Brymer, E
and Gray, T. (2009) 'Dancing with nature: rhythm and harmony in extreme
sport participation', Journal of
Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 9: 2, 135 — 149
The meaning of outdoor
adventure does not just depend on the risks involved.This team used hermeneutic and
phenomenological analysis of firsthand accounts [ha!], using 15
participants
all of whom did extreme sports.They
reported a deeper relationship with nature, a ‘dance’ between partners,
not
just a stance towards nature that saw it as a commodity, arena, or
vehicle.Extreme sports facilitate a
deeper understanding of the self in the environment: and nature becomes
a
'source of innate power and personal meaning' (135).Outdoor adventure people should develop more
'ecocentric' programmes, perhaps using extreme sports.
Many views of nature see
it as
something separate from humanity, something inanimate, a resource,
obstacle
or playground, a machine.However it
could be seen as a 'sanctuary, sacred reservoir or natural reserve'
(136).Both views still see nature as
separate from
humanity, and need instead to see it as deeply linked to humanity and
self.These connections need exploration
and the need to be facilitated [says it all really, far from suspending
presuppositions and all that, the whole thing seems to be driven by the
usual
policy agenda to do lots more outdoor adventure].Extreme
sports people provided their own
accounts of how they had developed a growing awareness of this nicer
relation
to nature.Outdoor adventure practitioners
need to see extreme sportsmen as allies.
Definitions of extreme
sports
used in this study include the likelihood of death if a mistake or
accident
occurs [so we have already smuggled in a notion of risk, one which is
implied
in many of the accounts as we shall see].There's been a definite growth in interest in
extreme sports, from the
need for people to escape regulation and sanitization.The examples described include BASE, extreme
skiing, water for kayaking and big wave surfing.The
common perception is that people
undertake these activities because they are thrill seekers, have a
death wish,
or are somehow pathological. Such sports
people want to dominate nature, or are nihilists or self indulgents.Le Breton is
cited as arguing that it is a
battle with nature that lends meaning to life [I'm not sure he does say
that,
and anyway, these people end up with that sort of argument too].All this is an anthropocentric stance towards
nature. The researchers pursued a phenomenological investigation to get
at
experiences [in other words they did in-depth interviews!]
For participants, there
was a
'process or journey' [surprise!] (138).They referred to the idea of a
dance, a
fluid and responsive interplay, emotional, ineffable, holistic and
transformational [all the good things then—sounds like American
religion or
some other kind of pilgrimage].These
attitudes developed over time and were ongoing, which is why they
deliberately
selected veterans.Outdoor adventure
personnel should encourage this kind of maturation.This particular focus arose from a larger
hermeneutic
and phenomenological study of extreme sports [presumably, Brymer’s PhD,
which
he cites in the references].The focus
was on relations with nature.The
authors claim that this theme 'emerged' from the 'hermeneutic analysis
of
interview transcripts', and from 'bracketing' of presuppositions [not
at all
easy to do unless you pursue a phenomenological methods, of course, and
it
seems to mean in this case raising doubts about the conventional
presuppositions about nature as a machine and so on] (139].They were surprised by the unimportance of
risk [surprised when?When they first
did the PhD?This claim of being
surprised is a classic one in qualitative research, of course, and it
all
depends on how dull and straight you were in the first place?]
15 participants took
part,
chosen because they were willing to explore their own perceptions and
were
mostly veterans [so the team suspected some kind of maturation process
here?Or perhaps the young ones really
are only interested in risk?] There was no 'arbitrary sampling
procedure'[seems
precisely an arbitrary one to me].The
team
also look to other accounts to cross check (139) [in other words they
read
through some published work already, although they also mentioned some
websites—no real details are involved, but see below].Extreme sports have to meet the definition of
involving a risk of death.The team
pursued 'focused conversations' with the subjects, both face to face
and over
the phone.They asked open-ended
questions, which 'encouraged deeper reflection' (140).What makes this hermeneutic phenomenology is
that it is both descriptive and interpretive, relies on lived
experience, and
uses multiple sources of data [bollox].The
team
had to bracket their preexisting understandings and compare accounts.They thoroughly reviewed the transcripts' of
the interview, which were 'thematically analysed' and 'assessed for
relevancy'
(140) [so their preexisting understandings were not bracketed for long].They asked themselves what might lie beneath
the text, an 'intuiting and analytical process' (140).They were interested in both verbal and non
verbal behaviour, and highlighted the latter [so this is only possible
with a
face to face ones I assume?].They
searched the transcripts and the published material for 'underlying
schematic
phrases or meaning units' (140).The
quotes that appear in the article are typical, but also 'particularly
articulate or eloquent instances of the theme that was more widespread'.[This is more or less a licence to make it
up, of course.Quotes can be heavily
selected using the team's judgement, if the interviewee did not saying
something explicitly it could still be interpreted after a deeper
reading, it's
not just interviews but published material as well.The second part of the article seems to be
strongly committed to the policy, which makes you suspects that far
from
suspending their belief in the wonders of outdoor adventure, this piece
attempts to confirm it].
