Rope JumpingA new underground extreme sport taking off in Russia is making activities like bungee jumping and skydiving seem as death-defying as playing chess.
It's called rope jumping, but don't confuse it with jumping rope. Thrill-seekers attach specially-made ropes with little elasticity to roofs or bridges and jump. As it is not a bungee cord, participants must anchor the rope at the right spot and jump on an angle to prevent the potentially deadly impact.
Watch this heart-stopping video of Russian teens pushing their female friend off a high roof.
The sport became more mainstream thanks to extreme climber Dan Osman and his Internet videos. Despite dying when his rope failed in 1998, the sport is now managing to find a place in Russia.
Rope jumping is very similar to bungee jumping, which first became commercially available in New Zealand in 1986. However, the origins are believed to be the tradition of a group known as "Naghol" in Vanuatu. Young men would jump from tall wooden platforms with vines tied to their ankles to test their courage before becoming a man.
A similar, commercial version to rope jumping is also available in New Zealand. The Canyon Swing allows for a 60-metre free fall from a platform before the swing kicks in sending people soaring through the canyon at 150km/h.
[Image is a screen grab of a YouTube video posted by JizzNotDizz]