Most skillful sport?

[SirDeadly]

I think cricket takes a LOT of skill. The ball is extremely difficult to time and with all of the variations in the bowling it's difficult to hit. It takes years of practice to become a really good batter and a lot of dedication to become a good bowler. Not to mention the reaction times needed for slip fielders and wicket keepers.

And then you have to plan out how to set your field, and you have to discuss your strategy. Do you lure a batsman into playing a bad shot by tempting him with several easy deliveries? Is that too much of a risk to your score? Do you just hammer away at him until he cracks under the pressure? Remember, you have to take the condition of the pitch which has been degrading over five days into account as well as the condition of the ball.

Then, as a batsman, you have a fraction of a second to decide between a selection of possible shots. Is it coming at your stumps? Is it worth playing a shot? You could nick it and be caught out. Do you cut it? There are fielders out there who could easily take a catch if you mistime it and it goes airborne? If it's coming at your stumps, do you sweep or defend? A sweep can score a boundary on the less defended leg side, but, if you miss, you could be out lbw.

It's ridiculous how much there is to think about. It's no wonder twenty twenty is getting popular; it must be a relief to just be able to take your mind off all that and go nuts showing off your talent.

Thank you for saying everything I could not be bothered saying. And the slip fielders have about half a second to get their hands into position before getting a rock hard ball in the face.

 

[ThatPurpleGuy]

I agree with the OP.
Of course that may be because I'm HORRIBLE at Ice Skating, and don't quite understand how anybody can do it.
But still, it does take a lot of skill.

I think thats why I regard it at a higher level than other team sports. Most team sports are played on a field or court of some sort. Its natural for people to run but very unnatural for people to ice-skate, let alone be proficient enough at it that you can do it as well as most people could run, then control a lightning fast puck while your at it.

The hockey thing is a side to it really, I mean put any sport that could possibly be played on ice (Ice Rugby anyone?) and instantly the difficulty goes from normal sporting difficulty that something that very few people can do, like skating and playing hockey.

 

[Best of the 3]

Badminton is quite hard. Anyone can pick it up and play but at profesional level there is a lot to think about when playing it. Maybe not the hardest but that's the only one I play so... yeah

 

[Smooth Operator]

I'd say chess, if nothing more then to spark controversy.
Every sport has it's own field of required skills, and at a professional level those skills are strained to the breaking point.

So while chess may not require physical skill it takes every ounce of brain power to win.

 

[Sarkule]

I agree with the OP.
Of course that may be because I'm HORRIBLE at Ice Skating, and don't quite understand how anybody can do it.
But still, it does take a lot of skill.

I think thats why I regard it at a higher level than other team sports. Most team sports are played on a field or court of some sort. Its natural for people to run but very unnatural for people to ice-skate, let alone be proficient enough at it that you can do it as well as most people could run, then control a lightning fast puck while your at it.

The hockey thing is a side to it really, I mean put any sport that could possibly be played on ice (Ice Rugby anyone?) and instantly the difficulty goes from normal sporting difficulty that something that very few people can do, like skating and playing hockey.

I'm pretty sure Ice Rugby would be banned, because people would be killed.
I mean, people have gotten their throats cut playing Ice Hockey,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz9njKh5CLw
Much worse would happen in a full contact sport!

 

[ThatPurpleGuy]

I agree with the OP.
Of course that may be because I'm HORRIBLE at Ice Skating, and don't quite understand how anybody can do it.
But still, it does take a lot of skill.

I think thats why I regard it at a higher level than other team sports. Most team sports are played on a field or court of some sort. Its natural for people to run but very unnatural for people to ice-skate, let alone be proficient enough at it that you can do it as well as most people could run, then control a lightning fast puck while your at it.

The hockey thing is a side to it really, I mean put any sport that could possibly be played on ice (Ice Rugby anyone?) and instantly the difficulty goes from normal sporting difficulty that something that very few people can do, like skating and playing hockey.

I'm pretty sure Ice Rugby would be banned, because people would be killed.
I mean, people have gotten their throats cut playing Ice Hockey,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz9njKh5CLw
Much worse would happen in a full contact sport!

Yeah I meant it as a joke, although it could be fun if somehow they could have enough padding to prevent any cuts from blades. I was making the point that if you had any sport than made an 'ice' version, the difficulty goes to insane levels because most people can't ice skate but most people can run or walk.

 

[Sarkule]

I agree with the OP.
Of course that may be because I'm HORRIBLE at Ice Skating, and don't quite understand how anybody can do it.
But still, it does take a lot of skill.

I think thats why I regard it at a higher level than other team sports. Most team sports are played on a field or court of some sort. Its natural for people to run but very unnatural for people to ice-skate, let alone be proficient enough at it that you can do it as well as most people could run, then control a lightning fast puck while your at it.

