Bull Leaping

Posted by Johnny Cat in Animal, Sports, Travel & Places on November 16, 2009 at 4:38 pm


Bull-leapers6

For some reason, the good people of Spain really like horned, charging mammals involved in their sports.  From the classic (yet controversial) bullfighting matches to the Running of the Bulls, and now an old tradition revived- Bull Leaping!  At Oddity Central, Spooky writes:

Teams of 5 to 7 bull leapers gather each year in cities like Valencia or Barcelona, to take part in a performance that many compare to the Russian roulette. Each team may face up to three bulls in the ring, at once, taunting and jumping over them just when the beasts prepare to impale them.

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And, as he points out, no animals needlessly die during the events.

Video of the action.  Link to story/more pics.  | Photos by Ojodigital.


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14 comments to "Bull Leaping"

  1. Tim Giachetti
    November 16th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    Oh, it's all fun and games 'till some one loses s testicle!

  2. Matt
    November 16th, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    I guess humans don't count as animals.

  3. willie
    November 16th, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    Isn't this an ancient sport from Greece or Macedonia?

  4. karmazon
    November 16th, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    It sucks that I can't find it, but on one of the "World's best tricks" compilations on youtube there's a clip of a bull leaper doing a frontflip over the animal.

  5. Jared
    November 16th, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    Minoan, willie.

    http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/MinoanBullJump.htm

  6. pwscott
    November 16th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    I'm sure PETA is happy and rooting for the bulls. :p

  7. xavi
    November 17th, 2009 at 6:06 am

    bullfighter good bullfighter dead

    yes, i'm spanish

  8. clementine
    November 17th, 2009 at 8:50 am

    Sorry, but the information isn't accurate. Actually Barcelona is one of the first cities of Spain to forbid this so-called sports with bulls (or any animal), even those circus that uses animals in their shows.
    There's many people here that really hates the deaths of bulls in "corridas" or "encierros" (like in Pamplona), although there's a few that still call it an "art". But surely is not a general passion among us, and in a few weeks in Catalonia probably will be forbidden forever this kind of thing.
    Furthermore, this is the first time I've seen photos like that. Maybe its a tradition of a couple of villages, but not a Spanish tradition, believe me!

  9. Skipweasel
    November 17th, 2009 at 8:56 am

    I'm all for anything that evens up the odds!

  10. Cuaco
    November 17th, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    Maybe Clementine is the one who live in a small town, because:

    1) NO. Bullfighting it is NOT forbidden in Barcelona!! (http://www.torosbarcelona.com/)

    2) Despite is a debatable thing, bullfighting is considered an art not an sport.

    3) This particular tradition is known in Spain (although not as much as regular bullfighting).

    PD-
    Do you want participation with a post? Talk about Spain and many Spaniards would argue about it. :) ))

    Cheers!

  11. Andreu Sauch
    November 18th, 2009 at 5:12 am

    There's a difference between "Toros" and "Corridas".

    One think are the Bullfighting, that's a tradition, like going hunting. The bull's killed fastly, with no pain.

    Another thinks are the other games done in more rural villages, where they suffer to the poor bull.

    OMG, i thought that neatorama was more accurate and real...

  12. clementine
    November 18th, 2009 at 9:09 am

    Cuaco, my city is far more big than yours :P

    OK, I was anticipating facts, I was sincerely confused. But that doesn't make "toros" in Barcelona very popular. You can call it "art", but you also know that maybe a half of the people of Spain call it "murder". Maybe it's because we love arguing, but doesn't make it less real. This particular tradition "known in Spain"... well, not so much, not in Catalonia that's sure.

    And, Andreu, I really don't think that the bulls in bullfighting die fast and without pain.

  13. Cristina
    November 19th, 2009 at 12:25 am

    Clementine is right, I couldn´t help to be quite surprised at this post. Bullfighting is not really popular in Spain (I live in Madrid), in fact, is quite minoritary. And the sport of the pictures.. is the first time I see it and I can assure is not popular in Spain!

    Of course is legitimate to argue if info is not accurate, in this case, why not to believe the people who live in Spain? I am a big Neatorama fan but I couldn´t help feeling quite uneasy reading about this, it can take people to make false assumptions about spaniards.

  14. Mektoub
    November 19th, 2009 at 6:54 am

    It reminds me "a pega" done by the "forcados" a dangerous tradition in the Portuguese touradas (the same as corridas, but they don't kill the bull in these). The guys have to stop the bull, one taunts and gets smashed by the beast, then the others until they manage to hold It firm including the tail.
    It's quite impressive as you can see here :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLWvKpQdjSo&feature=related


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