D.L. Haley - Hobbies For Men

Hobbies for Men

Manly Men Doing Manly Things

By: D.L. Haley

Contents

Publishers Notes

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright MixnSip, LLC 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the express permission of the publisher.

Published and printed in the United States of America, 2013.

Dedication

To the men who embrace the confidence, skills, and virtues of manliness.

Introduction

The measure of manliness is very subjective. Is it defined by physical strength? Confidence? Compassion? Intelligence? No matter your thoughts, most of us can probably agree that at least in some measure a man is defined by what he does. Work and family, of course, are likely the things that occupy most of a mans time but then there are activities that are an outlet for other talents and creativity his hobbies.

It could be argued that any hobby is manly if a man has complete confidence in himself. There are few who would call Rosie Grier, the famous American football player, anything less than manly, even though he actively pursued the hobbies of needlepoint and macram. However, most of us guys associate manliness with pursuits that are not generally considered the province of women. We like physical stuff like scuba diving, mountain biking and jousting. Yeah! We can go for more refined pastimes if they involve wine or cigars but we still love noisy motor bikes. We can even feel good about cerebral hobbies like chess. After all, the greatest chess players in the world have all been men (well, except for IBMs computer, Deep Blue, that defeated world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997).

A hobby gives a man freedom to pursue his passions and is an outlet for the facets of life that are not stimulated by career or personal obligations. Pursuing a manly hobby says you are a guy with a sense of adventure and the desire to expand his creative forces. Here are 27 examples of hobbies for real men.

Note. It was hard to categorize these. Most of them could fit into two or more categories (for instance, Blacksmithing is physical, cerebral and a possible money-maker) so keep in mind the divisions are just to make things more organized.

Chapter 1- Physical and Cerebral - requires both physical and mental exertion

Bricklaying

Among his many interests and pastimes, Sir Winston Churchill was a skilled bricklayer. Theres a story to this. Churchill suffered a devastating political defeat; the sort of thing that many do not recover from. But, being a manly man, Churchill didnt just mope, he learnt to be a bricklayer, even getting his certification. Oh, and later he went back to politics, became Prime Minister of Great Britain and saved Europe from the Nazis.

Now, I cant say for sure that bricklaying would have that kind of therapeutic effect on you, but it did for someone else I know my dad. He would tell you that it is incredibly satisfying to build something solid and enduring that is also useful and artful.

Bricklaying isnt just about walls. Build an outdoor grill, brick oven, mailbox, something for the kids. Youll find plenty of information online about bricklaying, though much of it is from the UK. And as an extra, you might get into the hobby of brick collecting. Seriously, there are antique bricks you can find to incorporate into your structures.

Whip Cracking

With visions of Indiana Jones in my head I took a crack at using a whip and its a lot harder than you might think. I managed the first couple of cracks but my manliness took a beating when I tried the figure eight and got the whip wrapped around my ankles.

With this hobby your primary cost is the whip. No doubt most of you are familiar with the bullwhip but, in actuality, there are lots of different types of whips of different lengths, materials, weights and plaits. Do your due diligence to find what

best suits you and expect to pay upwards of $500.

Find a wide open and safe space (no people near) where you can hone your whip handling skills or look for a whip studio in your area ( and Im not referring to anything kinky). There arent many around but if youre really serious about this hobby why not consider a vacation that revolves around training. You might even become good enough for sport whip cracking, which is gaining popularity. This might involve cracking sequences, cracking with two or more whips, hitting or cutting targets, moving and controlling targets.

Before you commit to this hobby, I suggest you read Lets Get Cracking!: The How-To Book Of Bullwhip Skills , by Robert Dante. It will give you a good overview of whip cracking and safety with illustrations.

Campanology

Most people I mention this to think its something to do with the methodology of setting up a camp. Wrong! Campanology is Change Ringing and, for those of you who are still confused, were talking about Bell Ringing, where a group of people ring the bells through changing sequences. Strictly speaking, hand bells come under the heading of change ringing, but Im just referring to the type of large bells (100 to 3600 pounds in weight) that you find in church and school towers.

The balanced bells are attached to large vertical wheels and rung by pulling on ropes that run around the wheels rim. It sounds easy but, as a former campanologist I can tell you that it requires a careful touch and can be dangerous. If a ringer loses control the rope will whip around wildly and can cause serious injury.

Change Ringing is an old art, going back to the 1600s and requires both physical and mental stamina. Methods the changes in the order in which the bells are rung can go on for hours. Often, the changes will be called out by a conductor but there are times when you may be required to memorize them.

England is by far the center of bell-ringing but there are active towers in Australia and New Zealand. And for those of you in the USA, go to the North American Guild of Change Ringers to find out more. http://www.nagcr.org/

Archery

The Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Hittites, the Romans, all relied on the bow and arrow for hunting and fighting. Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes used bows to conquer much of the known world. The bow was the weapon used by William the Conqueror to over-run England. In fact, archery has been practiced since at least 3500 BC and the bow and arrow has probably impacted the world more than any other weapon in history.

A good place to start researching archery is the National Field Archery Association, http://www.nfaa-archery.org/ where youll also find links to local associations and whose motto says it all: Archery The sport of man since time began. Dont rush out to buy equipment til youre sure that this is the hobby for you. A decent longbow will cost you about $500.

Ballroom Dancing

Before Dancing With the Stars I know a lot of you thought

that gliding across the dance floor was for sissies. Well let me tell you, it requires stamina, grace, confidence, patience, and it doesnt hurt to have some natural rhythm. You will also be mentally challenged to remember all the steps and to lead your lady. Thats right guys. Ballroom dancing is actually one of the most manly hobbies you can do because you are in charge. The lady always follows your lead. And let me tell you, there is a surplus of women who would dearly like to find a man who can dance. If youre already happily enchained , um, in a relationship, then your partner will likely be thrilled if you start dancing.