Land diving: On the island of Pentecost in Vanuatu, men perform one of the most insane rituals ever. Based upon a legend of a man chasing after a woman, it is said she climbed to the top of the tree, tied vines to her feet and leaped off. The man did not tie vines to his feet, therefore killing himself in the chase. The men of the island climb to the top of a 75 foot platform which is made of logs. Once at the top, they tie vines to their feet, and leap off, they do this so they can’t ever fall for the same tricks again like the man in the legend. Although it may sound rather dangerous, apparently injuries are uncommon; the ground below is tilled to make for a soft landing and the vines are incredibly strong.

Ancient polo: Before Alexander the Great was about to invade Persia, the king sent him a mallet and a ball and told him to go back to playing games, specifically polo. While it doesn’t exactly sound like a dangerous sport, horses colliding at high speeds can make for a bloody game. Two people of the ancient world actually died playing polo, the emperors Alexander and John of Trebizond.

 

Firewalking: Like land diving, this sport is based upon a legend. When a church in Bulgaria became ablaze, the nearby villagers walked across the scorching hot ground to save the saints inside. Participants of this sport hold an image of a saint while walking across a pile of burning wood.

 

Calico Fiorentina: Romans had a game that was rather similar to current day rugby, the only difference is theirs was called Harpastum. Calico Fiorentina came from the game, but added quite the twist; there were no rules. Players could kick, punch, and tackle each other to get the ball, when a team scored a cannon was fired. Back then, the winning team would receive a cow, the winning team now receives a medal.

 

Knattleikr: Little is known about the viking game knattleikr. However, it is known that it was somewhat similar to current day cricket. The ball was incredibly hard, it was able to draw blood from someone or knock them out if thrown hard enough. Each player had a paddle which the ball was able to be in caught in. When the ball was in motion, players could tackle each other to gain possession of it. Matches were said to last days at a time.

 

Chariot racing: Played at the Circus Maximus in Rome, chariot racing had the hearts of the Romans in the ancient world. The love of the game was rather funny considering how dangerous it was. Accidents were incredibly common and those who raced died at an average age of 22. Not only was it dangerous to the racer, but to the horses that pulled the chariot as well, five horses and one stuntman were killed when a movie was being made about chariot racing in 1926.

 

Water jousting: Jousting would be just beyond comical if it wasn’t as dangerous as it is. People ride horses and try to poke each other with pointy spears, which is already rather dangerous, but when you add the element of drowning, it becomes even scarier. In the 17th century, French men decided to stand on boards while 10 others paddled a rowboat in attempt to knock each other off. It was bachelors in the blue boat against married men in the red boat. While it sound kind of silly, it was dangerous to those who used it as a way to gain territory. Fishmen on the Nile River would water joust for access to water. The man who was knocked off most likely became a snack for the lingering hippos and crocodiles.

 

Pankration: This was an Olympic sport back in the times of Ancient Greece. Two men would fight with almost no rules, you could take your opponent down in any way necessary. The loser was the one who declared his submission. A Greek named Arrhichion won the game in an interesting way, while being in a chokehold, he broke his opponent’s ankle, so he submitted. It was later found that Arrhichion was suffocated in the process, yet he was still considered the winner and his corpse had the crown placed upon it’s head and paraded through the streets.

 

Mob football: The goal of this absurd game was to bring the inflated pig bladder back to your village. Hundreds of men would rush through the streets to get the “ball” back to their village. It is said that 40 men once drowned when the ball went into a pond and they went after it.

 

Cretan bull leaping: While it is not known if this sport actually existed or not, many paintings created in 1400 B.C. have been found of young men leaping over bulls, suggesting that it was indeed a real thing. Some people believe the sport was a ritual other believe it was more like bullfighting. Nonetheless, whether it existed or not, the sport would most likely be more dangerous than anything else created.