The perfect sport for ADD? | ADHD Information
I started Tai Chi about 5 months ago, I find that I really enjoy it. It's actually very challenging (if you have a good teacher) and it can be very relaxing as well as stimulating.
It covers the first 3 points that in in the OP.
FYI-found this article in ADDitude magazine-looked interesting!
The Perfect Sport for ADD?
Anyone who’s tried orienteering knows that the sport’s inventor probably had AD/HD. Derived from training exercises for soldiers, orienteering combines running and hiking with navigational skills. Armed with a map, a compass, and a punch card, “orienteers” race between checkpoints hidden in a forest or wild area, punching their card at each to prove they found it. They start at staggered times to avoid following each other, and the fastest time wins. Most orienteering meets offer several courses at different ability levels, and you can navigate a course with a friend or a child just for fun.
Why orienteering works for people with AD/HD:
You use your keen senses and your need to think and move simultaneously. A good orienteer is always taking in information about the surrounding terrain and seeing what might be ahead.
Variable focus may be an asset. In orienteering, people who focus too hard on one choice end up running very fast in the wrong direction or deciding too quickly that they know where to go. So the multi-focus of AD/HD becomes an advantage.
You can put your ADD strategies to good use. Remember the advice about breaking large goals into smaller steps? Going from checkpoint to checkpoint breaks up what would be a simple footrace into a series of challenges for both body and brain.
There can be a lot of variety. Orienteers get creative. They do it on skis, bicycles, and even in wheelchairs. Also, the variety of locales is visually stimulating.
While orienteering isn’t a daily option, training for an orienteering meet could motivate you to get fit. Better yet, parents can go to a park and lay out their own course for the kids to follow. Be sure that each child leads at least one adult on their search. Design a course that has clear boundaries on safe terrain and keeps everyone in view.
The U.S. Orienteering Federation lists 61 local clubs across the country. To learn more about the sport and find groups or meets in your area, log onto www.us.orienteering.org.
Do you agree that it works for people with ADD?
I love skydiving. Last year I spent the whole summer at the local drop zone. Due to weather and the fact that itw as a busy dz with a small plane I only managed 15 jumps, but for two days afterwards I was totally cured of ADD:)It's the perfect ADD sport: lots of focusing adrenalin which makes you totally in control under high pressure.
I just bought a house so I can't afford to jump this year, it's something that I'm struggling with a lot because it really is my favorite thing to do.
I like pro-wrestling too, requires a lot of thought and physical toughness, plus there's an amount of risk that you can control. Plus you get to show off and hit people with chairs.
;0)
Hey fallen.
In a couple weeks I'm goin for the first time ever! Tandem or non?
What do you think?
[QUOTE=GarbagePailKid]skydiving anyone? [/QUOTE]
Skydiving really scares me. Certainly, there are things you can do that are much more dangerous, like driving on the highway for example. However, if something goes wrong while you're skydiving, you just got way too much time to think about it.
All the things I wanted to do someday. All the people I will never see again. Will they miss me? Maybe skydiving was a mistake, or maybe I should have waited til later in life when I've done more things. What will happen to me when I die? Is there a lake I could steer myself towards and maybe save my life? Nah that one's too far away, I'll never make it. (Etcetera for 5 minutes )
No thanks!
My fear of falling will keep my feet safely on the ground.
skydiving anyone? I practice martial arts--first Tae Kwon Do and now Hwarang do (an olderform of TKD). Anyhow--I really like as you HAVE to focus and it teaches
control--or at least how to realize when you begin to fell "out of control".
I am a 1st degree black belt in TKD--quit because I kept getting hurt and
the school I was at was into competition rather than tradition and mental/
physical connection. I am about 8 months from black belt in Tae Soo
Do--the undergrad program of hwarang do--then you go into top
beginner level of Hwarang do.
Anyhow--sorry for the rambling! But martial arts are a wonderful thing--
although I must admit finding the right program can be challenging!
Heights and airplanes both scare me.
My knees won't do martial arts.
But dirt bikes, as in motorcycles, whew MAMA!
Actually though, just about anything loud and fast.
I'd do orienteering too, I have two sons I know would really dig it too.
I've always thought orienteering looked so interesting! Unfortunately, my total lack of sense of direction and math skills might just eliminate that possiblity for me!
What's that sport called where there are boxes hidden all over the country and you follow clues to find them, then put your stamp in the book? I always thought that sounded interesting- kind of like solving mysteries, which I love.I tried Tai Chi- couldnt take it, standing in one place ant moving sooooo slowly. Maybe I'm just too hyperactive.