The hockey thing is a side to it really, I mean put any sport that could possibly be played on ice (Ice Rugby anyone?) and instantly the difficulty goes from normal sporting difficulty that something that very few people can do, like skating and playing hockey.

I'm pretty sure Ice Rugby would be banned, because people would be killed.
I mean, people have gotten their throats cut playing Ice Hockey,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz9njKh5CLw
Much worse would happen in a full contact sport!

Yeah I meant it as a joke, although it could be fun if somehow they could have enough padding to prevent any cuts from blades. I was making the point that if you had any sport than made an 'ice' version, the difficulty goes to insane levels because most people can't ice skate but most people can run or walk.

Nah, I know that you meant it as a joke.
Just thought that would be a good time to drop that vid!
Just shows how badass Ice Hockey is.

 

[Sknyjdwb]

I'm going to say its a combat sport, but not wrestling or mma, thats mainly athleticism and strength. Probably boxing or kick-boxing.

 

[floppylobster]

Most people would NOT say soccer or football. But NONE of those people could not even come close to playing it at a professional level.

I have played soccer for many years and I'm still not very good at it. It is without a doubt a game that takes incredible skill to play well. And to be the best in the world - you have to be born to play. You cannot learn that type of skill. So I say soccer/football. There is so much more going on than meets the eye in that game. It's taken me years just to scratch the surface in the level of depth real players can reach. You want to dispute that? Either prove with a few years practice you can play as well as the top players or explain why it's the most respected and loved sport in the world.

I also love cricket and respect martial arts but I still say soccer/football.

 

[Dastardly]

snip

I'd agree on hockey. You've got to have just as fast an eye as in baseball, you've got to have the coordination of soccer, your team still needs the strategy of basketball and football... and golf for individual sports, because of all of the moving parts a golfer has to consider before and during each swing.

But to really pin this down, we would have to decide on what is meant by "more skill." Do we mean the sport that requires the trickiest individual skill? Or the sport that requires more separate skills simultaneously?

 

[Corpse XxX]

DARTS!!!!!


Have you seen that shit?? How on earth do they hit that triple 20 microscopic size target over and over again???

*mind is blown*

 

[niege]

Bowling is a hard sport to become a proffesional in.
it takes skill and lots of patience.

 

[dragonslayer32]

MMA. It takes a lot of skill to be a fighter. Imagine trying to play football whilst getting punched in the face...

 

[zen5887]

Mixed Martial Arts.

You have to be decent at a bunch of different martial arts, have ridiculous cardio and be able to think about tactics and strategies.

 

[dragonslayer32]

I'm going to say its a combat sport, but not wrestling or mma, thats mainly athleticism and strength. Probably boxing or kick-boxing.

MMA is boxing, kick-boxing and wrestling. You therefore need the streingth, athleticism and skill that govern these sports to do it.

 

[Snotnarok]

Racing.

No, not NASCAR; good, ridiculously fast, F1 racing!

One slip up and BOOM! 13 guys are in a mangled pile of fire and broken fiber-glass.

How about Rally? 60-120MPH may not sound scary till you take into account you could fly into a tree on a jump, or fly off one of the many cliffs that often lack guard rails. Also it's on a huge varied amounts of surfaces, roads are part of the course sure but, dirt, snow, mud. They do it all

Sure F1 is fast and has some pretty bad wrecks but those cars are seriously built safe. I've seen horrible wrecks of F1s and the guy walks away. You see the footage and you're like "oh he's so dea-....alive?!"

 

[Sknyjdwb]

I'm going to say its a combat sport, but not wrestling or mma, thats mainly athleticism and strength. Probably boxing or kick-boxing.

MMA is boxing, kick-boxing and wrestling. You therefore need the streingth, athleticism and skill that govern these sports to do it.

I compete in kick-boxing and mma and wrestled in highschool and while your point is valid, I find mma fighters to be less skillful in any one discipline, a jack of all trades gambit, and alot can rely on pure strength and speed. It goes back to what someone said earlier. More pure skill in one thing, or displaying many skills? just my 2 cents.

 

[tikalal]

My vote goes to Starcraft. Not going to get into an argument about 1 vs 2 though.

 

[McTom]

I'd have to say snooker, you have to think ahead in the same way as chess but you also have to actually have the skill to make a shot and leave the ball in a place that benefits you. Then the games go on for a long time, hours at a time so you have to be able to maintain concentration for much longer than many other sports. Then if you consider that it's just you standing at the table against your opponent, perhaps in front of hundreds of people you can see how hard it could be to hold your nerve.

Golf is a close second, having to take the elements into account when playing your shots does make the game very difficult, and I know from experience that even hitting the damn ball is tricky to master (I still can't do it properly)but at least you have a caddy to consult with for shots and club selection.

Overall I'd say that a sport that requires individuals to compete in a non-physical manner tend to be the most skilful because you are relying on pure technique rather than in a sport such as perhaps boxing or rugby where a lack of skill could be offset by pure power.