging in this hobby because the balls in most poi are hard enough to cause bruising or even minor injury.

The word joggling is a combination of the words “jogging” and “juggling”. In this activity, a person juggles three or more balls (or any other item) while running. This may seem like an easy thing to do but in reality, it takes some practice. Joggling requires hand-eye coordination, concentration, presence of mind, cardiovascular strength, and upper and lower body strength. You will need all these to run and juggle on the road without injuring yourself or running into other runners. There are running events that cater solely to jogglers but most, if not all, regular races don’t mind the added attraction.

Diabolo is a juggling prop that is similar to the Chinese yoyo. It is composed of three parts – a spool, a string, and two sticks. The spool is whirled on the string which is tied to the two sticks. There are many tricks that can be performed using the equipment and different body parts. Diabolo manipulation can be done by one person but there are also group performances.

Cosplay or costume play is both a hobby and a performance art. In cosplay, participants wear costumes and accessories to portray various characters from cartoons, shows, movies, and even generic roles. Cosplay is a hobby that requires character study on top of various crafting or designing skills needed to make the costumes. You would also need to have financial resources to purchase materials for the costumes. Cosplay is a fun hobby if you want to escape your life even for one afternoon.

If you were to ask me what my reaction to these hobbies and sports would be, I would say that I actually find them really fascinating. Just because they are not the common hobbies we hear about doesn’t mean that they are not worth giving a try. I’m sure that you have your own stories of information about unconventional hobbies and sports. Tell me about them in the comments.

Top Photo Credit: Angel The Asian