[The rest of the account
is
rather curious, often beginning with a quote from a published text,
followed by
a comment apparently derived from the interview, which is alleged to
agree with
it, or at least be 'analogous’] [The early accounts actually read
pretty much
like male heroics as nature adventure lead becomes a partner, probably
after
the hero has subdued it, although we don't hear about that bit].Themes are interaction and harmony, as both
published texts and interview extracts confirm.One of the female respondents mentions intuition
[which raises an issue
about whether gender might be relevant here—and of course it would have
been
nice to know about the social class or educational level of these
veterans as
well, or whether they have actually read any of the literature that
they seem
to agree with so effortlessly, or evn seen any documentaries or
websites about the spiritual wonders of skydiving].The team
admits that there is some evidence of the 'language of myth and
mysticism'
(142) [but the implication is we're supposed to approve of this, and
that it shows
evidence of some deeper more authentic connections with nature before
industrialism].[It seems that the
published literature is the one that first mentions that dance
metaphor].There is a great deal of talk
of bodily
engagement and pleasures in immersion in the task [which seems to me to
be
precisely what the concept of 'flow' is all
about, although that concept also
adds a missing element – the need for a manageable level of risk in
order to
focus the mind away from trivial concerns].One respondent also mentioned 'heightened self
awareness' (142) [and
here we are close to the work on ‘edge work’
of course—note that the follow-up
study to the classic one mentions the influence of the media in
offering
accounts which stress the spiritual and the personal].A lot of comparisons exist between the
published literature and the respondents' views [in fact most of the
account is
taken up with other published analyses, with hardly any mention of the
interviews which were analysed so skilfully and scrupulously].Extreme sports can involve a process of
adaptation leading to reverence for the natural world, and this can in
turn
lead to 'largely positive change’
(142).The authors admit that the fear
of death 'facilitates a personal exploration…And transcendence' (142), and conclude that these
accounts are 'deeply
embedded in human mythology…And may be
experienced as a spiritual awakening' (142).[So it is myths that we have been analysing all
along?The conclusions hardly seem
surprising, but,
on the contrary, have been bandied around the outdoor adventure lobby
for some
years].
Outdoor education is
defined
and the usual claims are advanced that it enhances wellbeing and so on
(143).The disconnections between the
material world
and the person affects mental health [it is almost a definition of
mental
illness in some cases, of course, or this might just be a week
reassertion of
the value of 'authenticity’].Health is
defined as involving an 'intimate relationship to the natural
world'[definite
hint of authenticity here, and maybe a bit of sexual therapy if the
natural
world includes other human beings] (143).There should be no separation.There should be dance, and no objectifying stance
towards nature.This is moral and
synergistic [some sort of
green agenda pretty clear here, and the dangers of green fascism in the
demotion of human needs, as we shall see].Extreme sports can deliver the necessary feelings of
connectedness and
intimacy, which will lead to the desirable 'ecocentric perspective'
(145).We should note that 'we are part of
nature,
as perhaps the leopard or bird is part of nature' (145) [told you— we
will have
green fascists insisting that babies die in order to protect rats].
Positive
life experiences include 'an acceptance that the natural world is more
powerful
than humanity’ (145), and a more responsible stance towards nature will
result
[my guess is a pretty nasty implication will soon arise as well, that
human
nature is largely natural, especially aggression violence and rape].Outdoor education helps foster this stance,
and this article shows that the outdoor adventurers can work with
extreme
sports people [presumably, they had dealt with them with hostility
before].More intervention is recommended
in outdoor
adventure programmes based on the ideas of inclusion of nature, using
new
metaphors and new words, such as that we 'travel with' the river (145)
[I see
the audience for these programs shrinking still further with this pious
preaching and political correctness].In
this way, outdoor adventure can connect with and play a major role in
'the
development of global environmental care' (145).
So extreme sports are
not all
bad.Eventually, participants come to
see nature as a partner and develop a sense of harmony and deep
connection, and
undergo a transformation.Outdoor
adventure practitioners should stress 'intimacy as opposed to risk'
(146) [the
same old agenda when the popularity of outdoor adventure fell after a
number of
unfortunate fatal accidents].We need to
revisit extreme sport research [they do, and read it properly this
time!].Dance has emerged as the 'extreme
athletes' own
metaphor’ (146) [not according to my reading it didn't].
Oh dear -- more Dances With Wolves than anything
else!