Eastwest - yes, that is a good description of Tai Chi.
Some instructors do teach children, even as young as 5, check with them on it.
I'd give it a month to see if you like it. I find it to be very challenging, but I've also seen other schools of Tai Chi that I would not find challenging - I would be bored with it. So that's why I think it's very important to find a good instructor.
autumn
Dirt bikes-that is what my ADD husband was into as a young man! I am just too scared to let my boys try it-my husband has lots of broken bone stories!!
About the martial arts-my boys tried tae kwon do but were constantly "in trouble" for not being able to stay on task. What should I look for in a program? The one we tried concentrated on teaching large groups of children in a huge room w/ high ceiling-it was hard for them to pay attention.
Personally I love Tai Chi as a martial art. It moves you very slowly and there's so much you're having to pay attention to at the same time - it's PERFECT for my mexican-jumping-bean mind! I feel relaxed and invigorated when I'm done with class.
I'd look for a 'certified' instructor - here's a great database for Yang Style instructors. http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/TeacherDB/teacherdb.shtml
Don't be fooled that it's just a 'dancy slow exercise'. It's really tough and it's a true martial art that's VERY dangerous if you want to take it to that level.
If done correctly it has great health benefits - and it's great on your knees.
Thank you Autumnstar-Do you think tai Chi would work for children-do they teach it to children? There is a great place right near my work! Is tai Chi where you are constantly moving ,but at a slow pace in different directions. Do people usually do it outside?[QUOTE=The Resistance!]
eaf, I, eaf, i, i
Isn't that a funny bit from an olod tv show by Mac davis or Glenn Campbell?
[/QUOTE]
I don't know about that, but I remember a song from a Flintstones episode called "Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah". LOL
Football and Volleyball are both excellent, as team sports they have tons of people on the field and tons going on to keep you occupied, also the short duration of plays keeps you from getting bored or distracted, and anyone who is hyperactive will have a bit of an advantage in the later stages of the game.On second thought I want to do orienteering, but on really fast, really loud dirt bikes.and have a huge bonfire afterwards.
Or ice hockey if I could, sounds sense to me, eafiii.
eaf, I, eaf, i, i
Isn't that a funny bit from an olod tv show by Mac davis or Glenn Campbell?
Just daily driving is an action sport for me, sometimes.
[QUOTE=GarbagePailKid]Hey fallen. In a couple weeks I'm goin for the first time ever! Tandem or non?
What do you think?
[/QUOTE]
Tandems are a great way to have your first jump. You dont have to worry about the mechanics of the thing, you're just along for the ride, which means you'll get to enjoy the experience rather than freak out the whole way down....
or you'll freak out all the way down and enjoy the experience.
Good luck on your jump, try not to get addicted. I'm lucky I was able to stop my impulses to sell everything I own and go live at a drop zone..............hmm maybe lucky is the opposite.
[QUOTE=The Resistance!]
eaf, I, eaf, i, i
Isn't that a funny bit from an olod tv show by Mac davis or Glenn Campbell?
[/QUOTE]
Now you are dating yourself
my friend!
[QUOTE=chocoholic]
What's that sport called where there are boxes hidden all over the country and you follow clues to find them, then put your stamp in the book? I always thought that sounded interesting- kind of like solving mysteries, which I love.[/QUOTE]
letterboxing-we love that!!
Interesting topic. Ice Hockey is not a bad sport for someone with ADD. I played up until sophomore year in college, and it was one of the worst days of my life when my grades came back and were not high enough to stay on the team anymore.
Hockey is fast and somewhat chaotic. It requires a lot of creativity and anticipation. It has elements of very general themes and patterns that develop rather than specific plays.
The higher the level you get to, the more the speed becomes incredibly hard to read and react withinin, and an ADD person like me who is not predisposed to overthinking tasks, can adjust to the speed better.
It also has a "flow' to it. You can be in the moment and just "flow" if you're doing it right. Very liberating feeling for someone who gets hung up on simple chores.
You can go all out for 60 seconds and take a break and go out and do it again. Its one place where I can master the chaos that is truly there rather than sensing chaos in regular life when there is none there. Zat make sense?
I started figure skating at 22, had natural ability, became addicted, started participating in skating clubs summer & winter shows, and finally began competing in local, regional, national, and finally world levels. My knees were wrecked.
I also like to snow ski - straight down & really fast.
I did try something new in February while skiing in Lillehammar. There were 25 in our group, and only myself, my girlfriend, and 2of the guys went thru with a ride in the taxi bob - bonified bob-sled 120k 5g's. Now that's some serious blood flow!